Whether you’re looking for a tool that will quickly and easily allow you to markup your notes or something that will give you a whole lot more advanced features for business purposes, annotation tools are definitely an important piece of the puzzle. These tools are designed to make your life easier, and we’re going to talk about ten of the top options you should consider.
When it comes to project management and all of the functions that go along with it gantt charts can be a great pick as well. It offers features like drag and drop, dependencies, task assigning, planning, collaboration, workload management, and more.
Some of the top features are the task management aspect and the ability to create as many tasks and projects as you want. You can also use this system with Kanban boards and other board styles to get a system that’s comfortable for your team.
When it comes to getting the most out of your annotation process and your project management you definitely want to take a closer look at Instagantt to get you there, especially when you can try it out for free and subscribe for only $5 per user per month.
This took is considered one of the best when it comes to project management, letting you check out multiple views for your boards, attach files and more, and even send comments and assign tasks. You also get things like checklists, public links, minutes, activity logging, task filters, issue management, status tracking, prioritization, email invites, and plenty of collaboration tools, among other things.
Some of the best features here are the affordability, ease of use, and collaboration features. Not to mention it’s good with project management. You’ll also find that it’s streamlined and good for integration.
On the downside, this system doesn’t have a lot of customization options and while you can attach images and files it can be difficult to do so.
It’s not specifically designed for annotation, but it does do a great job with it and lets you work with plenty of different editing tools. You can try out nTask entirely free to see if it really works for you and then if you’re ready you can start a subscription for $3 per month.
3. Annotate
Clearly designed specifically for annotation, this program gives you the options you need from start to finish. In fact, it offers text and image annotation, text boxes and freehand notes, note creation, task assignments, document drafting, and plenty of communication tools. However this system does not have a portable option if you happen to be on the go working a lot.
This program is best for custom integrations with third-party apps and for its options for restricted access and workflow creation, however it doesn’t have mobile apps and it doesn’t have support for any kind of task or project management or for calendars to keep up with your work schedule.
There is a free option with limited features and up to three users but the standard version is actually a custom option, which means you’ll need to talk with the company about just how many users you have and what type of features you’re looking for.
It does offer services for at least three users and upgrades the options you get to include freehand annotation, notifications, and document metadata and tagging. The enterprise option upgrades even more to add in unlimited users and comment comparisons, plus unlimited storage.
4. PDF Annotator
If you work with a lot of PDF documents then the PDF Annotator is a great option because that’s what it’s specifically designed for. It lets you add in comments, designs, and signatures including typing comments directly into the document, freehand annotations, adding stamps and page numbers, marking and adding images, and even importing and exporting annotations.
The best features you’ll find are the fact that it has an embedded image editor and it’s able to convert documents to different formats, including xls, doc, and ppt. Not only that but you can even extract, move, or even delete pages from your document, giving you even more overall control.
The downside is that this system does not allow opening of DRM protected documents and it’s only available for Windows. It’s also not designed to annotate a digital signature for protected documents. If you’re looking for these features you’ll want to take a look at some of the other options out there.
You’ll find pricing here is a little bit lower overall because it offers licensing agreements that start with the annotator license or faculty license at $69.95 per user or the student license for $39.95 per user. You can also get custom pricing for larger groups.
5. Doccano
Doccano is actually an open-source system, which means it can constantly be improved and it can do a great deal of things now and in the future. It offers features like sentiment analysis for text data, text classifications that offer exportation in different formats, and data annotation for sequence labeling. It also provides sequence to sequence learning.
Some of the top features include the fact that it’s very user friendly and it offers auto labeling with a machine learning model. It’s also able to annotate text with different languages and has an open-source software, which is good for those who want to customize the system or are looking for more potential.
The downside here is that it can sometimes be a little unresponsive or suffer from lag and it has a lot of requires for coding. If you’re not comfortable or experienced in coding it can be quite difficult to manage. Not only that but it requires self-hosting for shuffling annotation.
The pricing is great here because it’s an open-source platform. That means that it’s entirely free and you’ll be able to use it however you like and with as many users as you like without any additional fees.
6. Drawboard
Drawboard is great for PDF markup, which is something you won’t find with just any system. It lets you annotate different types of documents and offers things like document and photo management, markup, 2D drawing, annotation, activity feeds, contractors, navigation systems, file sharing, native iOS support, live drawing updates, and tagging.
This software really excels with collaborative markup and text annotations as well as the opportunity to assign and track issue progress. It also has time restricted links so that guests can be invited and review the content for specified time periods. It also offers integration with other apps and has an offline support system.
On the other hand, it doesn’t offer organization for your projects and it only works with Windows 10 or iOS. It’s also limited on the number of apps that it can integrate with, which can be less ideal for some users.
You may find that this system is a little less intuitive and can be more difficult to understand. It has a free trial option that will let you get the hang of things first and then a basic version at $19 per month. The standard version goes up to $35 per month and an enterprise version can be customized with the company.
7. Filestage
If you’re looking for something higher end that’s already in use by marketing agencies and teams, as well as media production companies this is a great option. It’s actually meant to help with proofreading and prepping content for publishing. It’s also good for internal and external stakeholders and a whole lot more. But what’s really great is all the features you’ll get with Filestage.
The best part is the threaded comments for easier discussion, better dashboards for management of workflows, and even the ability to review both audio and video files with time codes. You can easily track the status of files, and you can integrate with third party apps. On the other hand you can’t undo annotations that are approved and you don’t have the ability to assign tasks to your different users.
Filestage offers collaboration, commenting, internal and external review, PDF commenting, video proofing, API, collaborative review, document review, image proofing, version control, and workflow management. It offers a free trial to get a feel for the system and then has a start pack for $99 per month or a pro version for $249 per month. Enterprise options for entire teams are custom.
8. ClickUp
With this project management system you’ll be able to do a lot of different annotations, especially in different types of formats including .png, .gif, .webp, and .jpeg. It’s great for collaboration, custom priorities, assigning comments and turning them into tasks, data import and export, email notifications, image mockups, multiple assignees, and product road mapping. It also supports Agile and Scrum.
The best things are definitely the feature-rich options available right from the start with the free version, and the fact that you can use task management with drag and drop to make it as easy as possible. Plus there are smart search options, dependencies for tasks, and specialized dashboards. On the other hand there is no way to export your dashboards or to get rid of the brand icon.
You can try out the free version but with limited storage and then get started in the unlimited version at $5 per user per month. For more features you can upgrade to the business version, which gives you even more options at $19 per user per month and if you want absolutely everything this app has to offer you can switch to the customization of the enterprise version.
9. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
If you want the ability to access, comment on, edit, share, and more with PDF documents then you’re going to have a lot of great options with this program. It actually lets you add virtual sticky notes and even send files, plus it lets you convert your files to different types of documents like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. You also get unlimited access and you can keep everything in one place more conveniently.
The best option about this is that you will have a lot of conversion types, as well as great editing features, simple navigation and the ability to edit and more through mobile. You can also participate easily and manage or share your files quickly and easily.
The negatives for this system are definitely the cost and the frequency of updates. This can make it a little difficult to get the features that you want and to stay up to date on everything that needs to be done. Also, the editing features can be a little bit overwhelming and difficult to learn.
There is a monthly subscription cost for this system of $14.99, which makes it one of the more expensive options in terms of fees. This does provide you with all of the features however.
10. Markup
If you want some great productivity options and you want to make sure that you have all of the features that you need you can definitely go with Markup. This system is great for people of all levels including business professionals and students. It’s great for web content and PDF files and just about anything in between so you can get a lot done, plus it lets you collaborate with others and has an AI auto summary tool.
The best aspects of this system include that it is easy to use and has a whole lot of free to use features. It also has the summary feature and easy collaboration to go along with it.
The downside is that this system isn’t great for mobile, even though it does work. It can be somewhat slow. Plus the extension for browsers can have a little bit of trouble as well. It’s also not available for Android devices.
The pricing for this system is simple, there isn’t any. Markup is completely free with a set number of features, which are generally enough for most users. If you are looking for advanced features however there are paid upgrades and features available.
