# Notehot vs MarginNote 5

The clearest difference is price: MarginNote 5 at Free against Notehot's $0.99. MarginNote 5 also leads on ratings volume (739 vs 175). Notehot's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

MarginNote 5 is free to download; Notehot costs $0.99 up front. Notehot sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days 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.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Notehot against 4.5 for MarginNote 5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 175 and 739 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of Notehot's written reviews are positive against 58% of MarginNote 5's.

Notehot ships an update every 11 days, MarginNote 5 every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notehot | MarginNote 5 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.5 (175 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notehot-notes-and-voice-text/id1491473755/reviews) | **[4.5 (739 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginnote-5-ai-notesmindmap/id1531657269/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 175 | **739** |
| Positive reviews | **62.7% of reviews** | 58.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 11 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 134 MB | 372 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Play Era](https://appshunter.io/developer/1491473754) | [Beijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/723205556) |

## What reviewers say

### Notehot

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notehot-notes-and-voice-text/id1491473755)

This app offers a versatile note-taking experience, combining text, handwriting, audio, and photos. It features speech-to-text conversion, OCR for image text extraction, and iCloud synchronization across devices. Organize notes with hierarchical folders and set timed reminders for important tasks.

**Highlights:** Multi-form recording (text, hand-drawn, audio, photo), Speech to text conversion, OCR text extraction from images, Hierarchical folder management, Timed reminders, iCloud synchronization, Export to PDF, PNG, JPEG

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| VIP Subscription | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| VIP Subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| VIP Subscription | $5.99 | per 3 months |
| VIP Subscription | $9.99 | per year |
| VIP Subscription | $17.99 | per year |
| VIP Subscription | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Very convenient for note-taking
- 👍 Smooth and clean interface
- 👍 User-friendly and convenient
- 👍 Good for recording things
- 👍 AI text generation is great

**What reviewers complain about**

- 😞 Misleading pricing, asks for subscription after download
- 😞 In-app purchases required for voice-to-text
- 😞 Limited language choices
- 😞 Requires money immediately after installation
- 😞 App is not free

**Reported bugs**

- App freezes and crashes
- Lost entire notes after app freezes
- Files are stretched or narrowed after import
- Imported files take up the entire screen
- Search function rarely finds existing text

**Requested features**

- Add Dark Mode
- Add smart shapes for diagraming
- Add a paper guide (college or wide)
- Add a 'pen' tool similar to pencil and marker
- Ability to add images


### MarginNote 5

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginnote-5-ai-notesmindmap/id1531657269)

This app enhances reading and studying with integrated note-taking and flashcard creation. It offers task-based templates for focused learning, AI assistance for content breakdown, and spaced repetition for effective review. Organize your research and master material with a comprehensive study workflow.

**Highlights:** Task-based reading templates, AI-powered content breakdown, Integrated flashcard creation, Spaced repetition review, Mind map organization, PDF and EPUB import, Sync across devices

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscription to MAX (3 months) | $4.99 | per 3 months |
| Subscription to MAX (Annually) | $12.99 | per year |
| MarginNote Max Annual | $16.99 | per year |
| 14 days Free Trial | Free | one-time |
| Upgrade to PRO from MN3(iOS) | $4.99 | one-time |
| Unlock PRO Forever (New) | $12.99 | one-time |
| Upgrade to MAX from MN3(macOS) | $19.99 | one-time |
| Unlock MAX based on PRO (New) | $40.00 | one-time |
| Unlock MAX Forever (New) | $51.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful features
- 📚 Great for academic/research use
- 👍 Useful note-taking and organization
- 🖊️ Improved handwriting and annotation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🕰️ Slow and laggy sync between devices
- 🤯 Steep learning curve, poor documentation
- 💰 Expensive upgrade from previous version

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notehot free?

Notehot costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is MarginNote 5 free?

MarginNote 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notehot or MarginNote 5?

MarginNote 5 is rated higher. Notehot averages 4.5 out of 5 from 175 ratings, while MarginNote 5 averages 4.5 from 739 ratings.

### Do Notehot or MarginNote 5 have ads?

Neither Notehot nor MarginNote 5 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notehot or MarginNote 5?

Notehot ships an update every 11 days, and MarginNote 5 every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notehot was updated on November 3, 2026 and MarginNote 5 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.*