Comparison

Mathpix Snip 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

Mathpix Snip

Transform handwritten notes and PDFs into editable, searchable documents. Convert images of equations into various formats like LaTeX. Sync your work across devices for seamless access.

Highlights
  • Handwriting to editable Markdown
  • Convert equations to LaTeX
  • Searchable PDF creation
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Export to DOCX, LaTeX, Overleaf
Features
Read full description

Mathpix - the PDF and notes app for STEM researchers and professionals, powered by next generation OCR - Convert your handwriting to editable and searchable Markdown documents that can be exported to DOCX, LaTeX, Overleaf, or PDF, with our document conversion technology - Create searchable PDFs seamlessly with your camera with configurable image filters, that can be read, searched, exported, or downloaded on any device, including the Snip web app at snip.mathpix.com - The ultimate personal PDF and Notes cloud for researchers: your documents sync seamlessly across devices, including the Snip web app at snip.mathpix.com - Draw equations directly on your device or take pictures of them, and convert to LaTeX, MathML, Asciimath, Markdown, and more Website: mathpix.com Web app: snip.mathpix.com Twitter: @MathpixApp

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

Mathpix Snip4 screens
MarginNote 44 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mathpix Snip at none against MarginNote 4's 13. Mathpix Snip also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 58%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). MarginNote 4's advantage is ratings volume (716 vs 141). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. MarginNote 4 sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Mathpix Snip asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Mathpix Snip against 4.5 for MarginNote 4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MarginNote 4 has 716 ratings behind it against 141, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Mathpix Snip's written reviews are positive against 58% of MarginNote 4's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mathpix Snip ships an update every 5 weeks, MarginNote 4 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mathpix Snip versus MarginNote 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMathpix SnipMarginNote 4
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (141 ratings)4.5 (716 ratings)
Positive reviews76.0% of reviews — better58.5% of reviews
Number of ratings141716 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB330 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMathpixBeijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., Ltd

Customer experience

Mathpix Snip

All ratings141 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative10.6%
Written reviews125 reviews
Positive76.0%
Neutral4.8%
Negative19.2%

MarginNote 4

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

Bugs and requests

Mathpix Snip

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

None

Mathpix Snip

No in-app purchases

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 Mathpix Snip free?
Mathpix Snip is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MarginNote 4 free?
MarginNote 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mathpix Snip or MarginNote 4?
Mathpix Snip and MarginNote 4 are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 141 and 716 ratings respectively.
Do Mathpix Snip or MarginNote 4 have ads?
Neither Mathpix Snip nor MarginNote 4 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mathpix Snip or MarginNote 4?
Mathpix Snip ships an update every 5 weeks, and MarginNote 4 every 3 weeks. Most recently, Mathpix Snip was updated on October 15, 2026 and MarginNote 4 on October 17, 2026.

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