Comparison

CamScanner HD vs MarginNote 4

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

Head to head
About

CamScanner HD

Digitize, store, and share documents from your mobile device. Optimize scan quality, extract text with OCR, and collaborate with others. Secure your important files with passwords and sync them across multiple platforms.

Highlights
  • Digitize documents with iPad camera
  • Optimize scan quality with smart cropping
  • Extract text from images using OCR
  • Share documents as PDF/JPEG
  • Print via AirPrint and fax internationally
  • Collaborate on documents with others
  • Secure documents with passcodes
Features
Read full description

The world’s No. 1 mobile document scanning and sharing today! * Installed on over 60 million devices in over 200 countries around the world * Over 50,000 new registrations per day * CamScanner, 50 Best iPhone Apps, 2013 Edition – TIME * App Store 2011/2012 Rewind Top Productivity App * “The application employs its own image cropping and enhancing algorithm that leads to clearer images.” – Makeuseof.com * “CamScanner may just be the best deal for scanning documents on your iPhone.” – CNET.com CamScanner helps you scan, store, sync and collaborate on various contents across smartphones, iPads, tablets and computers. Features: *Quickly Digitize Document Just use your iPad camera to scan and digitize all kinds of paper documents: receipts, notes, invoices, whiteboard discussions, business cards, certificates, etc. *Optimize Scan Quality Smart cropping and auto enhancing ensures the texts and graphics in scanned documents are clear and sharp with premium colors and resolutions. *Extract Texts from Image OCR (optical character recognition) feature recognizes texts in document images and extract them from images for later searching, editing or sharing. (Paid app only) *Share PDF/JPEG Files Easily share documents in PDF or JPEG format with friends via various ways: post on social media, send attachment or document download link through email. *AirPrint & Fax Documents Instantly print out any documents in CamScanner with nearby printer via AirPrint; directly select document and fax to over 30 countries from the app. *Collaborate on Documents Want to get feedback on your documents? Invite friends or colleagues to collaborate on documents. They can view, comment and exchange ideas on documents in groups. (Registrants only) *Advanced Document Editing Make annotations on documents with a full set of editing tools. Also adding customized watermarks are made available to mark your own documents. *Quick Search When you have plenty of documents, you can use Tags to categorize and easily find them. In addition, OCR for Search helps you find texts inside image and notes. Just enter one keyword, you can quickly find the document you want. *Secure Important Documents If you want to protect confidential contents, you can set passcode for viewing important documents; also, while sending document download link, you can set password to protect others from seeing it. *Sync across Platforms Sign up to sync documents on the go. Just sign in to any smartphone, tablet or computer (visit CamScanner website) you own and you can view, edit and share any document. (Registrants only) Premium Subscription Service: 1. Edit OCR results and notes of the entire doc, exporting as .txt file 2. Add 10G cloud space 3. Add 40 extra collaborators 4. Send doc link with password protection and expiration date 5. Batch download PDF files in web app 6. Everything benefit registrants enjoys 7. Everything paid app offers Payment models for Premium subscription: -$ 4.99/month -$49.99/year Please note the subscription is automatically renewed within 24-hours prior to the end of the period unless you choose to cancel the subscription. Subscriptions may be managed by going to your iTunes Account Settings after purchase.  For Privacy Policy, please visit http://s.intsig.net/r/terms/PP_CamScanner_en-us.html CamScanner users scan and manage * Bill, Invoice, Contract, Tax Roll, Business Card… * Whiteboard, Memo, Script, Letter… * Blackboard, Note, PPT, Book, Article… * Credential, Certificate, Identity Documents… 3rd Party Cloud Storage Services Supported: -Box.com, Google Drive, Evernote, Dropbox, Check out other INTSIG’s products: CamCard - Business Card Reader CamDictionary - Snap Translator We’d love to hear your feedback: isupport@intsig.com Follow us on Twitter: @CamScanner Like us on Facebook: CamScanner Follow us on Google+: CamScanner

About

MarginNote 4

This app integrates reading, note-taking, mind mapping, and flashcards into a unified study environment. It supports active learning with features like study sets, book compilation, and dual-article views. Enhance your understanding with visual learning tools and AI-powered content extraction for long-term memory retention.

Highlights
  • Integrated reading, note-taking, mind mapping, and flashcards
  • Quick Extend Note and Handwriting Layers for annotation
  • Study Set for organizing PDFs, EPUBs, videos, and audio
  • Mind Map and Concept Diagram for visual learning
  • AI Content Detection for formula and chart extraction
  • FSRS spaced-repetition algorithm for reviews
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
Features
Read full description

MarginNote is the PDF study tool for deep readers. One excerpt is a PDF highlight, a mind map node, and a flashcard — one capture, three places. This is the Card Axis architecture, so you stop ferrying content between a PDF reader, a notes app, and a flashcard tool. A decade of iteration. 188K+ App Store ratings. 【Four Featured Mechanics】 ▸ Card Axis — One excerpt, three renders. Document highlight, mind map node, and flashcard are the same card seen from three angles. ▸ Title Link — Old notes auto-surface in new documents. When a familiar concept appears in what you're reading, your past annotation lights up on the page. ▸ Extended Note — Long-press anywhere on a PDF to open writing space. No anchored text required; three display modes (inline / margin / collapsed). ▸ Immersive Mode (4.4) — Three-state toggle: Read / Write / Recall. UI folds away. Recall blurs excerpts with Gaussian blur — tap to reveal only after you've actually recalled. 【AI Capabilities (introduced in 4.2)】 AI book breakdown · AI OCR templates · AI translation · AI Q&A · AI flashcard generation Our stance is AI as assistant, not replacement — every suggestion can be saved as your own thinking node, never thinking for you. 【Apple Intelligence (iOS 26+)】 Recall Mode hints can run on-device via Apple Intelligence — pick "Apple AI" or "cloud LLM" in Settings. With Apple AI selected, three tiers of help — Neighbor Coordinate · Reasoning Prompt · Key Distinction — are generated by Apple Foundation Models right on your device: no network calls, no AI credits used, your notes never leave your device. Even if you've selected cloud LLM, going offline auto-falls back to Apple Intelligence (provided your device supports it) — so libraries, planes, and exam-day silent rooms never break your hint loop. 【Full Workflow】 Fast OCR · Study Sets (PDF / EPUB / video / audio) · direct read from Zotero / cloud drives / USB · 10 mind map styles · book recomposition · dual-document compare · concept maps · handwriting layers 【FSRS Spaced Repetition】 Built on the open-spaced-repetition project's algorithm (paper accepted by ACM SIGKDD; Anki has used FSRS as its default scheduler since v23.10). Push short-term memory into long-term. 【Built For】 Anyone re-reading a single document until it sticks — med school (USMLE / MCAT) · law school (LSAT / bar exam) · grad prep (GRE / GMAT / CFA) · researchers · language learners (IELTS / TOEFL) · serious readers. 【All Apple Platforms】 iPhone + iPad + Mac under one Apple ID. iCloud syncs Study Sets, notes, and review progress. Native Apple Pencil support on iPad. — Questions? Email service@marginnote.com Terms: https://dist.marginnote.com/MarginNote_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf Privacy: https://dist.marginnote.com/MarginNote_Privacy_Policy.pdf

Screenshots

MarginNote 44 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MarginNote 4 at 4.5 against CamScanner HD's 3.0. MarginNote 4 also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (58% vs 29%). CamScanner HD's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. CamScanner HD sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and MarginNote 4 sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MarginNote 4 holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MarginNote 4 has 736 ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of CamScanner HD's written reviews are positive against 58% of MarginNote 4's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
CamScanner HD versus MarginNote 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCamScanner HDMarginNote 4
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (68 ratings)4.5 (736 ratings) — better
Positive reviews29.2% of reviews58.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68736 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB330 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLinguan DataBeijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., Ltd

Customer experience

CamScanner HD

All ratings65 ratings
Positive46.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative46.2%
Written reviews240 reviews
Positive29.2%
Neutral9.2%
Negative61.7%

MarginNote 4

All ratings716 ratings
Positive86.3%
Neutral3.6%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews566 reviews
Positive58.5%
Neutral15.5%
Negative26.0%

Bugs and requests

CamScanner HD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

MarginNote 4

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Disappearing annotations when using extend function
  • Inability to restore accidentally deleted mind maps
  • Inconsistent behavior with PDF file management

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved iCloud/cloud sync reliability
  • More intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • Better support for external document libraries
  • Ability to disable auto-excerpt selection

In-app purchases

4 purchases

CamScanner HD

Subscriptions2
  • CamScanner Premium$4.991 Month
  • CamScanner Premium$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • One-page Fax$0.99
  • Ten-page Fax$8.99
12 purchases

MarginNote 4

Subscriptions5
  • Subscription to MAX (Monthly)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Subscription to MAX (3 months)7 Days trial$4.993 Months
  • Subscription to MAX (6 months)7 Days trial$7.996 Months
Show 2 more
  • Subscription to MAX (Annually)1 Month trial$12.991 Year
  • MarginNote Max Annual1 Month trial$16.991 Year
One-time7
  • 14 days Free Trial2 variantsFree
  • Upgrade to PRO from MN3(iOS)$4.99
  • Unlock PRO Forever (New)$12.99
Show 4 more
  • Upgrade to MAX from MN3(macOS)$19.99
  • Unlock MAX based on PRO$39.99
  • Unlock MAX based on PRO (New)$40.00
  • Unlock MAX Forever (New)$51.99

Questions

Is CamScanner HD free?
CamScanner HD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MarginNote 4 free?
MarginNote 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CamScanner HD or MarginNote 4?
MarginNote 4 is rated higher. CamScanner HD averages 3.0 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while MarginNote 4 averages 4.5 from 736 ratings.
Do CamScanner HD or MarginNote 4 have ads?
CamScanner HD shows ads; MarginNote 4 does not.
Which is updated more often, CamScanner HD or MarginNote 4?
CamScanner HD ships an update every 3 weeks, and MarginNote 4 every 3 weeks. Most recently, CamScanner HD was updated on October 22, 2026 and MarginNote 4 on October 22, 2026.

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