# MarginNote 3 vs Highlights

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MarginNote 3 at 75% against Highlights's 53%. MarginNote 3 also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (5K vs 1.6K). Highlights's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. MarginNote 3 sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Highlights sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

MarginNote 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5K and 1.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of MarginNote 3's written reviews are positive against 53% of Highlights's.

MarginNote 3 ships an update every 6 weeks, Highlights fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MarginNote 3 | Highlights |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginnote-3/id1348317163/reviews)** | [4.5 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **5K** | 1.6K |
| Positive reviews | **74.6% of reviews** | 53.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 392 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.2** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Beijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/723205556) | [Jonas Myren Ribe](https://appshunter.io/developer/794854096) |

## What reviewers say

### MarginNote 3

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginnote-3/id1348317163)

This app redefines studying by integrating e-reading with powerful annotation, mind mapping, and flashcard tools. Organize knowledge, connect ideas with hashtags, and enhance memory retention through spaced repetition. It offers a seamless workflow across multiple documents and devices.

**Highlights:** Integrated PDF/EPUB reader, Advanced annotation tools, Mind mapping and outline organization, Flashcard creation and Anki export, Multi-document support, Handwriting and Apple Pencil support, OCR for scanned PDFs

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| OCR Pro (Monthly) | $0.99 | per month |
| OCR Pro (Annually) | $9.49 | per year |
| 14 days Free Trial | Free | one-time |
| Unlock Full | $12.99 | one-time |
| Upgrade to Full | $12.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful and efficient for studying and research
- 👍 Excellent mind mapping and note-taking features
- 💡 Unique and innovative functionality like video annotation
- 🚀 Handles large volumes of documents and notes well
- 👍 Useful for organizing and synthesizing information from multiple sources

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 👎 Steep learning curve and lack of comprehensive documentation
- 👎 Unreliable cloud syncing between devices
- 👎 Cluttered and unintuitive user interface in some areas
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches with certain features like handwriting and OCR

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues causing data loss across devices
- Crashes and freezes when working with large documents
- Inconsistent behavior with highlighting, erasing, and text formatting
- OCR not functioning reliably for non-Latin scripts
- Difficulty managing and organizing large document libraries

**Requested features**

- Improved export options and ability to share projects
- Better integration with other productivity apps like Anki
- More customization options for mind maps and annotations
- Smoother handwriting experience and better palm rejection
- Support for more file formats like PowerPoint


### Highlights

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/highlights-pdf-reader-and-notes/id1498912833)

This app is a fast and lightweight PDF reader designed for research. It allows users to read, highlight, and annotate documents, and then extract this information into organized notes. Advanced features include table data extraction, text recognition, and smart copying of annotations into various formats.

**Highlights:** Read and browse PDF documents, Highlight, underline, and strikethrough text, Add comments and sticky notes, Extract annotations into organized notes, Convert table data and recognize text, Smart copy annotations to various formats (CSV, BibTex), Lookup citation metadata and DOI links

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Highlights Pro: Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Highlights Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Highlights Pro: Legacy Upgrade | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great for highlighting and annotating PDFs
- 🔍 Effective for research and note-taking
- 📚 Useful for academic and professional work
- 👍 Clean and intuitive user interface
- 🔗 Good integration with other apps and cloud storage

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Subscription model is too expensive
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited search functionality
- 🔒 Lack of customization options
- 🔧 Poor customer support and unresponsive developers

**Reported bugs**

- Highlights and annotations randomly disappearing
- Text selection issues, especially with footnotes
- Compatibility problems with certain PDF files
- Syncing issues across devices
- Export functionality not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add handwriting and freeform annotation support
- Implement a table of contents or bookmarking feature
- Allow editing of notes directly in the app
- Provide a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- Improve search capabilities with visual results and navigation


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MarginNote 3 free?

MarginNote 3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Highlights free?

Highlights is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, MarginNote 3 or Highlights?

MarginNote 3 is rated higher. MarginNote 3 averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5K ratings, while Highlights averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do MarginNote 3 or Highlights have ads?

Neither MarginNote 3 nor Highlights shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MarginNote 3 or Highlights?

MarginNote 3 ships an update every 6 weeks, and Highlights fortnightly. Most recently, MarginNote 3 was updated on September 24, 2026 and Highlights on September 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*