Taio vs MarginNote 5
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Taio
This app offers advanced text processing for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It features a robust markdown editor, clipboard management with iCloud sync, and a powerful actions system for custom workflows, including JavaScript support.
- Markdown editor with CommonMark and GitHub Flavored support
- Clipboard management with iCloud sync and widgets
- Customizable text actions and workflows
- JavaScript scripting for advanced automation
- Multi-tab editing and focus mode
- Export to multiple formats
- Full text and in-document search
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> Trusted by more than 200K users. > Featured as "Be the First to Try These Apps" and "Hot This Week" by Apple. > Featured by well-known media like iMore and MacStories. # Taio A modern app for text processing on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, provides seamless experience for clipboard, markdown editing and text workflows. Taio supports Universal Purchase, pay once to use on iPhone, iPad and Mac devices. ## Main Features ### Clipboard Taio takes clipboard data as one of the input sources, you can capture it quickly for *temporary* use. Saved records can be synchronized across your iOS devices using iCloud, we also provide beautiful home screen widgets for better experience. ### Editor Taio provides a full-fledged **Markdown** editor, it supports `CommonMark` and `GitHub Flavored` standards. Instead of telling you everything, we would like to highlight some great stuff here: - Full text search, in-document search - Built-in image uploading - Focus mode - Multi-Tab editing - Multiple color themes - Toolbar for beginners - Outline view - Math formulas and diagrams - Tags, wikilinks and backlinks - Export to multiple formats - Dynamic text in snippets - Open file system that can be accessed by other apps - Syntax highlighting for common programming languages There are more interesting features we cannot cover here, please try it out! ### Actions Text actions in Taio is a powerful mechanism to provide extensibility for both **clipboard** and **editor**, it works the same as the `Shortcuts` app. You can build your own workflows using several action blocks, with support for variables and control flows. Furthermore, if the built-in actions don't meet your needs, you can even write action blocks using **JavaScript**. The JavaScript engine in Taio is powered by JSBox, it provides tons of API bindings to interact with iOS. ## Customer Support Feel free to reach us out if you have any suggestions or ideas. - Website: https://taio.app - Email: hi@taio.app - Twitter: @TaioApp Privacy policy: https://docs.taio.app/#/privacy Terms of service: https://docs.taio.app/#/terms Thank you so much for reading this, we hope you enjoy using our app!
MarginNote 5
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.
- Task-based reading templates
- AI-powered content breakdown
- Integrated flashcard creation
- Spaced repetition review
- Mind map organization
- PDF and EPUB import
- Sync across devices
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MarginNote is a PDF tool for in-depth reading and study. Keep PDF highlights linked to mind-map cards, then add those cards to review. MarginNote 5 introduces task-based templates for reading, question practice, and vocabulary. MarginNote has evolved since 2013. The upgrade from MarginNote 4 is free. Your study sets, notes, and purchases remain intact. MARGINNOTE 5: ONE TASK, ONE SETUP • Templates — a template sets the bottom tools, menus, pens, and excerpt colors. The "Standard" template has four modes: Excerpt, Handwrite, Organize, and Recall. Each mode groups tools for that task. • Template Gallery — install official templates in one tap. Some templates include examples to help you get started: – Card Practice: write answers by hand on question cards, check your answers, and focus your next review on questions you haven't mastered yet. AI can split a whole workbook into cards. – Reading Vocabulary: collect words while reading English; an offline dictionary provides base forms, pronunciation, and definitions, and finished cards join review when automatic review is enabled. • Make it yours — the corresponding controls are highlighted as you edit. Find features and settings with Feature Search, and export or share your templates. • Traditional Interface — open the template menu and choose "Traditional Interface" (except on iPhone Duo). SYNC YOU CAN SEE The home screen shows where sync stands. The Sync Center lists notes and original documents separately and tells you when a document is still downloading. Manual sync reports results and offers a protective snapshot. Applying cloud changes also protects local study data. THE CARD AT THE CENTER • Organize excerpts by chapter; for books without a table of contents, AI can build one. • Title Links — notes on concepts you've studied resurface as you read new documents. • Extend — open writing space anywhere on a PDF: inline, in the margin, or folded away. AI AS AN ASSISTANT, NOT A SUBSTITUTE AI Breakdown · Question Extraction · AI TOC · AI OCR card templates · translation · chat. Save any answer as a card, or turn its outline into mind-map branches. Online AI sends task text or images to the service provider used for the request. REVIEW: THINK FIRST, THEN LOOK Use Recall mode to hide and reveal answers in the mind map. Add cards to a review deck for FSRS spaced repetition. Write directly on card snapshots while you review. On iOS/iPadOS/macOS 26+, when Apple Intelligence is enabled and its model is available on a supported device and in a supported region, on-device recall hints work offline without MarginNote credits. THE FULL WORKFLOW PDF, EPUB, Office-to-PDF import (online), video and audio · Zotero, cloud drives and external folders · side-by-side documents · handwriting layers and mind-map backgrounds · mind-map PDF export (structure or card flow) · read aloud · fast OCR WHO IT IS FOR Anyone who rereads material and needs to remember it: medical and law students, exam takers, researchers, language learners, serious readers. ACROSS YOUR DEVICES iPhone, iPad and Mac with one Apple Account; iCloud syncs study sets, notes and review progress. Native Apple Pencil handwriting on iPad. Also adapted for iPhone Duo. ABOUT PURCHASES Free to download. Some features require Pro (one-time unlock) or Max (subscription or one-time unlock). MarginNote Agent requires Max and uses MarginNote credits. Some online AI uses MarginNote credits; external AI is billed by its provider. A Max subscription includes 500 credits/month while active. Questions: service@marginnote.com Terms of Use: https://dist.marginnote.cn/MarginNote_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf Privacy Policy: https://dist.marginnote.cn/MarginNote_Privacy_Policy.pdf
Screenshots
Verdict
Taio and MarginNote 5 both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 78% of Taio's written reviews are positive against 58% of MarginNote 5's. Taio also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). MarginNote 5's advantage is monetization model (freemium vs paid). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Taio sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month 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 — 4.6 for Taio against 4.5 for MarginNote 5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 669 and 740 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Taio's written reviews are positive against 58% of MarginNote 5's.
Taio ships an update weekly, MarginNote 5 every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.
| Parameter | Taio | MarginNote 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (669 ratings) — better | 4.5 (740 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews — better | 58.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 669 | 740 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 372 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 颖 钟 | Beijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., Ltd |
Customer experience
Taio
MarginNote 5
User reviews
Taio
From 669 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great app
- 👍 Smooth and powerful
- 🔒 Robust features
- 💡 Useful actions and automation
- 👍 Clean and well-designed interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sync issues
- 🐛 Crashes and stability problems
- 💰 Expensive premium features
MarginNote 5
From 740 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful features
- 📚 Great for academic/research use
- 👍 Useful note-taking and organization
- 🖊️ Improved handwriting and annotation
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🕰️ Slow and laggy sync between devices
- 🤯 Steep learning curve, poor documentation
- 💰 Expensive upgrade from previous version
Bugs and requests
Taio
Reported bugs
3 issues- Auto-numbering issues
- Export functionality not working
- Slow performance on some devices
Requested features
5 requests- Support for other cloud storage services
- Live Markdown preview
- Customizable themes and icons
- Improved tab and list management
- Spotlight search integration
MarginNote 5
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
Taio
- Taio Pro Monthly3 Days trial3 variants$1.491 Month
- Taio Pro Yearly14 Days trial$10.491 Year
- Taio Pro Yearly14 Days trial$11.991 Year
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- Taio Pro Yearly14 Days trial$14.991 Year
- Taio Pro Lifetime$29.99
- Taio Pro Lifetime$37.99
- Taio Pro Lifetime$46.99
MarginNote 5
- Subscription to MAX (3 months)7 Days trial$4.993 Months
- 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
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- Upgrade to MAX from MN3(macOS)$19.99
- Unlock MAX based on PRO (New)$40.00
- Unlock MAX Forever (New)$51.99









