Foxit PDF Reader Free plan 9.0 Visit 
Highlights
highlightsapp.net
What it is
Highlights is a PDF reader for research that turns PDF annotations into notes, available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Its free plan supports reading and annotating PDFs, merging annotations, editing PDF metadata, and Handoff. Notes can be exported as Markdown, TextBundle, HTML, WebArchive, or PDF, or sent directly to supported apps including Evernote, DEVONthink, Ulysses, Bear, and Keep It. For scientific articles, Highlights can find DOIs and retrieve metadata; it can link to a PDF on the device if the citation has already been read. Built-in multilingual OCR extracts text from PDFs without searchable text, with processing done on device. Smart Copy outputs copied images as PNG, tables as CSV, and citations as BibTeX. PDFs can be stored on device, in iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or another sync service, while annotations use standard PDF annotations. On macOS it integrates with Bookends and Papers. The free plan is available alongside Pro at $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year. The maker describes the app as intended for students and researchers.
Spec sheet
- Purpose
- Highlights is a PDF reader for research that turns PDF annotations into notes.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Audience
- The maker says it built Highlights during its creator’s PhD to track information from scientific articles and describes it for students and researchers.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Privacy
- The maker says it does not require personal information to use the app, stores the optional annotation username locally and collects no payment or licensing information.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Support
- For crash issues, the FAQ asks users to email [email protected] with details and helpful crash reports, screenshots or screen recordings.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Annotation tools
- YesRead 24 Sep 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Citation lookup
- Highlights can find DOIs for scientific articles, retrieve metadata and link to a PDF on the device if the citation has already been read.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- File storage
- PDFs can be stored on device, in iCloud Drive, Dropbox or another sync service, and annotations are stored as standard PDF annotations.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Free use
- The PDF reader and editor can be used free on iPhone, iPad and Mac.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Limit
- Highlights is not scriptable, according to its FAQ.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Note export
- Notes can be exported as Markdown, TextBundle, HTML, WebArchive and PDF, and directly to supported apps including Evernote, DEVONthink, Ulysses, Bear and Keep It.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- OCR
- Built-in multilingual OCR extracts text from PDFs without searchable text, with processing performed on device.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- PDF annotation
- Users can read and annotate PDFs, merge annotations, edit PDF metadata and use Handoff on the free plan.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Reference managers
- Highlights integrates with Bookends and Papers on macOS.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
- Smart Copy
- Smart Copy outputs copied images as PNG, tables as CSV and citations as BibTeX.Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
Plans and prices
Free Free Read and annotate PDFs · Edit PDF metadata · Handoff · Scan documents · Smart OCR · Dark mode Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
Pro Monthly $4.99 a month Billed monthly; cancel anytime Unlocks everything on iPhone, iPad and Mac Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
Pro Annual $29.99 a year Billed monthly; cancel anytime Unlocks everything on iPhone, iPad and Mac Read 7 Oct 2026 · highlightsapp.net
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Free plan includes PDF reading, annotation, and metadata editing.
- Multilingual OCR processes PDFs on device.
- Notes export in several formats and to supported apps.
- Annotations are stored as standard PDF annotations.
- Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Limits
- Highlights is not scriptable.
- Pro is required to unlock everything on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Who it suits
Highlights suits students and researchers who work with annotated PDFs and want to turn them into notes. Its citation lookup, OCR, and export options are relevant to scientific reading workflows.
Verdict
Highlights links PDF annotation with note exports, citation lookup, and on-device OCR. The free plan covers core reading and annotation; check the Pro options if you need everything unlocked across the supported devices.
Where Specifiction places it
- PDF Readers#6 of 248.3
