Comparison

Firstext vs Marginalias

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

Head to head
About

Firstext

This app is a straightforward text editor designed for quick note-taking and text creation. It automatically saves your work and allows for easy sharing to other applications with customizable actions. Advanced features like search, replace, and character counting are also included.

Highlights
  • Instant text input on launch
  • Automatic text saving and restoration
  • Customizable text sharing actions
  • Cursor movement by swiping
  • Search and replace functionality
  • Character and line counting
  • Font size adjustment
Features
Read full description

Firstext is a simple text editor application. I named it "First" + "Text" = "Firstext" with the aim of making it the "first step" in all kinds of text creation. Firstext has the following features. ・Start typing as soon as the application is launched. ・The text you type is automatically saved and can be restored at any time. ・Ability to freely share text to other apps by creating and adding share actions to suit your needs. There is no functionality for managing multiple texts or notes, decorating text, or inserting photos. *Before removing the limitation by in-app purchase, the number of shared actions is limited to 10, and the number of saved history is limited to 20. Please understand. After confirming the usability of the application, you can use it without restrictions by making an in-app purchase. Main functions and features ・Input text as soon as the application is launched. ・Automatic saving and restoration of text ・Ability to create and add shared actions. ・Ability to move the cursor by swiping left and right. ・Ability to search and replace text. ・Ability to search and delete history. ・Ability to count the number of characters and lines. ・Ability to change the font size of text. ・Ability to change icons. ・URL scheme support - Launch → firstext:// - Startup by replacing the current text with the clipboard contents → firstext://clipReplace - Starts by appending the clipboard contents to the end of the current text → firstext://clipAdd - Inserts the clipboard content at the cursor position of the current text → firstext://clipInsert - Starts with replacing the current text with the specified text → firstext://textReplace?text=[text] - Appends the specified text to the end of the current text → firstext://textAdd?text=[text] - Inserts the specified text at the cursor position of the current text → firstext://textInsert?text=[text] The following features will be added in future updates Synchronization of text, shared actions, and history with other devices via iCloud *I have confirmed an issue where an alert regarding pasting is displayed every time when using clipboard-related URL schemes on iOS 16 or later.  This issue can be avoided by updating to iOS16.1 or later and making the following settings from the Settings app.  (1) Select "Firstext" in the Settings app and select "Paste from Other Apps".  (2) Change the setting to "Allow".  *Notification about pasting will appear even after changing to "Allow". Due to the limitation of iOS, you cannot turn off this notification.

About

Marginalias

Features
Read full description

Keep the quote with its source Evidence Board collects exact passages across your documents, with topics and notes. Verify each clip against the local source and share a focused Markdown evidence sheet. • Open a document → Clip evidence. Enter an exact passage of at least three characters and choose its occurrence. • Save a topic and note with the clip. Open Evidence Board from the library to find and review clips. • Open a clip to verify its quote and source hash, edit notes, or share the visible board. Exact case-sensitive matching shows up to 32 occurrences. A source hash identifies the local text version; it is not proof of authorship or truth. Up to 256 clips and 1 MiB are retained. Unavailable or changed sources are reported. Marginalias is a private reading companion for your own documents. Import text-based PDFs, plain text, or Markdown notes, then use on-device intelligence to summarize, ask questions, and pull out useful structure without sending your content to a developer server. Build a local library of documents, open the source text whenever you need it, and keep AI output close to the material it came from. Marginalias is designed for focused review, research, note cleanup, study, and document triage. Features: - Import text-based PDFs, plain text, and Markdown - Keep a searchable local document library - Generate concise document summaries - Ask questions grounded in document excerpts - Inspect exact evidence excerpts, character ranges, and PDF pages behind generated claims - See the retrieved context used for each answer - Extract key points, action items, outlines, and glossary terms - Copy and share generated output - Use light, dark, or system appearance - Review a bundled sample document before importing your own files Privacy: Marginalias does not require an account, does not include analytics or advertising SDKs, and does not collect your documents or AI output. Documents and generated output stay on your device. Device note: AI features use Apple on-device intelligence. If Apple Intelligence is unavailable or not enabled, importing and reading documents still work and the app explains the requirement.

Screenshots

Firstext4 screens
Marginalias3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Firstext at Free against Marginalias's $3.99. Firstext also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Marginalias's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

Firstext is free to download; Marginalias costs $3.99 up front. Firstext sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Marginalias asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Firstext ships an update every 2 weeks, Marginalias every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 3 level
Firstext versus Marginalias: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirstextMarginalias
PriceFree — better$3.99
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAkihiro UsuiRobert Corbin

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Firstext

One-time4
  • Snack-Sized Tip$0.49
  • Restriction Removal$1.99
  • Coffee-Sized Tip$1.99
Show 1 more
  • Lunch-Sized Tip$3.99
None

Marginalias

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Firstext free?
Firstext is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Marginalias free?
Marginalias costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Firstext or Marginalias have ads?
Firstext shows ads; Marginalias does not.
Which is updated more often, Firstext or Marginalias?
Firstext ships an update every 2 weeks, and Marginalias every 5 weeks. Most recently, Firstext was updated on October 3, 2026 and Marginalias on October 9, 2026.

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