Comparison

Margins vs Codex Books

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

Codex Books

Features
Read full description

Codex helps you build and organize a personal book library from the books around you. Scan a book cover with your camera, pick a photo from your library, scan an ISBN barcode, or search by title, author, or ISBN. Codex retrieves book details such as title, author, year, cover, description, and ISBN, then saves them into your library for quick browsing and lookup. Your collection can be sorted by author, year, or category, and books can be grouped into genres and adjusted manually when needed. You can also export your full library as JSON for backup or sharing. Features: - Scan book covers with OCR-based search - Scan ISBN barcodes with the camera - Search manually by title, author, or ISBN - Save title, author, year, category, description, cover, and ISBN - Organize books by author, year, and category - Edit categories and remove books from the library - Export your collection as JSON - Sync your library through iCloud - Codex is designed for readers who want a fast way to catalog physical books without maintaining a spreadsheet by hand.Note:In order to function, the app needs Google API with Books API access which can be configured via the app settings.

Screenshots

Margins4 screens
Codex Books4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Margins at #102 against Codex Books's unranked. 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 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Codex Books sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Margins ships an update every 4 days, Codex Books every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 10 level
Margins versus Codex Books: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginsCodex Books
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (20K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews95.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings20K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#102 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB5 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperParatext Inc.Shinro OU

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

Codex Books

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Margins

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Annual$59.991 Year
1 purchases

Codex Books

One-time1
  • Unlimited Library (Lifetime)$5.99

Questions

Is Margins free?
Margins is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Codex Books free?
Codex Books is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Margins or Codex Books have ads?
Neither Margins nor Codex Books shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Margins or Codex Books?
Margins ships an update every 4 days, and Codex Books every 5 days. Most recently, Margins was updated on October 20, 2026 and Codex Books on October 7, 2026.

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