Comparison

Book Tracker vs Margins

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

Head to head
About

Book Tracker

Capture, organize, and revisit key passages from your books with advanced text recognition. Create collections, add tags and notes, and easily export your highlights. Stop forgetting what you read and make your reading more impactful.

Highlights
  • Text recognition
  • Book collections
  • Tags and notes
  • Highlight export
  • Page number detection
  • Search functionality
  • Photo highlighting
Features
Read full description

4x App of the Day - Apple Remember more of what you read. Highlighted helps you capture meaningful passages from books, organize them into a searchable library, and revisit the ideas you do not want to forget. Point your camera at a page, select the text that matters, and save it with the book, page number, notes, and tags. Build your personal bookshelf, group books into collections, import highlights from Kindle or CSV, export everything in bulk, and share beautiful quote cards. Trusted by 150,000+ readers. ______ CAPTURE • Best-in-class text recognition • Smart sentence and paragraph detection • Photo highlighting from your library • Page number detection • ISBN barcode scanning • Kindle highlights import • CSV highlights import ORGANIZE • Personal book library • Book collections and reading status • Tags, notes, page numbers, and favorites • Powerful search and filters REVISIT • Highlight reminders • Home Screen widgets with random highlights • Siri Shortcuts • Offline mode SHARE & EXPORT • Beautiful highlight sharing cards • Bulk highlights export • Export to multiple formats • Include notes, tags, and page numbers • iPad drag and drop highlighting Highlighted is free to start. The core reading and highlight experience is free, and Highlighted+ unlocks optional power features. ______ Privacy Policy: https://highlighted-app.webflow.io/terms-and-policies#privacy-policy-heading Terms: https://highlighted-app.webflow.io/terms-and-policies#terms-of-service-heading ______ ABOUT ME I'm Damir, an independent creator from Europe who loves to read. Say hello at damir.stuhec@gmail.com

About

Margins

This app helps you discover, track, and share your reading journey. It offers detailed tracking options, customizable features, and powerful search capabilities. Stay focused on your reading goals with built-in tools to minimize distractions.

Highlights
  • Half-star ratings
  • Track recommendations
  • Customizable book covers
  • Fuzzy date tracking
  • Advanced book search
  • Reading goals
  • Reading timer
  • Distraction blocking
Features
Read full description

Margins is a beautifully designed app for people who love books. - App of the Day in 20+ countries - 4.9 rating (40,000+ reviews) - Featured in USA Today, BookRiot, and more TRACK YOUR READING - Log books, series, authors, recommendations, and more - Track Strava-style goals, stats, and streaks - Curate lists of books you care about SEARCH BOOKS BY VIBES - Search books by mood, plot, setting, vibe, and more - Try things like “books like 1920s Paris,” “thriller with a love triangle,” or “indie romantasy” - You can even turn images from Pinterest or your camera roll into book recommendations BLOCK DISTRACTING APPS - Block social media, notifications, and other apps while you read - Use meditation reading timer for soothing rain sounds CHOOSE YOUR COVERS - Pick the cover that matches your version of the book - Curate covers to fit your aesthetic - Sort your library by color CUSTOMIZE YOUR PROFILE - Turn your picture into a sketched portrait you’d see in a book - Show off your favorite books SEE WHAT FRIENDS ARE READING - Find and follow other book lovers - See what they’re reading in Stories - Enjoy gorgeous, hand-illustrated monthly recaps INVITE YOUR BOOK CLUB - Schedule gatherings - Suggest and vote on books - Log your club’s history LEAVE GOODREADS FOR GOOD - Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Fable - Half-star ratings - Support a small, indie team WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING “LOVE this app! so easy to import data from goodreads. it excels where others fail. like letterboxd for books. Really glad there’s finally a good book app out there, i’ve been waiting for something like this!” — scruffythejanitor01 “I love the UI of this app, easy to use and aesthetically pleasing. Also, I've been struggling getting back into reading and the screentime feature has helped me loads. I haven't been able to read this much since 4 years ago. Thank you Margins” — mitakaluvr “The search by vibes is so cool. I am a WWII buff, but this search popped up a two-book WWII saga I had never even heard of, much less read. It ended up being my top read of 2025.” —Michigancolt FREE TO USE Almost all features are free to use. An optional subscription unlocks premium features and priority support. FOLLOW US Instagram: @readwithmargins TikTok: @margins TERMS OF USE Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Margins Terms of Service: https://margins.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://margins.app/privacy “Without the margins, writing is just words on a page. But with them, each of us is invited to leave our mark in the endless conversation between books and the people that love them.” — Excerpt from the Margins manifesto

Screenshots

Book Tracker4 screens
Margins4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Margins at every 4 days against Book Tracker's every 5 weeks. Margins also leads on ratings volume (20K vs 745) and chart position (#100 vs unranked). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Book Tracker sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Margins sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Book Tracker against 4.9 for Margins. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Margins has 20K ratings behind it against 745, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Book Tracker ships an update every 5 weeks, Margins every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Book Tracker versus Margins: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBook TrackerMargins
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (745 ratings)4.9 (20K ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings74520K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#100 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.417.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB115 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperDamir StuhecParatext Inc.

Customer experience

Book Tracker

All ratings733 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews356 reviews
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.7%
Negative3.4%

Margins

All ratings19,672 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.6%

User reviews

Book Tracker

From 745 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🚀 Accurate text recognition
  • 💡 Useful for readers and students
  • 🔖 Allows organizing highlights by book and tags
  • 🔒 No ads or in-app purchases

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with text ordering and formatting
  • 🔍 Limited search and filtering options
  • 📱 Needs offline support and sync capabilities
  • 🖌️ Lack of formatting options for highlights

Margins

From 20K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing design
  • 🔍 Helpful search and recommendation features
  • 📚 Comprehensive book tracking capabilities
  • 🔄 Smooth import from Goodreads

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Missing books in the database
  • 🔍 Limited search and filtering options
  • 🔒 Concerns about using phone number for sign-up
  • 🔢 Lack of social features and community

Bugs and requests

Book Tracker

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes or freezes
  • Issues with recognizing text from curved pages
  • Problems with losing previously saved highlights

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to highlight and annotate PDFs
  • Integrate with ebook readers like Kindle
  • Implement cloud sync and backup
  • Add more customization options for highlights
  • Improve search and filtering functionality

Margins

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Reading time not saving correctly
  • Inability to delete or edit books from lists
  • Inconsistent behavior when importing data from Goodreads

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to track page progress and percentage read
  • Implement a profile system with custom avatars and bios
  • Introduce a social feed to share reading activity with friends
  • Add more advanced statistics and reading analytics

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Book Tracker

Subscriptions3
  • Highlighted Club Monthly$2.991 Month
  • plus weekly$4.997 Days
  • plus yearly3 Days trial$44.991 Year
One-time3
  • Small tip$9.00
  • Medium tip$25.00
  • Large tip$49.00
3 purchases

Margins

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Annual$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Book Tracker free?
Book Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Margins free?
Margins is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Book Tracker or Margins?
Margins is rated higher. Book Tracker averages 4.9 out of 5 from 745 ratings, while Margins averages 4.9 from 20K ratings.
Do Book Tracker or Margins have ads?
Neither Book Tracker nor Margins shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Book Tracker or Margins?
Book Tracker ships an update every 5 weeks, and Margins every 4 days. Most recently, Book Tracker was updated on October 24, 2026 and Margins on October 24, 2026.

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