Comparison

Kortext vs Margins

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Kortext

Access and read eBooks from various publishers with enhanced multimedia. Tools are included to help learners and academics engage with their content, offering features like note-taking, referencing, and text-to-speech.

Highlights
  • Read PDF and EPUB files
  • Access 13,000+ free eTextbooks
  • Highlight text and create notes
  • Add Harvard/APA references
  • Read Aloud functionality
  • Adjust text size and background
  • Search within books
  • 500MB free cloud storage
Currently charting
Read full description

Kortext provides access to online eBooks from multiple publishers, with enhanced in-built audio and video content, combined with tools to assist learners and academics to make the most of their content. Features include: - Add and read PDF/EPUB files from your iPhone and iPad - Enjoy free access to a collection of over 13,000 eTextbooks - Easy navigation to content, providing quick access to pages - Highlight text in a range of colours and create notes, enabling quick reference of key sections - Add a reference (Harvard or APA), making creation of bibliographies much easier - Read Aloud sections, providing help with accessing content - Increase text size, change font and background of pages making it easier to view content - Search for keywords and phrases within the books directly from your bookshelf, allowing quicker access to relevant content - 500MB of free cloud file storage. Simply upload your study materials and harness the full potential within

About

Margins

This app helps you discover, track, and share your reading journey. It offers detailed tracking options, customizable features, and powerful search capabilities. Stay focused on your reading goals with built-in tools to minimize distractions.

Highlights
  • Half-star ratings
  • Track recommendations
  • Customizable book covers
  • Fuzzy date tracking
  • Advanced book search
  • Reading goals
  • Reading timer
  • Distraction blocking
Features
Read full description

Margins is a beautifully designed app for people who love books. - App of the Day in 20+ countries - 4.9 rating (40,000+ reviews) - Featured in USA Today, BookRiot, and more TRACK YOUR READING - Log books, series, authors, recommendations, and more - Track Strava-style goals, stats, and streaks - Curate lists of books you care about SEARCH BOOKS BY VIBES - Search books by mood, plot, setting, vibe, and more - Try things like “books like 1920s Paris,” “thriller with a love triangle,” or “indie romantasy” - You can even turn images from Pinterest or your camera roll into book recommendations BLOCK DISTRACTING APPS - Block social media, notifications, and other apps while you read - Use meditation reading timer for soothing rain sounds CHOOSE YOUR COVERS - Pick the cover that matches your version of the book - Curate covers to fit your aesthetic - Sort your library by color CUSTOMIZE YOUR PROFILE - Turn your picture into a sketched portrait you’d see in a book - Show off your favorite books SEE WHAT FRIENDS ARE READING - Find and follow other book lovers - See what they’re reading in Stories - Enjoy gorgeous, hand-illustrated monthly recaps INVITE YOUR BOOK CLUB - Schedule gatherings - Suggest and vote on books - Log your club’s history LEAVE GOODREADS FOR GOOD - Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Fable - Half-star ratings - Support a small, indie team WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING “LOVE this app! so easy to import data from goodreads. it excels where others fail. like letterboxd for books. Really glad there’s finally a good book app out there, i’ve been waiting for something like this!” — scruffythejanitor01 “I love the UI of this app, easy to use and aesthetically pleasing. Also, I've been struggling getting back into reading and the screentime feature has helped me loads. I haven't been able to read this much since 4 years ago. Thank you Margins” — mitakaluvr “The search by vibes is so cool. I am a WWII buff, but this search popped up a two-book WWII saga I had never even heard of, much less read. It ended up being my top read of 2025.” —Michigancolt FREE TO USE Almost all features are free to use. An optional subscription unlocks premium features and priority support. FOLLOW US Instagram: @readwithmargins TikTok: @margins TERMS OF USE Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Margins Terms of Service: https://margins.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://margins.app/privacy “Without the margins, writing is just words on a page. But with them, each of us is invited to leave our mark in the endless conversation between books and the people that love them.” — Excerpt from the Margins manifesto

Screenshots

Kortext4 screens
Margins4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Margins at 95% against Kortext's 17%. Margins also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months). Kortext's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ads, chart position and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Margins sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Kortext asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Margins holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Margins has 20K ratings behind it against 1.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Kortext's written reviews are positive against 95% of Margins's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kortext ships an update every 2 months, Margins every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Kortext versus Margins: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKortextMargins
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (1.4K ratings)4.9 (20K ratings) — better
Positive reviews17.4% of reviews95.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.4K20K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#120#98 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB115 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperKortextParatext Inc.

Customer experience

Kortext

All ratings1,339 ratings
Positive69.8%
Neutral6.2%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews374 reviews
Positive17.4%
Neutral7.2%
Negative75.4%

Margins

All ratings19,672 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews3,724 reviews
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.4%
Negative2.3%

User reviews

Kortext

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 💡 Helpful features like highlighting and note-taking
  • 👍 Convenient to access textbooks on the go
  • 🚀 Efficient for studying

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Unreliable performance
  • 🐛 Overlapping text and pages
  • 🐛 Inconsistent navigation and page turning
  • 🐛 Laggy and slow

Margins

From 20K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing design
  • 🔍 Helpful search and recommendation features
  • 📚 Comprehensive book tracking capabilities
  • 🔄 Smooth import from Goodreads

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Missing books in the database
  • 🔍 Limited search and filtering options
  • 🔒 Concerns about using phone number for sign-up
  • 🔢 Lack of social features and community

Bugs and requests

Kortext

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Pages not loading properly
  • Highlighting and annotations not saving
  • Login issues and inability to access content

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved text-to-speech functionality
  • Better organization and navigation of content
  • Ability to customize text size and layout
  • Syncing across multiple devices
  • Offline reading mode

Margins

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Reading time not saving correctly
  • Inability to delete or edit books from lists
  • Inconsistent behavior when importing data from Goodreads

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to track page progress and percentage read
  • Implement a profile system with custom avatars and bios
  • Introduce a social feed to share reading activity with friends
  • Add more advanced statistics and reading analytics

In-app purchases

None

Kortext

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Margins

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Annual$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Kortext free?
Kortext is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Margins free?
Margins is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kortext or Margins?
Margins is rated higher. Kortext averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while Margins averages 4.9 from 20K ratings.
Do Kortext or Margins have ads?
Neither Kortext nor Margins shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kortext or Margins?
Kortext ships an update every 2 months, and Margins every 4 days. Most recently, Kortext was updated on October 24, 2026 and Margins on October 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Kortext or Margins?
Kortext currently peaks at #120 in the App Store charts, and Margins at #98. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons