Whiz Reader vs MarginNote 4
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Whiz Reader
This app helps you read foreign language content by providing instant word definitions and text translation. It supports PDF annotation, OCR, document scanning, and clipboard translation for a seamless reading experience.
- Word definition lookup
- Text translation
- Real-time split-screen translation
- PDF annotation with Apple Pencil
- OCR and document scanning
- Clipboard translation
- Web page to PDF conversion
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Whiz支持多种语言,是帮助阅读外文的APP。Whiz支持文件和任意网页的单词释义查询和文本选择翻译;更支持实时翻译,选择文本即可即时获取翻译。此外,文档标注、OCR和文档扫描功能使得阅读更加便捷。 点击查词 - 点击PDF文档上的任意单词,或自由选取单词,即可获取其释义。 - 可以选择使用系统内置词典,或者使用提供的在线词典进行查询。 文本翻译 - 选取一段文本即可快速进行翻译。 - 支持任意语言。 实时翻译 在阅读界面中,使用分屏视图即可进行实时翻译。在阅读界面选择文本,另一栏将自动显示对应的翻译。 PDF文档标注 可在PDF文档内使用Apple Pencil进行标注。可使用钢笔、荧光笔和橡皮三种标记工具,支持导出带标注的文件,支持设备间共享。暂不支持触摸添加标注。 剪贴板翻译 将应用分屏,在其他应用中复制内容,即可在本应用中获取翻译。 OCR与文档扫描 - 支持PDF文件的OCR功能,可将扫描版文件转换为可选择文本的、适用于Whiz单词查询和文本翻译的文件,可在应用内阅读,也可导出用于其他应用。 - 提供内置文档扫描仪,可用于扫描文档并保存至应用中。通过OCR功能还可转换为可选择文本的PDF文档。 生成PDF 可将网页及其他类型的文档保存为PDF文件。 单词收藏和文本收藏 查词时可收藏当前单词,可在收藏夹内查看、导出。另外,选取一段文本,可将其添加到收藏。 注:上述部分功能需要解锁高级功能。
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MarginNote 4 at 59% against Whiz Reader's 0%. MarginNote 4 also leads on ratings volume (716 vs 1). Whiz Reader's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Whiz Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and MarginNote 4 sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Whiz Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MarginNote 4 has 716 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of Whiz Reader's written reviews are positive against 59% of MarginNote 4's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Whiz Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, MarginNote 4 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 13, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Whiz Reader | MarginNote 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.5 (716 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 58.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 716 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 330 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yesheng Liang | Beijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., Ltd |
Customer experience
Whiz Reader
MarginNote 4
Bugs and requests
Whiz Reader
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
Whiz Reader
- 高级功能$0.99
MarginNote 4
- 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
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- Subscription to MAX (Annually)1 Month trial$12.991 Year
- MarginNote Max Annual1 Month trial$16.991 Year
- 14 days Free Trial2 variantsFree
- Upgrade to PRO from MN3(iOS)$4.99
- Unlock PRO Forever (New)$12.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- 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









