# Excerpt vs engram

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: engram at none against Excerpt's 3. engram also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 4 months) and device support (4 vs 2). Excerpt's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (36 vs 2). On price and rating there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Excerpt sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. engram asks for nothing beyond the download.

engram holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Excerpt has 36 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Excerpt ships an update every 4 months, engram every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Excerpt | engram |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (36 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/excerpt-the-book-highlighter/id1447907126/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/engram/id1568952668/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **36** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 95.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 46 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ryan Maksymic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1416136388) | [XYZ Digital Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1568952670) |

## What reviewers say

### Excerpt

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/excerpt-the-book-highlighter/id1447907126)

Capture and organize quotes and images from physical books using your device's camera. Add notes, customize highlighter colors, and share your findings. Export your compiled excerpts into a PDF for easy reference.

**Highlights:** Scan book pages with camera, Capture quotes and images, Add notes to excerpts, Organize by page and chapter, Share excerpts, Export to PDF, Customizable highlighter colors

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Colors 1 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Colors 2 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Colors 3 | $9.99 | one-time |


### engram

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/engram/id1568952668)

This open-source organizer focuses on fast data entry for daily activities, thoughts, and ideas. It syncs across devices and is inspired by the Bullet Journal Method, allowing users to quickly capture and organize information.

**Highlights:** Fast data entry, Cross-device syncing, Inspired by Bullet Journal Method, Notes, Tasks, and Events, Brain Dump page, Share entries to other apps, Add text and links via share menu

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Excerpt free?

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

### Is engram free?

engram is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Excerpt or engram?

engram is rated higher. Excerpt averages 4.8 out of 5 from 36 ratings, while engram averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Excerpt or engram have ads?

engram shows ads; Excerpt does not.

### Which is updated more often, Excerpt or engram?

Excerpt ships an update every 4 months, and engram every 3 days. Most recently, Excerpt was updated on November 2, 2026 and engram on November 3, 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.*