Comparison

Margins vs Common Reader

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
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

Common Reader

This app offers a unified reading and AI-powered analysis experience for various ebook formats. It allows users to ask questions about book content, automatically organize their library, and sync across multiple devices. Privacy is a core focus, with no proactive data collection.

Highlights
  • Supports multiple ebook formats (epub, azw3, mobi, txt, md, pdf)
  • AI-powered questions about book content
  • Automatic library organization with generative AI
  • Cloud sync (iCloud, OneDrive, WebDAV)
  • Fast full-library search
  • Unified cross-platform interface
Features
Read full description

- UI and interactions follow a carefully unified cross-platform logic and are built with native technologies for iOS and iPadOS. - Supports many ebook formats, including epub, azw3, mobi, txt, markdown, and pdf. - Supports nearly every ebook rendering feature, including vertical writing and RTL. - Listen with built-in system voices or AI voice models. - A high-performance, Metal-powered simulated page-turn engine offers an unparalleled visual experience. - Deeply integrates AI features for asking questions about books and automatically organizing your library with generative AI. - Supports cloud sync through iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive, WebDAV, and more. - Provides fast full-library search across books, authors, tags, notes, highlights, and original text. - The app does not proactively collect any of your information. Your data is only processed by the model and cloud storage providers you trust.

Screenshots

Margins4 screens
Common Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Margins at 4.9 against Common Reader's 3.0. Margins also leads on ratings volume (20K vs 2) and review sentiment (95% vs 80%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 and Common Reader sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Margins holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Margins has 20K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of Margins's written reviews are positive against 80% of Common Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Margins ships an update every 4 days, Common Reader every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Margins versus Common Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginsCommon Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (20K ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews95.2% of reviews — better80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings20K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#57 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB119 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperParatext Inc.天宇 高

Customer experience

Margins

All ratings19,672 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews3,744 reviews
Positive95.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative2.4%

Common Reader

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

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

Common Reader

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
5 purchases

Common Reader

One-time5
  • 1 Cup of Coffee$4.00
  • 2 Cups of Coffee$8.00
  • Lifetime Unlock$9.99
Show 2 more
  • 4 Cups of Coffee$16.00
  • Many coffees$32.00

Questions

Is Margins free?
Margins is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Common Reader free?
Common Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Margins or Common Reader?
Margins is rated higher. Margins averages 4.9 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while Common Reader averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Margins or Common Reader have ads?
Neither Margins nor Common Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Margins or Common Reader?
Margins ships an update every 4 days, and Common Reader every 2 days. Most recently, Margins was updated on November 4, 2026 and Common Reader on October 31, 2026.

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