Xodo vs Flexcil: PDF Annotation and Signing on Android

A highlight that fails to appear in the copied file wastes the reading you already did. Match the app to the job, then reopen a duplicate before you send the file.

If you are marking a PDF on an Android tablet, pick the job before the app. A visual signature, initials, text, and a date on one file is the eSign PDF feature Xodo described on July 2, 2025. Sending that file for other people to sign, with status and an audit trail, is Xodo Sign on the same page, and that page says it needs the Xodo Mobile app plus an active Xodo Sign subscription. Study markup is what Flexcil’s homepage describes, while the only Android export note opened here is Flexcil’s issues page last updated April 8, 2021. Google Drive Help, in the October 11, 2026 research snapshot, says Android 6.0 or newer can take finger or stylus marks and that a new file name leaves the original unmarked. Prices, pen pressure, and a winning app are not in these pages. Reopen a copy in a second viewer before you rely on the marks.

A black stylus beside the corner of a closed notebook on a wooden desk.

This is a comparison of public pages opened on October 11, 2026, not a device test under our review policy. Wider app choices sit in the Android productivity and essential apps guide.

Which job are you doing?

Start with the job, because the opened pages do not describe one app that covers all three.

• Study marks on a reading: highlights, notes, and handwriting you want to see again. Flexcil’s homepage describes that kind of toolkit and lists Google Play as a download. 5
• Your own signature, initials, text, or date as a visual mark on one PDF. Xodo’s July 2, 2025 post says the mobile eSign PDF feature does that on Android, and it calls the result a visual confirmation. 1
• Other people must sign, and you want status plus an audit trail. The same post says that is Xodo Sign, not the visual eSign tool. 1
• A quick finger or stylus mark, with the choice to leave the original file unmarked. Google Drive Help describes that path for Android 6.0 or newer. 6

Takeaway: If the next person has to sign, open Xodo Sign. If the mark is only yours, use the visual tool or Drive and then reopen a copy.

What does each opened page actually say?

Read across one row. An empty cell means the opened page does not say. It does not mean the feature is missing.

Two unbranded tablets with blank screens and a black pen on a light wood desk.

Xodo’s May 25, 2026 guide also lists annotation tools that are separate from the signature: highlight, underline, strikeout, freehand, text, and sticky notes, opened from Annotate in the top-left menu. It says the app saves changes automatically in most cases, and that a downloaded or opened file can be read and edited without an internet connection. 2 The same guide’s Apple Pencil sentence is about iPad, so it is not an Android stylus claim.

Flexcil’s homepage says handwritten notes are automatically synchronized, and it names Box, Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive. It does not name an Android version for those sentences. 5 The phrase “compatibility is a bonus” on that page is not a description of an export setting, so it is not used as one here.

Takeaway: Use a filled cell only for the dated page it cites. Leave the choice open where the cell is empty.

How do you add a visual signature in Xodo?

Use the visual tool when the mark is yours and the file does not need other signers. Xodo’s July 2, 2025 post says that tool adds an electronic signature, initials, text, and dates as a visual confirmation on Android. 1

Two first-party pages describe the taps, and they are not the same screen.

The May 25, 2026 guide says:

1. Open Fill & Sign from the tool list, or open eSign PDF from the More Actions menu.
2. Tap the signature tool, then Create.
3. Type, draw, or upload an image of the signature.
4. On Android, open sharing and exporting from the three vertical dots at the upper right. One listed option is a flattened copy. 2

The support article modified July 7, 2022 says:

1. Switch to the Insert toolbar. If the action bar is hidden, tap the center of the screen.
2. Tap the signature icon, then tap the page. Or press and hold the spot and choose Signature.
3. Draw on the line, tap Clear to start over, or add an image and store it.
4. Tap Done. Later, open the signature list to reuse a saved signature. 3

Follow the labels on the version you have. These two pages do not say which build still shows the 2022 Insert toolbar.

When do you use Xodo Sign instead?

Use Xodo Sign when other people have to sign and you want the request tracked. The July 2, 2025 post says the mobile integration needs the Xodo Mobile app and an active Xodo Sign subscription. With both, it lists signing on the phone, sending files for others to sign, an e-signature dashboard, and Quick Send. 1

The post’s steps are: open the Xodo app, tap Xodo Sign at the bottom of the Home screen, and log in. The dashboard then shows documents you need to sign, documents waiting on others, completed documents, and drafts. The “I Need to Sign” folder has a Sign button. The post says the status and audit trail update after you sign. Quick Send can request a signature, take more than one email, add CC recipients, and set a signing order. 1

The same post’s FAQ says full Xodo Sign features need a Basic or Pro account. A Preview with the Xodo Mobile account is limited, and that Preview does not require a subscription to the Xodo Mobile app itself. The post does not list which Preview actions are locked, and it does not list prices. Those cells stay empty.

Takeaway: A drawn signature on the PDF is the visual tool. A request that other people complete is Xodo Sign, and the July 2, 2025 post ties that path to an Xodo Sign subscription.

What does Flexcil say about Android export?

Treat Flexcil as the study-markup candidate, then check the file you export. The homepage, fetched October 11, 2026, describes a PDF reader and note tool: annotation, reference links, vector ink, a highlighter, several pen types, a shape tool, sticky notes, a masking pen, and page edits such as merge, outlines, and bookmarks. It also invites a free download on Google Play. It does not publish an Android export menu. 5

The Android-specific page opened here is “Flexcil Android – Frequently Reported Issues,” created and last updated April 8, 2021, and still carrying that text when fetched on October 11, 2026. It says:

• Annotations that fail to print are blamed on the printer or the printer app. In the same paragraph, Flexcil says the PDF you export “ensures annotation compatibility” and that Flexcil’s annotations can be edited in other PDF apps.
• A flatten option, to merge annotation content into the original PDF, “will be updated later.”
• When exporting a text box, “part of the text box gets cancelled out,” and that “will be updated before the release of the official app.” 4

Those three sentences are one page, and the last two still describe future updates. This comparison has no newer Flexcil Android export page, so the current flatten and text-box cells stay empty. Reopen the exported file anyway, and look at any text box on its own.

The same 2021 page reports a delay before a handwriting line appears on devices under the Galaxy Tab S6, and says an improvement was in progress. It is not a current latency measurement, and it is not a pen-pressure result. The pen-pressure cell stays empty.

How does Google Drive leave the original unmarked?

Use Drive when you want a basic finger or stylus mark and a clean original. The help page in the October 11, 2026 snapshot says the feature requires Android 6.0 or newer, and that you can annotate with a stylus or a finger in the Google Drive app. 6

1. Open the Google Drive app.
2. Open the PDF so it is in preview.
3. Tap the annotate button at the bottom right.
4. Pick a tool with a stylus or a finger. The page says you can tap and hold the toolbar to snap it to any side of the screen.
5. Save the original, or save a new copy with a new name. A new name leaves the original unmarked. 6

The marker or pen uses freehand strokes after you choose brush size and color. The highlighter is described as a wider brush, also freehand, after size and color. The page says you erase a line by wiping through it, and that you can undo or redo. Show annotations and Hide annotations control whether the marks are visible. 6

The snapshot does not say whether those marks remain editable in Xodo or Flexcil. That cell stays empty. Save a new name if you still need the unmarked file.

How do you check that a copied PDF still has the marks?

Duplicate the file, add one mark, export or save a second copy, and open that copy in a different viewer.

1. Copy the PDF first. Work on the copy.
2. Add one mark you can recognize: a highlight from Xodo’s Annotate menu, a drawn signature, a Flexcil text box if that is what you care about, or a Drive freehand stroke. 2 6
3. Save or export with the control the page actually names. For Xodo, that includes a flattened copy from the Android three-dot menu. For Drive, use a new file name when the original must stay unmarked. Flexcil’s April 8, 2021 page does not name a current menu. 2 6 4
4. Open the saved file in a second PDF viewer, not the app that made the mark.
5. Confirm the mark is visible. If the mark was a Flexcil text box, check that the text is still inside the page. The 2021 page said part of a text box can be cancelled on export. 4
6. If other people must sign, stop and switch to the Xodo Sign button and login. The visual mark is not that workflow. 1

Record the result for your own phone. This page does not fill in a pass or a fail.

A blank sheet of paper, a black stylus, and the corner of a tablet with a blank screen.

Takeaway: The mark counts only after a second viewer shows it on the copy you saved.

When this does not apply

• You need a legal conclusion or a certificate signature. Xodo calls the mobile eSign mark a visual confirmation. This page does not interpret whether that mark, or an Xodo Sign audit trail, binds anyone. 1
• You need a price, a free-feature list, or a pen-pressure result. Those cells are empty because the opened pages do not give them.
• You are choosing a tablet. The April 8, 2021 Flexcil note about a handwriting delay under the Galaxy Tab S6 is a dated report, not a current buying spec. 4
• You want an iPad or Apple Pencil workflow. Xodo’s May 25, 2026 Apple Pencil sentence is about iPad. 2
• You want a ranked list of PDF apps. These four columns are the pages that were opened. Empty cells stay empty.

How this comparison was prepared

TasteOfAndroid prepared this comparison from Xodo’s July 2, 2025 signing post, Xodo’s May 25, 2026 mobile guide, Xodo’s signature article modified July 7, 2022, Flexcil’s homepage, and Flexcil’s Android issues page last updated April 8, 2021. The Google Drive steps come from the research snapshot of Google’s help page captured on October 11, 2026, after a direct download of that URL timed out. No phone was used, no app was installed, and no price was copied from a store listing. Our editorial policy explains how sources and corrections are handled.