Comparison

MClass vs Rectoly for Zotero

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

Head to head
About

MClass

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・Support multi-views to display in one screen, and switch the source views by one click. ・Take a snapshot of the current screen and share by multiple ways. ・Record the video and audio of current screen and save in the external storage device. More features, please download to experience

About

Rectoly for Zotero

Features
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Rectoly is the research-focused PDF reader built for Zotero users. Your library stays in Zotero β€” Rectoly makes reading and annotating on iPhone, iPad and Mac a genuine pleasure. READING MODE Academic papers are often formatted in two columns, making them hard to read on a phone. Reading Mode reflows the content into a single, clean column β€” without losing access to the original PDF. Jump back to the exact page anytime. ANNOTATE IN READING MODE Unlike other readers, Rectoly lets you highlight, underline, add sticky notes, and draw with Apple Pencil β€” all while staying in Reading Mode. No need to switch back to the raw PDF just to mark something up. ON-DEVICE TRANSLATION Read an English paper in your own language, in Reading Mode and on the PDF page. Translation runs on this device; the paper is never sent to a translation service. If you agree, translations are saved to your Zotero library for your other devices (using your Zotero storage). The app's translation model (about 2.5 GB) needs 8 GB of memory or more. Translates English papers into the app's 19 other display languages: Hindi by the system's translator (iOS 26 or later), all the rest by the app's own model. TOOLS FOR READING Read Aloud: hear the text in Reading Mode, in the system voice or the VoiceOver one. Choose the typeface and line spacing in Reading Mode. β€œDarken PDF pages” softens text and paper to gray tones while leaving figures and photos in their original colors when possible. SPLIT VIEW INSIDE THE READER Keep Reading Mode open while glancing at a figure, the original layout, or another section β€” side by side, all within a single window. No multi-window setup required. RESEARCH THEMES Send a passage to a theme, with its source. Keep the theme beside the paper, or open it as a sheet. Export as Markdown or Word (.docx). ACROSS PAPERS The library column has a new Across papers tab: search the annotations, the text and your handwriting in your whole library at once. FIGURES, TABLES AND A COMPARISON Save a figure as PNG and a table as CSV β€” one paper at a time, or your whole library in one go. Compare many papers' abstracts, methods, results and conclusions in one table, one row per paper. YOUR DRAFT BESIDE THE PAPER Open the document you are writing (.docx, .doc, .odt, .rtf, Markdown, plain text β€” password-protected ones too) in a column next to the paper. It re-reads the file every time you save. CITING AND NOTES Copy with page, copy BibTeX or citation keys (Zotero 7's keys and Better BibTeX's are used), and a Notes folder for Obsidian and others β€” with keyboard shortcuts you can change. ZOTERO SYNC Annotations you create are written back to Zotero automatically. Highlights from Zotero Desktop or other apps appear in Rectoly automatically. Your notes are always in one place. WEBDAV AND LINKED FILES If Zotero syncs your files over WebDAV, Rectoly can now open them β€” and PDFs you add in the app go to your WebDAV server too. Files that ZotFile or ZotMoov keep in Dropbox or Google Drive open once you choose the folder. WORKS OFFLINE Downloaded PDFs and annotations are stored locally. Read anywhere, anytime β€” even without an internet connection. SEARCH YOUR HANDWRITING Notes you write with Apple Pencil are now read as text on your device, so you can search them (iPadOS 27 and later). 14-DAY FREE TRIAL β†’ ONE-TIME PURCHASE Try every Pro feature for free for 14 days. Unlock with a one-time payment β€” no subscription, no recurring charges.

Screenshots

MClass2 screens
Rectoly for Zotero4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MClass at none against Rectoly for Zotero's 2. MClass also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Rectoly for Zotero's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 4 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Rectoly for Zotero sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. MClass asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MClass ships an update every 4 months, Rectoly for Zotero daily. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
MClass versus Rectoly for Zotero: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMClassRectoly for Zotero
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsDaily β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 β€” better17.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size57 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerε—δΊ¬ζžεŸŸδΏ‘ζ―η§‘ζŠ€ζœ‰ι™ε…¬εΈTakaki Takemura

In-app purchases

None

MClass

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Rectoly for Zotero

One-time2
  • 14-day TrialFree
  • Rectoly Pro (one-time)$19.99

Questions

Is MClass free?
MClass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rectoly for Zotero free?
Rectoly for Zotero is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MClass or Rectoly for Zotero have ads?
Neither MClass nor Rectoly for Zotero shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MClass or Rectoly for Zotero?
MClass ships an update every 4 months, and Rectoly for Zotero daily. Most recently, MClass was updated on October 5, 2026 and Rectoly for Zotero on October 11, 2026.

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