Best PDF Annotate Apps

223+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.6 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated May 2026

The best pdf annotate apps on iPhone average 4.6★ across 223+ titles — we've ranked them by what real users actually keep on their phones. Updated May 2026.

Top Picks for PDF Annotate

Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup#1

Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup by Noteful Technologies Ltd

Highlight. Write. Learn.
Editor's Choice
📊 Productivity
4.8😊(23K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 1
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 2
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 3
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 4
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 5
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 6

This app revolutionizes paperless note-taking on iPad, allowing for handwritten notes, document annotation, and knowledge organization. It offers a fluid writing experience, PDF markup, powerful tagging, and audio recording synced with notes.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Smooth writing experience
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 💡 Layers feature
  • 👍 Affordable one-time purchase

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔍 No handwriting recognition or search
  • 🔍 Limited text editing options
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter#2

PDF Expert: Editor & Converter by Readdle Technologies Limited

Edit, Sign, Convert Documents
Strong Contender
📊 Productivity
4.7😐(215K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
#55in Productivity
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter screenshot 1
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter screenshot 2
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter screenshot 3
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter screenshot 4
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter screenshot 5
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter screenshot 6

This app allows you to edit, annotate, fill out forms, and convert PDF documents. It offers AI-powered summarization and analysis, along with tools to merge, sign, and protect your files. Work seamlessly across Apple devices with a user-friendly interface.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💡 Powerful annotation and editing tools
  • 🔒 Seamless cloud integration

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔒 Subscription model for advanced features
  • 🔒 Inconsistent pricing and feature changes
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor#3

Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor by Adobe Inc.

Documents Editor & Converter
Worth Considering
💼 Business
4.7😞(628K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
#2in Business
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 1
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 2
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 3
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 4
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 5
Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor screenshot 6

This app is a powerful PDF tool for viewing, editing, annotating, and signing documents. It offers AI-powered features for summarizing and interacting with PDFs, along with robust conversion and security options. Collaborate on files and access your documents from anywhere.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🔒 Secure document storage
  • 👍 Convenient for reading and annotating PDFs
  • 👍 Useful for students and professionals

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
  • 🔒 Overly intrusive login requirements
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model

More PDF Annotate apps to explore

4
Notability: AI Notes & PDF app
Notability: AI Notes & PDF app
Notability: AI Notes & PDF app
Write, type, annotate, draw
Free

Capture, organize, and enhance your thoughts with a versatile digital notebook. Seamlessly blend handwriting, typing, and multimedia to annotate documents, record lectures, and generate summaries. Ideal for students and professionals seeking to boost productivity and learning.

Handwritten and typed notesPDF and document annotationAudio recording and transcription
📊 Productivity
(451K)
freemium
5
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF
Note taking, canvas & work app
Free

Capture ideas, enhance productivity, and unlock insights with advanced AI features. This app offers tools for professionals, students, and creatives, including infinite whiteboards, AI-powered transcription and summarization, and customizable digital notebooks.

AI-powered transcription and summarizationInfinite whiteboard canvasDigital notebooks with customizable templates
📊 Productivity
(435K)
free with in-app purchases
6
PDF Hero - PDF Editor & Reader
PDF Hero - PDF Editor & Reader
PDF Hero - PDF Editor & Reader
Create & Edit PDF Documents
Free

Edit, create, and manage PDF documents on your mobile device. Annotate, fill forms, sign, and share files with ease. Offers advanced features like OCR and compression for enhanced document control.

Create PDFs from scratchEdit text and annotate documentsFill and sign PDF forms
💼 Business
(10K)
free with in-app purchases
7
Foxit PDF Editor
Foxit PDF Editor
Foxit PDF Editor
View, Edit, Convert, and Sign
Free

This mobile app offers comprehensive PDF management, allowing users to view, edit, annotate, and convert PDF files on the go. It includes AI-powered features for summarization, translation, and text enhancement, alongside robust tools for creating, signing, and protecting documents.

AI-powered PDF summarization and translationEdit text and images within PDFsConvert PDFs to and from various formats
📊 Productivity
(4.8K)
freemium
8
PDF Pro - Reader Editor Forms
PDF Pro - Reader Editor Forms
PDF Pro - Reader Editor Forms
Edit, annotate, view documents
Free

Edit, annotate, and read PDF documents on your iPhone and iPad. Highlight text, add notes, shapes, voice recordings, and photos. Search your entire PDF library, fill out forms, and sign documents.

Edit and annotate PDFsHighlight text and add notesEmbed audio and photo annotations
📊 Productivity
(6.8K)
subscription
9
PDF Gear - PDF Editor & Reader
PDF Gear - PDF Editor & Reader
PDF Gear - PDF Editor & Reader
PDF Converter for acrobat PDF
Free

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents on mobile devices. Users can easily view, annotate, edit pages, fill out forms, and digitally sign documents. It provides a free and unlimited experience for all its powerful PDF manipulation features.

View and print PDFsAnnotate with highlights, text, and drawingsOrganize pages (add, delete, rotate, extract)
💼 Business
(7.6K)
free
10
PDF Editor ,PDF Book Reader ®
PDF Editor ,PDF Book Reader ®
PDF Editor ,PDF Book Reader ®
PDF Scanner -OCR,PDF Converter
Free

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing PDF documents. It allows users to read, edit, annotate, convert, and scan PDFs with an intuitive interface. Features include form filling, digital signatures, page management, and robust sharing options across Apple devices.

Read and edit PDFsAnnotate and markup documentsFill forms and add digital signatures
🔧 Utilities
(22K)
free with in-app purchases
11
PDF Editor ®
PDF Editor ®
PDF Editor ®
Edit, Reader Converter Maker 7
Free

Edit, sign, and convert PDF documents directly from your mobile device. Scan physical papers into editable PDFs, annotate text, and fill out forms on the go. All your documents are stored locally for privacy and can be easily shared.

Edit PDF filesSign documentsConvert scanned papers to PDF
💼 Business
(28K)
free with in-app purchases
12
Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup
Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup
Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup
Annotate & Markup Notes, Files
Free

Enhance your PDF workflow with powerful annotation and markup tools. This app offers a dynamic and intuitive experience for editing, drawing, and adding text to your documents. Access your work across multiple devices and collaborate in real-time.

Dynamic PDF annotation toolsCross-platform access and cloud syncReal-time collaboration
📊 Productivity
(1.8K)
free with in-app purchases
13
PDF Reader & Editor | Xodo
PDF Reader & Editor | Xodo
PDF Reader & Editor | Xodo
Scan, Edit & Convert Documents
Free

Edit, sign, convert, and organize PDF documents with a comprehensive suite of tools. Scan images to PDF, compress files, and integrate with cloud storage for seamless access across devices. Offers advanced annotation and drawing capabilities.

Edit PDFsScan to PDFFill & Sign Forms
💼 Business
(1.7K)
freemium
14
PDF Reader - Editor & Viewer
PDF Reader - Editor & Viewer
PDF Reader - Editor & Viewer
Editor, Converter, OCR
Free

Edit, convert, and manage PDF documents on your mobile device. This app allows you to directly edit text, scan documents, fill out forms, and secure your files with passwords and watermarks. It also supports OCR to extract text from scans and convert PDFs to various formats.

Edit PDF text directlyConvert PDF to Word, Excel, PPT, imagesOCR for text extraction from scans
🔧 Utilities
(2.9K)
freemium
15
PDF Highlighter - Annotate PDF
PDF Highlighter - Annotate PDF
PDF Highlighter - Annotate PDF
mark important text in PDF
Free
🔧 Utilities
(0)
16
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
25+ Pens to Take Better Notes
Free

This app offers a comprehensive note-taking experience with advanced tools for digital planning, PDF markup, and flashcard creation. It features a wide array of pens, handwriting stabilization, and AI-powered assistance for enhanced productivity and creativity. Organize, secure, and share your notes seamlessly across devices.

25+ pens and brushesPDF, PPT, DOC markupFlashcard creation
📊 Productivity
(13K)
free with in-app purchases
17
PDF Reader – PDFelement
PDF Reader – PDFelement
PDF Reader – PDFelement
PDF Editor & Viewer, PDF Maker
Free

This app offers a superior PDF reading experience with its innovative Liquid Mode, which optimizes documents for mobile screens. It also provides robust tools for annotating, signing, managing, and sharing your PDF files, catering to both work and study needs.

Liquid Mode for optimized mobile readingAnnotation tools (pencil, text, highlighting)Handwritten signature insertion
📊 Productivity
(3.9K)
free
18
PDF Converter&Editor - PDF Zen
PDF Converter&Editor - PDF Zen
PDF Converter&Editor - PDF Zen
Smart PDF Converter & Editor
Free

This app converts PDFs to and from various document and image formats, maintaining original layouts. It includes OCR for text extraction from scanned documents and offers annotation tools like highlighting and e-signatures. Additional features like daily quotes and a Pomodoro timer enhance the user experience.

PDF to Word/Excel/PPT conversionPDF to Image conversionOCR for scanned PDFs
🔧 Utilities
(109)
ad-supported
19
Notator | Annotate Documents
Notator | Annotate Documents
Notator | Annotate Documents
Taking notes, annotating PDFs
Free
📊 Productivity
(0)
20
PDF Viewer by Nutrient
PDF Viewer by Nutrient
PDF Viewer by Nutrient
Fill Forms, Sign, Edit, Redact
Free

Easily view, search, and annotate PDF documents on your iPhone and iPad. Import files from cloud services, fill out forms, add signatures, and organize your documents. Advanced features like redaction and combining documents are available with a Pro subscription.

View and search PDFsAnnotate with highlights and notesSign documents digitally
📊 Productivity
(9.1K)
freemium

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