Foxit PDF Reader vs Highlights

Foxit PDF Reader is a free PDF reader for viewing, annotating, filling and signing PDF documents. It supports standard Acroforms and XFA forms, and its collaboration tools include shared reviews, comments and document feedback. Users can sign by hand, use a saved signature image or connect with DocuSign. The reader integrates with cloud storage services, enterprise content management systems and Microsoft SharePoint; listed business integrations include Microsoft Teams and Salesforce. Security controls include Protected View, Trust Manager, Safe Mode, ASLR and DEP. Foxit lists support for Windows 10 and 11, macOS 10.15 through 14, iOS, Android and the web. Mobile apps are available for smartphones and tablets, and desktop use can work offline. The Free PDF Reader plan costs nothing. Foxit PDF Editor is a separate product with a free 14-day trial. Help options include searchable articles, troubleshooting, ticket submission and regional phone support.

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.