# Highlights for Mac

> Turn PDF highlights into notes.

Highlights reads papers and books with you, then exports your annotations to Markdown, Obsidian, DEVONthink and more.

## Facts

- Price: Free, with paid upgrades
- Developer: Highlights
- Category: Writing & Notes
- Website: https://highlightsapp.net/
- Facts checked: 2026-10-19
- MacWorthy page: https://macworthy.com/apps/highlights/

## Questions

### Is Highlights free?

Highlights is free to download and use, with paid upgrades for extra features.

### Where can I download Highlights for Mac?

Download Highlights from the developer's website (highlightsapp.net). MacWorthy links only to official sources.

### What are good alternatives to Highlights?

Other writing & notes apps for Mac worth a look are PDF Expert (subscription), iA Writer (one-time purchase), Ulysses (subscription) and Bear (free + pro).

## Alternatives in Writing & Notes

- [PDF Expert](https://macworthy.com/apps/pdf-expert/): Read, annotate and edit PDFs without a fight. (Subscription)
- [iA Writer](https://macworthy.com/apps/ia-writer/): Focused Markdown writing, nothing more. (One-time purchase)
- [Ulysses](https://macworthy.com/apps/ulysses/): A complete writing environment for long work. (Subscription)
- [Bear](https://macworthy.com/apps/bear/): Beautiful notes, linked and tagged. (Free + Pro)
- [Drafts](https://macworthy.com/apps/drafts/): Where text starts, before it knows where it goes. (Free + Pro)
- [Craft](https://macworthy.com/apps/craft/): Documents that look designed by default. (Free + Pro)
- [Tot](https://macworthy.com/apps/tot/): Seven dots. Seven notes. That's it. (Free + Pro)
- [MarkEdit](https://macworthy.com/apps/markedit/): TextEdit, if it spoke Markdown. (Open source)

## Collections

- [The writer's room](https://macworthy.com/collections/writers-room/)

Tags: pdf, research