Margins vs BookScape
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Margins
This app helps you discover, track, and share your reading journey. It offers detailed tracking options, customizable features, and powerful search capabilities. Stay focused on your reading goals with built-in tools to minimize distractions.
- Half-star ratings
- Track recommendations
- Customizable book covers
- Fuzzy date tracking
- Advanced book search
- Reading goals
- Reading timer
- Distraction blocking
Read full descriptionHide full description
Margins is a beautifully designed app for people who love books. - App of the Day in 20+ countries - 4.9 rating (40,000+ reviews) - Featured in USA Today, BookRiot, and more TRACK YOUR READING - Log books, series, authors, recommendations, and more - Track Strava-style goals, stats, and streaks - Curate lists of books you care about SEARCH BOOKS BY VIBES - Search books by mood, plot, setting, vibe, and more - Try things like “books like 1920s Paris,” “thriller with a love triangle,” or “indie romantasy” - You can even turn images from Pinterest or your camera roll into book recommendations BLOCK DISTRACTING APPS - Block social media, notifications, and other apps while you read - Use meditation reading timer for soothing rain sounds CHOOSE YOUR COVERS - Pick the cover that matches your version of the book - Curate covers to fit your aesthetic - Sort your library by color SEE WHAT FRIENDS ARE READING - Find and follow other book lovers - See what they’re reading in Stories - Enjoy gorgeous, hand-illustrated monthly recaps CUSTOMIZE YOUR PROFILE - Turn your picture into a sketched portrait you’d see in a book - Show off your favorite books LEAVE GOODREADS FOR GOOD - Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Fable - Half-star ratings - Support a small, indie team WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING “LOVE this app! so easy to import data from goodreads. it excels where others fail. like letterboxd for books. Really glad there’s finally a good book app out there, i’ve been waiting for something like this!” — scruffythejanitor01 “I love the UI of this app, easy to use and aesthetically pleasing. Also, I've been struggling getting back into reading and the screentime feature has helped me loads. I haven't been able to read this much since 4 years ago. Thank you Margins” — mitakaluvr “The search by vibes is so cool. I am a WWII buff, but this search popped up a two-book WWII saga I had never even heard of, much less read. It ended up being my top read of 2025.” —Michigancolt FREE TO USE Almost all features are free to use. An optional subscription unlocks premium features and priority support. FOLLOW US Instagram: @readwithmargins TikTok: @margins TERMS OF USE Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Margins Terms of Service: https://margins.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://margins.app/privacy “Without the margins, writing is just words on a page. But with them, each of us is invited to leave our mark in the endless conversation between books and the people that love them.” — Excerpt from the Margins manifesto
BookScape
Enhance your reading with immersive audio. This app provides curated soundscapes, ambient music, and subtle effects to match the mood of any book. Enjoy background playback while you read physical books, e-books, or in other apps.
- Curated soundscapes for various genres
- Ambient music and subtle effects
- Background audio playback
- Save favorite soundscape combinations
- Supports physical books, e-readers, and apps
Read full descriptionHide full description
- BookScape is an audio companion for readers that turns any book into an immersive experience with curated soundscapes, ambient music, and subtle effects that match your story’s mood. - Browse themed soundscapes for fantasy, sci‑fi, mystery, romance, and more - Start a session, press play, and let BookScape run in the background while you read in your favorite app, on your e‑reader, or with a physical book. - Save your favorite combinations and switch between them quickly as you move between different books or genres. - BookScape supports background audio so your soundscapes keep playing even when your device is locked or you switch apps. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Margins at 19K against BookScape's 22. Margins also leads on chart position (#131 vs unranked). BookScape's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Margins sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and BookScape sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Margins against 4.9 for BookScape. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Margins has 19K ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of Margins's written reviews are positive against 90% of BookScape's.
Margins ships an update every 4 days, BookScape every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Margins | BookScape |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (19K ratings) | 4.9 (22 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 95.9% of reviews — better | 90.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 19K — better | 22 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 6 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #131 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 92 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Paratext Inc. | Early Insights Lab LLC |
Customer experience
Margins
BookScape
Bugs and requests
Margins
Reported bugs
3 issues- Reading time not saving correctly
- Inability to delete or edit books from lists
- Inconsistent behavior when importing data from Goodreads
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to track page progress and percentage read
- Implement a profile system with custom avatars and bios
- Introduce a social feed to share reading activity with friends
- Add more advanced statistics and reading analytics
BookScape
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Margins
- Monthly$5.991 Month
- Annual$59.991 Year
BookScape
- BookScape Plus7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Yearly bookScape Plus Subscription$39.991 Year
- $0.99 tip$0.99
- Developer tip of $0.99$0.99
- Optional $1.99 tip for developer$1.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- $3.99 optional tip for developer$3.99








