Comparison

MarginNote 5 vs Quick Draw

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

Head to head
About

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.

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
Read full description

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

About

Quick Draw

Easily draw and annotate directly on web pages within the Safari browser. This tool allows for immediate on-screen drawing, making it simple to highlight or mark up content as you browse.

Highlights
  • Draw on web pages
  • Safari browser extension
  • On-screen annotation
  • Immediate drawing capability
Features
Read full description

Quick Draw - Need a tool to draw quickly on web pages? You are coming to the right place! Quick Draw is a wonderful tool that can help you to draw everything you want immediately on screen through Safari browser. ( base on new Safari Extensions ). Quick Draw is really useful and suitable for every person to use. PURCHASE RIGHT AWAY! WITH ONLY 1.99$ to own this marvelous tool for permanence.

Screenshots

MarginNote 54 screens
Quick Draw4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MarginNote 5 at Free against Quick Draw's $1.99. MarginNote 5 also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.0) and review sentiment (58% vs 30%). Quick Draw's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks). On ads and device support 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

MarginNote 5 is free to download; Quick Draw costs $1.99 up front. MarginNote 5 sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 3 months. Quick Draw asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MarginNote 5 holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MarginNote 5 has 740 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of MarginNote 5's written reviews are positive against 30% of Quick Draw's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MarginNote 5 ships an update every 3 weeks, Quick Draw daily. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
MarginNote 5 versus Quick Draw: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginNote 5Quick Draw
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.5 (740 ratings) — better3.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews58.5% of reviews — better30.0% of reviews
Number of ratings740 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size372 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBeijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., LtdMai Tuan Viet

Customer experience

MarginNote 5

All ratings739 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews568 reviews
Positive58.5%
Neutral15.5%
Negative26.1%

Quick Draw

All ratings6 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive30.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative60.0%

Bugs and requests

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

Quick Draw

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

MarginNote 5

Subscriptions3
  • 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
One-time6
  • 14 days Free Trial2 variantsFree
  • Upgrade to PRO from MN3(iOS)$4.99
  • Unlock PRO Forever (New)$12.99
Show 3 more
  • Upgrade to MAX from MN3(macOS)$19.99
  • Unlock MAX based on PRO (New)$40.00
  • Unlock MAX Forever (New)$51.99
None

Quick Draw

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MarginNote 5 free?
MarginNote 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Quick Draw free?
Quick Draw costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MarginNote 5 or Quick Draw?
MarginNote 5 is rated higher. MarginNote 5 averages 4.5 out of 5 from 740 ratings, while Quick Draw averages 3.0 from 6 ratings.
Do MarginNote 5 or Quick Draw have ads?
Neither MarginNote 5 nor Quick Draw shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MarginNote 5 or Quick Draw?
MarginNote 5 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Quick Draw daily. Most recently, MarginNote 5 was updated on November 7, 2026 and Quick Draw on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons