Comparison

Italic Type vs Earmark

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

Head to head
About

Italic Type

Organize your reading life with this book tracker. Import data, manage your reading queue, and take private notes on books, quotes, and new words. Share recommendations and create virtual book clubs.

Highlights
  • Import Goodreads data
  • Manage reading queue
  • Add context labels
  • Private book board for notes
  • Track quotes and new words
  • Recommend books to friends
  • Create virtual book clubs
Features
Read full description

Italic Type is the simple, beautifully-designed book tracker loved by avid readers and authors. Easily import your Goodreads data. Email us to help with a custom spread sheet. Add books you want to read to your queue. Add a context label to remember why you want to read it or who recommended it. Keep track of your reading and take notes in your own private book board. Keep track of quotes you love, new words you find, or add links for the things you look up. Recommend books to friends and start pop up virtual book clubs. Review books with keywords and expressions to capture what you thought. https://www.italictype.com/privacy/ https://www.italictype.com/terms/

About

Earmark

Features
Read full description

Your audiobooks. Your files. Your place in the story. Earmark brings your MP3s, M4Bs and other audio files into a personal audiobook library. Listen from folders in Files or iCloud Drive, stream from your NAS, or download books for offline listening. No account, subscription or ads. SETTLE INTO A GOOD BOOK • Adjust playback from 0.5x to 3x with natural pitch and a speed remembered for each book. • Jump between chapters, skip back or forward, and save bookmarks. • Fall asleep with a timer, including an end-of-chapter option. • Pick up the thread with smart rewind after a pause. • Control playback from the lock screen and CarPlay's Now Playing screen. • Save listening presets for the way you like to listen. A SHELF THAT MAKES SENSE Browse by author, series or folder, and search your collection. Earmark uses file tags and folder names to group tracks into books, including multi-disc folders. Find duplicates, adjust book groupings, and put tracks in the right order. Save smart lists and see new arrivals without losing your place. AT HOME OR ON THE ROAD Connect an SMB share to browse your NAS alongside local books. Stream while your server is reachable, or prepare books for an offline trip. Reconnect a moved library and back up your library state to keep your organization and listening progress safe. YOUR COLLECTION STAYS YOURS Playing a book leaves its audio files where they are. Downloads, moves into Earmark and uploads to your NAS happen only when you request them. Bring your own audiobooks; no catalog or books are included. Free and open source. No analytics, donation prompts or rating nags. Source code: github.com/vanities/earmark Supported audio: MP3, M4A, M4B, AAC, WAV, AIFF, CAF and FLAC.

Screenshots

Italic Type4 screens
Earmark4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Earmark at weekly against Italic Type's every 3 months. Italic Type's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Italic Type ships an update every 3 months, Earmark weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Italic Type versus Earmark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterItalic TypeEarmark
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (31 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews86.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings31 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB11 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperItalic Type LLCAM2 LLC

In-app purchases

None

Italic Type

No in-app purchases

None

Earmark

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Italic Type free?
Italic Type is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Earmark free?
Earmark is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Italic Type or Earmark have ads?
Neither Italic Type nor Earmark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Italic Type or Earmark?
Italic Type ships an update every 3 months, and Earmark weekly. Most recently, Italic Type was updated on November 3, 2026 and Earmark on October 31, 2026.

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