Comparison

Bookjournal.app vs Margin

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

Head to head
About

Bookjournal.app

Easily log books you've read, record ratings, thoughts, and notes. Enhance your entries with stickers and share your favorite reads with others. This app offers a convenient digital alternative to traditional reading journals.

Highlights
  • Track read books
  • Record ratings and notes
  • Add stickers to entries
  • Share favorite books
  • Digital reading journal
Features
Read full description

Keep track of all the books you've read, capture your ratings, thoughts and notes, add stickers and more. Share your favorite books with family, friends and colleagues. As avid readers, we craved a seamless way to journal, track, and share our literary experiences. Traditional journaling, though enjoyable, can be tedious and time-consuming. We wanted our journals accessible anytime, anywhere - from waiting rooms to school pick-ups. That's why we built BookJournal.app. Join us for an effortless and enjoyable reading journey! Link to our End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Margin

Features
Read full description

Margin is a calm reading-streak app. Read a little every day and watch the days add up. Keep a streak Log minutes with a focus timer or by hand, set a daily goal, and see every reading day on a calendar beside your stats. Gentle reminders help you keep going without nagging. Read in Margin Open your own EPUB and PDF books in a reader built for long sessions: a page curl that follows your finger, themes and fonts, a contents view with page numbers, search, bookmarks, highlights and notes. Your place follows you from iPhone to iPad to the web, down to the sentence. Your library, organised Add books by title, by scanning a barcode, or by taking a photo of the cover. Sort them into collections like Research or Computer Vision, tag genres, and track what you want to read, are reading, and have finished. Covers are found for you, or use the first page of a PDF. Read aloud Record chapters as you read, keep reading while it records, and play them back from the book's page. Export a recording as a video with the book's cover, ready to share. Works with your AI assistant Connect any AI assistant that supports MCP to your library. Your assistant can see what you're reading, log sessions, add books, make collections and set genres, with access you approve and can revoke. Margin Plus Everything above is free, including up to five uploaded books of 5 MB each. Margin Plus adds unlimited uploads up to 150 MB each, video export of recordings, and book recognition from photos. Choose monthly, yearly, or a one-time lifetime purchase. If Plus ends, nothing is locked: every book you have stays readable. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and can be managed in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://margin.pstepanov.dev/privacy

Screenshots

Bookjournal.app4 screens
Margin4 screens

Verdict

The call

Bookjournal.app and Margin are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Bookjournal.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Margin sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookjournal.app ships an update weekly, Margin every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Bookjournal.app versus Margin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookjournal.appMargin
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (251 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews43.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings251 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.416.4
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRowan TrollopePavel Stepanov

Bugs and requests

Bookjournal.app

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • Deleted books reappear
  • Goodreads import does not work
  • Incorrect book titles/covers after import
  • Duplicate books
  • App crashes
Show 13 more
  • App won't open or stay open
  • Error message when trying to cancel
  • Messages marked as undeliverable on Discord
  • Journal entries not saving or updating
  • App refuses to open since update
  • Books disappear after adding
  • App not working after transfer
  • Cannot add and save books read
  • Reading goal reverts to 50
  • No connection on home screen
  • No results for searches
  • App crashes immediately on opening
  • Unable to access rating and date options

Requested features

13 requests
  • Connect with friends
  • Add timer for reading tracking
  • More information like a timer
  • Audiobooks as a selection
  • Add friends
Show 8 more
  • Integrate Goodreads list without re-adding
  • Fix journal saving/updating
  • Fix series organization
  • One-time payment option for premium
  • More premium features for the price
  • Dark mode option
  • Improve search functionality
  • Fix connection issues

Margin

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bookjournal.app

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$49.991 Year
3 purchases

Margin

Subscriptions2
  • Margin Plus Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Margin Plus Yearly$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Margin Plus Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Bookjournal.app free?
Bookjournal.app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Margin free?
Margin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bookjournal.app or Margin have ads?
Neither Bookjournal.app nor Margin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookjournal.app or Margin?
Bookjournal.app ships an update weekly, and Margin every 6 days. Most recently, Bookjournal.app was updated on October 31, 2026 and Margin on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons