# Marginalist — Read & annotate manuscripts > Manuscript reader and annotator with AI assistance for editors and readers. (iPhone/iPad app by Ben Parzybok.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginalist/id6753768853 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Ben Parzybok](https://appshunter.io/developer/1844925914) - Category: Productivity, Books - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.20/5 from 5 App Store ratings · 3 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 18.6 · 23 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2025-10-30 - Data updated: 2026-09-02 - Monetization: freemium - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginalist/id6753768853/reviews.md ## What is Marginalist? Marginalist is a focused manuscript reader (and text-to-speech/ manuscript audio player) for book editors, agents, publishers, professors, writing groups, friends-of-novelists, and anyone else who tackles reading long manuscripts. Open a MS Word document (.docx) or PDF, flow it into a beautiful reading experience, add and manage comments, and export back as the original document with all of your formatting intact. Our stay-out-of-the-way AI helps you keep track of your reading experience with three powerful features (Recap, Character Index, Ask) without generative nonsense. FEATURES: - Import MS Word (.docx) or PDF files (Files app, Dropbox, drag-and-drop and via share-sheet integration) - Adjust your perfect reading environment (font, theme, margins, etc) - Add comments with ease - or use one of our 'quick-action' comments - View your reading stats, search the manuscript, or connect an external keyboard - Three powerful non-generative AI features: - 'Remind me what happened' - get a recap of what's happened over the last handful of pages - 'Character index' - Marginalist automatically builds a character index with the associated passages so you never have to ask: 'Who is Robert again?' - Ask a question about the book - Read Aloud - Marginalist will read the manuscript to you - Author's Note - an in-app scratchpad / author's note can be optionally appended to the manuscript - Export the manuscript back into your workflow, with all of the original formatting intact - and all of your comments. Free to download and use. No account or signup needed.  Upgrade to PRO for a few extra features. More info: https://marginalist.app Support & Contact https://marginalist.app/support ## Key features - Import Word (.docx) and PDF files - Customizable reading environment - Add and manage comments - AI-powered recap and character index - Read Aloud functionality - Export with original formatting ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Marginalist Pro (monthly) | $2.99 | per month | | Marginalist Pro (yearly) | $17.99 | per year | **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Novel Narration | $29.99 | one-time | | Long Novel Narration | $49.99 | one-time | | Epic Narration | $69.99 | one-time | | Epic Narration (Pro) | $54.99 | one-time | | Long Novel Narration (PRO) | $39.99 | one-time | | Novel Narration | $23.99 | one-time | | Novella Narration | $9.99 | one-time | | Short Story Narration | $3.99 | one-time | ## Recent user reviews (3 of 3) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginalist/id6753768853/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Great Tool *2026-07-11* Hearing my work read aloud has made a big difference in the pace and word use of my writing. I can note exactly what and where I need a change. Great tool to improve writing. **Developer response:** Thank you - glad you are enjoying it! ### 1/5 — Lost my work *2026-06-26* Lovely interface, but lost all my comments on a ten page MS sample when I went away from the app. It didn’t save anything. I’m only thankful I didn’t trust it with an entire manuscript worth of work. Now I’m not sure I’ll ever want to take that risk. Too bad, as I had been waiting for something like this. **Developer response:** Hi there - this issue is fixed in the 2.6 release. I’m sorry this happened. Let me know how it goes - marginalist.app@gmail.com or if we can help any other way. ### 5/5 — For student manuscripts it’s perfect *2026-06-01* I use this tool to read the manuscripts of my non-fiction students. The reading experience is very clean and pretty, and when I’m finished I send it back directly, comments attached. The other thing I’ve been loving is listening to my own work played back via the audio narration. It’s easy to pause to add a comment and then restart. The system voices are pretty good on iOS 26, though not perfect. Otherwise, great app. ## Frequently asked questions about Marginalist ### What file types can Marginalist import? Marginalist can import MS Word documents (.docx) and PDF files. You can import these files directly from the Files app, Dropbox, via drag-and-drop, or through share-sheet integration. ### Does Marginalist have ads? No, Marginalist is ad-free. The app is free to download and use, with an optional upgrade to PRO for additional features. ### What are the AI features in Marginalist? Marginalist offers three non-generative AI features: 'Remind me what happened' for recaps of recent pages, 'Character index' to automatically build a list of characters and their passages, and the ability to ask questions about the book. ### Can I export my annotated manuscript? Yes, you can export your manuscript back into your workflow with all original formatting and comments intact. This ensures your edits are preserved. ### What devices does Marginalist support? Marginalist is available for iPhone and iPad. It is rated for ages 4 and up. ### How often is Marginalist updated? The latest version of Marginalist is 2.2.1, last updated on May 30, 2026. This indicates a recent update, suggesting ongoing development and support. ### What are the PRO features in Marginalist? Marginalist offers a PRO upgrade for a few extra features beyond the free version. Specific PRO features are not detailed in the description, but pricing is available for monthly and yearly subscriptions. ### What is the user sentiment for Marginalist? Marginalist has a strong user sentiment, reflected in its rating of 5.0 stars from 1 review. This suggests a highly positive initial reception from its users. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.7.1 — 2026-08-27 New in 2.7.1 Polishes and quirk-fixing! New in 2.7: - Totally revamped auto-save - Marginalist now plays well across devices. Open the same manuscript from iCloud Drive on your iPad and iPhone — comments made on each are merged. - Reorganized home screen, with editable favorites and 'see all' for all the files you've worked with. - More in the comment quick bar. Select any passage to Copy, Look Up, or Search the Web. - Sharper throughout. Fixes for documents imported through the share sheet, duplicate save messages, scroll position, and the reading experience throughout. ### 2.7 — 2026-08-26 New in 2.7: - Totally revamped auto-save - Marginalist now plays well across devices. Open the same manuscript from iCloud Drive on your iPad and iPhone — comments made on each are merged. - Reorganized home screen, with editable favorites and 'see all' for all the files you've worked with. - More in the comment quick bar. Select any passage to Copy, Look Up, or Search the Web. - Sharper throughout. Fixes for documents imported through the share sheet, duplicate save messages, scroll position, and the reading experience throughout. ### 2.6 — 2026-07-06 Big release! New: Import via Pasting text, Import an RTF, and better Pages (.pages) handling (though not importable) New: Report a problem (+logs) mechanism in About / help pages New: Documentation on how to import your work Many bug fixes! Fixed: Billing, purchasing, subscription issues Fixed: Comment reconciliation ( better handling of comments made on a doc by other apps) Fixed: Save (in place) fixes Fixed: Better array of MS Word file handling (emojis, tables, TOC, etc) Thanks for trying out Marginalist! ### 2.5.2 — 2026-07-02 Thanks to reported issues (thank you!), there are a number of important fixes in this release: - Opening a Marginalist-edited document in MS Word on iPad no longer throws a fussy error - Exporting a large manuscript no longer has the potential of churning forever (Thanks Sara!) - Comments are far more durable/resilient between opening the document multiple times / exporting-importing between other apps, etc Please keep the feedback coming - https://marginalist.app/support - we want this to be a perfect tool for reading, commenting, and listening to manuscripts. ### 2.5.1 — 2026-06-25 Thanks for trying out Marginalist! • New: For 'studio-quality narration', PRO members receive discounted prices. • Fixes: Improvements to comment positioning when imported/exported from Pages Let us know if you have any questions. marginalist.app@gmail.com ## Apps similar to Marginalist | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [IETFNext](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ietfnext/id1659223175) | — | Free | Productivity | | [Unico Connect](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unico-connect/id1473203844) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Productivity | | [My Signings](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-signings/id715582067) | 4.1 (108) | Free | Productivity | | [PV Solar Forecast](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pv-solar-forecast/id1496274910) | 4.1 (34) | Free | Productivity | | [Rocket Typist](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rocket-typist/id6463636684) | 4.1 (24) | Free | Productivity | | [Climate Action Now](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/climate-action-now/id1497924893) | 4.9 (167) | Free | Productivity | ## More apps by Ben Parzybok - [Leoe](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/leoe/id6759500324) All apps by Ben Parzybok: https://appshunter.io/developer/1844925914 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*