Comparison

CamScanner HD vs MarginNote 5

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 5

This app helps you deeply engage with reading materials by linking highlights to mind maps and flashcards for review. It offers task-based templates for various study needs, including question practice and vocabulary building, with AI assistance for tasks like creating outlines and extracting questions. Syncing and organization features ensure your study data is secure and accessible.

Highlights
  • Task-based reading templates
  • AI-powered question extraction
  • Mind map and flashcard integration
  • Offline dictionary for vocabulary
  • Secure sync with sync center
  • PDF and EPUB import
  • Handwriting and annotation tools
Features
Read full description

MarginNote is a PDF tool for in-depth reading and study. Keep PDF highlights linked to mind-map cards, then add those cards to review. MarginNote 5 introduces task-based templates for reading, question practice, and vocabulary. MarginNote has evolved since 2013. The upgrade from MarginNote 4 is free. Your study sets, notes, and purchases remain intact. MARGINNOTE 5: ONE TASK, ONE SETUP • Templates — a template sets the bottom tools, menus, pens, and excerpt colors. The "Standard" template has four modes: Excerpt, Handwrite, Organize, and Recall. Each mode groups tools for that task. • Template Gallery — install official templates in one tap. Some templates include examples to help you get started: – Card Practice: write answers by hand on question cards, check your answers, and focus your next review on questions you haven't mastered yet. AI can split a whole workbook into cards. – Reading Vocabulary: collect words while reading English; an offline dictionary provides base forms, pronunciation, and definitions, and finished cards join review when automatic review is enabled. • Make it yours — the corresponding controls are highlighted as you edit. Find features and settings with Feature Search, and export or share your templates. • Traditional Interface — open the template menu and choose "Traditional Interface" (except on iPhone Duo). SYNC YOU CAN SEE The home screen shows where sync stands. The Sync Center lists notes and original documents separately and tells you when a document is still downloading. Manual sync reports results and offers a protective snapshot. Applying cloud changes also protects local study data. THE CARD AT THE CENTER • Organize excerpts by chapter; for books without a table of contents, AI can build one. • Title Links — notes on concepts you've studied resurface as you read new documents. • Extend — open writing space anywhere on a PDF: inline, in the margin, or folded away. AI AS AN ASSISTANT, NOT A SUBSTITUTE AI Breakdown · Question Extraction · AI TOC · AI OCR card templates · translation · chat. Save any answer as a card, or turn its outline into mind-map branches. Online AI sends task text or images to the service provider used for the request. REVIEW: THINK FIRST, THEN LOOK Use Recall mode to hide and reveal answers in the mind map. Add cards to a review deck for FSRS spaced repetition. Write directly on card snapshots while you review. On iOS/iPadOS/macOS 26+, when Apple Intelligence is enabled and its model is available on a supported device and in a supported region, on-device recall hints work offline without MarginNote credits. THE FULL WORKFLOW PDF, EPUB, Office-to-PDF import (online), video and audio · Zotero, cloud drives and external folders · side-by-side documents · handwriting layers and mind-map backgrounds · mind-map PDF export (structure or card flow) · read aloud · fast OCR WHO IT IS FOR Anyone who rereads material and needs to remember it: medical and law students, exam takers, researchers, language learners, serious readers. ACROSS YOUR DEVICES iPhone, iPad and Mac with one Apple Account; iCloud syncs study sets, notes and review progress. Native Apple Pencil handwriting on iPad. Also adapted for iPhone Duo. ABOUT PURCHASES Free to download. Some features require Pro (one-time unlock) or Max (subscription or one-time unlock). MarginNote Agent requires Max and uses MarginNote credits. Some online AI uses MarginNote credits; external AI is billed by its provider. A Max subscription includes 500 credits/month while active. Questions: service@marginnote.com Terms of Use: https://dist.marginnote.cn/MarginNote_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf Privacy Policy: https://dist.marginnote.cn/MarginNote_Privacy_Policy.pdf

Screenshots

MarginNote 54 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MarginNote 5 at 4.5 against CamScanner HD's 3.0. MarginNote 5 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 5 sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 3 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MarginNote 5 holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MarginNote 5 has 742 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 5's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
CamScanner HD versus MarginNote 5: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCamScanner HDMarginNote 5
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (68 ratings)4.5 (742 ratings) — better
Positive reviews29.2% of reviews58.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68742 — 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 MB372 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 5

All ratings741 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral3.4%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews568 reviews
Positive58.5%
Neutral15.5%
Negative26.1%

Bugs and requests

CamScanner HD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

MarginNote 5

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
9 purchases

MarginNote 5

Subscriptions3
  • Subscription to MAX (3 months)7 Days trial$4.993 Months
  • Subscription to MAX (Annually)1 Month trial$12.991 Year
  • MarginNote Max Annual1 Month trial$16.991 Year
One-time6
  • 14 days Free Trial2 variantsFree
  • Upgrade to PRO from MN3(iOS)$4.99
  • Unlock PRO Forever (New)$12.99
Show 3 more
  • Upgrade to MAX from MN3(macOS)$19.99
  • 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 5 free?
MarginNote 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CamScanner HD or MarginNote 5?
MarginNote 5 is rated higher. CamScanner HD averages 3.0 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while MarginNote 5 averages 4.5 from 742 ratings.
Do CamScanner HD or MarginNote 5 have ads?
CamScanner HD shows ads; MarginNote 5 does not.
Which is updated more often, CamScanner HD or MarginNote 5?
CamScanner HD ships an update every 3 weeks, and MarginNote 5 every 3 weeks. Most recently, CamScanner HD was updated on November 13, 2026 and MarginNote 5 on November 13, 2026.

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