Comparison

Margins vs MindShelf

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Half-star ratings
  • Track recommendations
  • Customizable book covers
  • Fuzzy date tracking
  • Advanced book search
  • Reading goals
  • Reading timer
  • Distraction blocking
Features
Currently charting
Read 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 CUSTOMIZE YOUR PROFILE - Turn your picture into a sketched portrait you’d see in a book - Show off your favorite books SEE WHAT FRIENDS ARE READING - Find and follow other book lovers - See what they’re reading in Stories - Enjoy gorgeous, hand-illustrated monthly recaps INVITE YOUR BOOK CLUB - Schedule gatherings - Suggest and vote on books - Log your club’s history 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

About

MindShelf

Organize your reading by creating a digital bookshelf. Save notes, quotes, and lessons from each book to easily revisit important ideas. This app provides a focused space for your thoughts, helping you retain knowledge from various genres.

Highlights
  • Digital bookshelf creation
  • Instant book search and add
  • Save notes, quotes, and lessons
  • Organize thoughts by book
  • Reading insights and patterns
  • Minimalist design for focus
  • Secure cross-device sync
Features
Read full description

MindShelf helps you remember what you read. Build your personal shelf of books, save meaningful notes, capture quotes, and return to ideas that matter. Instead of losing highlights in screenshots, notebooks, or scattered notes apps, MindShelf gives every book its own clean space for your thoughts. Features • Build your personal digital bookshelf • Search and add books instantly • Save notes, quotes, lessons, and reflections • Organize thoughts by book • View reading insights and patterns • Beautiful minimal design built for focus • Secure sync across devices Why MindShelf? Reading creates ideas. MindShelf helps you keep them. Whether you read self-development, business, fiction, or philosophy, MindShelf becomes your private library of knowledge and memories. Download MindShelf and start building a shelf worth revisiting.

Screenshots

Margins4 screens
MindShelf3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MindShelf at none against Margins's 3. Margins's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (20K vs 1). On price, rating, ads 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. Margins sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. MindShelf asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Margins against 5.0 for MindShelf. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Margins has 20K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Margins ships an update every 4 days, MindShelf every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Margins versus MindShelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginsMindShelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (20K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews95.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings20K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#89 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB83 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperParatext Inc.Fawaz Alkhodier

Customer experience

Margins

All ratings19,672 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews3,740 reviews
Positive95.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative2.4%

MindShelf

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

MindShelf

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Margins

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Annual$59.991 Year
None

MindShelf

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Margins free?
Margins is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MindShelf free?
MindShelf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Margins or MindShelf?
MindShelf is rated higher. Margins averages 4.9 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while MindShelf averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Margins or MindShelf have ads?
Neither Margins nor MindShelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Margins or MindShelf?
Margins ships an update every 4 days, and MindShelf every 6 months. Most recently, Margins was updated on November 1, 2026 and MindShelf on October 28, 2026.

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