Comparison

Margins vs Bookspark

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

Bookspark

This app helps you build a reading habit by tracking your progress, logging reading sessions, and saving memorable quotes. It offers a calm, personal experience without social pressure or competition. Organize your library, set goals, and visualize your reading journey.

Highlights
  • Track current, finished, and TBR books
  • Organize books into personal lists
  • Time focused reading sessions
  • Save memorable passages as Spark Cards
  • Set annual reading goals
  • Visualize reading streaks and insights
Features
Read full description

Bookspark turns reading into a habit you can feel and a story you can see. Track the books you want to read, time focused sessions, save the lines that stay with you, and watch quiet daily effort become real momentum. Bookspark is intentionally calm: no noisy social feed, no competition, and no pressure to read at someone else’s pace. YOUR READING, IN ONE PLACE • Keep current reads, finished books, and your TBR together • Update pages and see progress at a glance • Organize books into personal lists STAY WITH THE PAGE • Time focused reading sessions • Follow your daily spark and reading streak • Explore calendars and reading-time insights KEEP WHAT MOVES YOU • Save memorable passages as immersive Spark Cards • Revisit the lines you want to remember • Set an annual goal and optional reading reminders BOOKSPARK PRO Upgrade for an unlimited library, unlimited lists and sessions, and advanced longer-term insights. Choose monthly, yearly, or lifetime access. Pricing is shown in your local currency before purchase. Auto-renewable subscriptions can be managed or cancelled in Bookspark Customer Center or Apple ID settings. Your reading data stays on your device. No account is required. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://workit.fitness/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Margins4 screens
Bookspark4 screens

Verdict

The call

Margins and Bookspark both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of Margins's written reviews are positive against 50% of Bookspark's. Margins also leads on ratings volume (20K vs 2) and chart position (#63 vs unranked). Bookspark's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 Bookspark sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

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 Bookspark. 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 are what separate them: 95% of Margins's written reviews are positive against 50% of Bookspark's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Margins ships an update every 4 days, Bookspark weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Margins versus Bookspark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginsBookspark
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (20K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews95.2% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings20K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#63 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB38 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperParatext Inc.Workit Inc

Customer experience

Margins

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

Bookspark

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Bookspark

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
3 purchases

Bookspark

Subscriptions2
  • Bookspark Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Bookspark Pro Yearly$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • Bookspark Pro Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Margins free?
Margins is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bookspark free?
Bookspark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Margins or Bookspark?
Bookspark is rated higher. Margins averages 4.9 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while Bookspark averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Margins or Bookspark have ads?
Neither Margins nor Bookspark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Margins or Bookspark?
Margins ships an update every 4 days, and Bookspark weekly. Most recently, Margins was updated on November 5, 2026 and Bookspark on October 31, 2026.

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