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Best PDF Annotation Apps for iPhone (2026)

16 apps ranked S through F · · Ranked by AppTierList, computed, never sold · JSON

Part of PDF Editing.

Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup is the top-ranked of 16 PDF annotation apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.8/5 from 24,113 ratings.

  1. 1
    Noteful: Notes & PDF MarkupS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 24,113 ratings · score 95
  2. 2
    CollaNote: Notes & PDF MarkupS
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 14,147 ratings · score 94
  3. 3
    Drawboard PDF Annotate, MarkupS
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 1,972 ratings · score 92
  4. 4
    iAnnotate 4 - PDFs & moreS
    $9.99 · ★ 4.7 · 8,933 ratings · score 91
  5. 5
    PDF Gear - PDF Editor & ReaderS
    Free · ★ 4.7 · 8,871 ratings · score 91

What belongs in this list

Mark up PDF files with highlights, notes and drawings.

Not here: A PDF reader alone; A PDF converter alone; A PDF creator alone; A general notes app alone; A document scanner alone

How we pick

For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged with no weights: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier. Read the full method →

S
NotefulCollaNoteDrawboardiAnnotate 4PDF GearPDF Pro
A
NoteshelfKilonotes-No…Element NoteScriptation
B
PDF ConverterNotes Writer
C
ProdraftsNotes Writer BrowserAdd Text
D
None at D yet
F
Preview

Compare every app

  1. 1
    Noteful: Notes & PDF MarkupS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 24,113 ratings · score 95 · best in class
  2. 2
    CollaNote: Notes & PDF MarkupS
    Free download · ★ 4.7 · 14,147 ratings · score 94 · best in class
  3. 3
    Drawboard PDF Annotate, MarkupS
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 1,972 ratings · score 92 · best in class
  4. 4
    iAnnotate 4 - PDFs & moreS
    $9.99 · ★ 4.7 · 8,933 ratings · score 91 · best in class
  5. 5
    PDF Gear - PDF Editor & ReaderS
    Free · ★ 4.7 · 8,871 ratings · score 91 · best in class
  6. 6
    PDF Pro - Reader Editor FormsS
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 6,945 ratings · score 91 · best in class
  7. 7
    Noteshelf: AI Notes & PDFA
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 7,060 ratings · score 90 · excellent
  8. 8
    Kilonotes-Notes & Mark up PDFA
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 4,963 ratings · score 87 · excellent
  9. 9
    Element NoteA
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 2,619 ratings · score 86 · excellent
  10. 10
    Scriptation: PDF for Film & TVA
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 3,553 ratings · score 86 · excellent
  11. 11
    PDF Converter - PDF Editor・B
    Free + IAP · ★ 4.4 · 5,997 ratings · score 77 · good
  12. 12
    Notes Writer: PDF, Voice, AIB
    Free download · ★ 4.5 · 7,326 ratings · score 76 · good
  13. 13
    Prodrafts - Infinite NotesC
    Free download · ★ 4.8 · 3,887 ratings · score 68 · situational · provisional
  14. 14
    Notes Writer Browser: NautilusC
    Free download · ★ 4.6 · 3,236 ratings · score 67 · situational · provisional
  15. 15
    Add Text to PDF - Fill FormsC
    Free + IAP · ★ 5.0 · 4 ratings · score 63 · situational · provisional
  16. 16
    PreviewF
    Free download · ★ 1.9 · 1,975 ratings · score 47 · avoid · provisional

Questions people ask

What is the best PDF annotation app for iPhone?
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup, S tier, ranked #1 of 16, rated 4.8 by 24,113 people.
Which PDF annotation apps are free?
15 of 16 are free to download: Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup (S), CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup (S), Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup (S), PDF Gear - PDF Editor & Reader (S) and more. 6 of them sell in-app purchases. 1 reports no in-app purchases.
Which PDF annotation app has the best App Store rating?
Drawboard PDF Annotate, Markup at 4.8 from 1,972 ratings.
How many PDF annotation apps reach S or A tier?
10 of 16. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier.

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