Comparison

MarginNote 5 vs Calflow

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 study 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 efficiently.

Highlights
  • Task-based reading templates
  • AI-powered content breakdown and question extraction
  • Integrated flashcard creation and spaced repetition
  • Mind-map organization of notes
  • PDF and EPUB import
  • Handwriting and annotation tools
  • 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

Calflow

This app integrates with your existing iOS Reminders and Calendars to help you track how you spend your time. It offers features for daily planning, time tracking, and goal setting, providing insights into your productivity within the Apple ecosystem.

Highlights
  • 2-way sync with iOS Reminders & Calendar
  • Time tracking for reminders and events
  • Time distribution insights
  • Powerful tag system for filtering
  • Goal and habit tracking
  • Apple Health and app usage sync
Features
Read full description

If you’re using Apple Reminders and iOS Calendar/ Google Calendar in your workflow, and you wonder how you spend your time, tasks, daily activities, etc, it’s for you. Calflow is a powerful time-tracking planner based on iOS Reminders & Calendar, helping you keep track of your day and stay productive within the Apple ecosystem. Daily & Weekly Planner ◆ 2-way sync with iOS Reminders & Calendar (Free) ◆ Use Spaces to separate personal and work tasks, helping you declutter your schedule and stay focused Streamline Time-tracking into your Apple Workflow ◆ Track how much time you spend on your Reminders & events: - Reminders: Auto-populate time entries in Apple Calendar - Events: Auto-update your planned event details in Apple Calendar Apple Calendar Time Insights ◆ Also supports Google Calendar ◆ Track your time distribution across day/week/month/year Powerful Tag System ◆ Create smart tags to filter your calendar event entries, and learn about their activity across day/week/month/year ◆ Create groups to analyze time from multiple perspectives Goals, Habits Tracking ◆ Track goals, habits based on your iOS Reminders & Calendars to help ensure your time align with your goals Track anything and sync them to iOS Calendar ◆ Apple Health sync (mindful minutes, sleep time, workout time) ◆ App usage time tracking (via Shortcuts) ◆ Daily activities (via tracker widgets) Need help or have ideas to share? We’re always here: contact@calflow.app Terms of Use(EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://calflow.app/privacypolicy/

Screenshots

MarginNote 54 screens
Calflow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Calflow at 4.9 against MarginNote 5's 4.5. Calflow also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 58%). MarginNote 5's advantage is ratings volume (736 vs 131). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. MarginNote 5 sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Calflow sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Calflow holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MarginNote 5 has 736 ratings behind it against 131, 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 89% of Calflow's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MarginNote 5 ships an update every 3 weeks, Calflow every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
MarginNote 5 versus Calflow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginNote 5Calflow
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (736 ratings)4.9 (131 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.5% of reviews88.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings736 — better131
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size371 MB183 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBeijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., LtdKyovan Ltd.

Customer experience

MarginNote 5

All ratings736 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews568 reviews
Positive58.5%
Neutral15.5%
Negative26.1%

Calflow

All ratings129 ratings
Positive98.4%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews108 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral4.6%
Negative6.5%

User reviews

MarginNote 5

From 736 App Store ratings

What 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

Calflow

From 131 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⏱️ Excellent time tracking with automatic logging
  • 📱 Seamless cross-device synchronization (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch)
  • 📅 Perfect integration with Apple Calendar and Reminders
  • 🎯 Comprehensive goal-setting and insights features
  • 🧩 Simple, intuitive user interface with low friction

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Timer synchronization issues across devices
  • 🐛 Confusing insights calculation (double-counting existing calendar events)
  • 🐛 Apple Watch complications not fully functional
  • 🌙 No dark mode support
  • 📱 iPad lacks some features available on iPhone

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

Calflow

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Timer doesn't sync across devices (iPhone to iPad/Mac)
  • Live Activity not showing on iPad when timer active
  • Apple Watch timers not accessible on other devices
  • Widget display showing only black and white screen
  • Insights double-counting time on existing calendar events
Show 6 more
  • Goals feature sometimes fails to record correctly
  • iPad reminders list not syncing with iPhone
  • Timer in notification center and widget not syncing
  • iPad doesn't show timer notifications in notification center
  • Apple Watch connectivity issues after paid subscription activation
  • Mac and iPad timer not showing when started on iPhone

Requested features

27 requests
  • Dark mode support
  • Mac menu bar timer widget
  • Multiple simultaneous timers on iPhone
  • Larger font size options
  • Ability to copy and paste calendar events
Show 22 more
  • Custom goal cadences (not just daily/weekly/monthly)
  • Daily focus note area (like weekly focus)
  • Hashtag support in notes for better app integration
  • Apple Watch complications
  • Faster widget refresh rates
  • Drag and drop support for weekly plans
  • Collaboration/sharing features
  • Data export to CSV/Excel format
  • URL field for events and tasks
  • Callback URL support
  • Notification/reminder alerts for events
  • Milestone and skill tree features
  • Import data from other time tracking apps
  • Japanese language support
  • Custom day start time for analytics
  • Notebook/note-taking integration
  • Customizable todo background colors
  • Reminders list and tags binding
  • Mac automation scheduling
  • Website usage tracking on Mac
  • Ambient sounds and tick sounds for focus mode
  • Collaborative task management

In-app purchases

12 purchases

MarginNote 5

Subscriptions5
  • 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
Show 2 more
  • Subscription to MAX (Annually)1 Month trial$12.991 Year
  • MarginNote Max Annual1 Month trial$16.991 Year
One-time7
  • 14 days Free Trial2 variantsFree
  • Upgrade to PRO from MN3(iOS)$4.99
  • Unlock PRO Forever (New)$12.99
Show 4 more
  • 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
3 purchases

Calflow

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly plan$3.991 Month
  • Annual plan7 Days trial$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • One-time purchase$37.99

Questions

Is MarginNote 5 free?
MarginNote 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Calflow free?
Calflow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MarginNote 5 or Calflow?
Calflow is rated higher. MarginNote 5 averages 4.5 out of 5 from 736 ratings, while Calflow averages 4.9 from 131 ratings.
Do MarginNote 5 or Calflow have ads?
Neither MarginNote 5 nor Calflow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MarginNote 5 or Calflow?
MarginNote 5 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Calflow every 10 days. Most recently, MarginNote 5 was updated on October 30, 2026 and Calflow on October 30, 2026.

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