Comparison

Margins vs Tomely

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

Head to head
About

Margins

Track your reading habits, discover new books through unique vibe-based searches, and block distracting apps to focus on your reading. This app offers a beautifully designed interface to curate your library, connect with friends, and manage book clubs.

Highlights
  • Log books, series, and authors
  • Track reading goals and streaks
  • Search books by mood and vibe
  • Block distracting apps
  • Customize book covers and library
  • Connect with friends and book clubs
  • Import from Goodreads and other platforms
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

Tomely

Features
Read full description

The beautiful, fast reading tracker for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. No AI, no feed. Just your books. BRING YOUR LIBRARY, FREE Import your Goodreads or StoryGraph export (CSV) in about a minute. Shelves, ratings and dates come with you. Anything we can’t match lands in “To review”, so nothing is lost. Import is free, forever. ADD A BOOK IN TWO SECONDS Scan the ISBN barcode or search by title. Covers and details are saved on your device. LOG A SESSION IN ONE TAP Start the timer, note your page, done. Add past sessions and fix dates anytime. A STREAK, NOT A GAME A yearly goal with your pace, the days you read and a streak. No gems, no coins, no guilt. STATS YOU’LL ACTUALLY LOOK AT Books and pages per month, minutes per session, the days you read, your top genre. SNAP THE PAGE, KEEP THE LINE Take a photo and drag your finger over the lines you want. Text is recognized on your iPhone or iPad and only copies what’s on the page. Search your quotes by book and, with Plus, tag them your way. YOUR MONTH IN BOOKS A monthly card with your books, pages and hours, ready to share in your stories. SHELVES YOUR WAY Reading, Want to read, Read and Did not finish, plus your own shelves. With Plus, reading challenges too. APPLE WATCH Start, pause and end a reading session from your wrist, then set the page you stopped on with the Digital Crown. Your streak sits on your watch face as a complication. Sessions are free, on the Watch too. MADE FOR EVERY SCREEN A sidebar and two columns on iPad, your book and your timer side by side on iPhone Duo, and the timer on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island with a Live Activity. NO AI. NO FEED. YOURS. No generative AI anywhere: no summaries, no recommendations, no AI art. No social network. Your library stays on your device, and export is always free. Book searches go to Open Library and Google Books, with no account and nothing that identifies you. FREE, FOREVER • Unlimited books and reading sessions • Streak and yearly goal • Goodreads and StoryGraph import, and export • Your monthly card, ready to share • Up to 10 photo quotes • Timer Live Activity and widgets • The Apple Watch app TOMELY PLUS • Full stats for every year since you started • All card styles, without the footer • Unlimited photo quotes and tags • Challenges, shelf themes and app icons SUBSCRIPTION Tomely Plus is available as a yearly subscription with a 7-day free trial ($39.99/year after the trial), a monthly subscription ($5.99/month, no trial) or a one-time Lifetime purchase ($89.99). Prices are in US dollars and may vary by country. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase, or when the free trial ends. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. If you allow notifications, we remind you 2 days before your trial ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings, or in Tomely: Settings › Tomely Plus. Book data and covers from Open Library and Google Books. Goodreads and StoryGraph are trademarks of their owners; Tomely is not affiliated with them. Terms of Use: https://readtomely.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://readtomely.app/privacy Questions: hello@readtomely.app

Screenshots

Margins4 screens
Tomely4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Margins at none against Tomely's shown. Margins also leads on chart position (#53 vs unranked). Tomely's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 4 days). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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 Tomely sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Margins ships an update every 4 days, Tomely daily. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Margins versus Tomely: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginsTomely
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (20K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews95.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings20K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
Best chart rank#53 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size135 MB79 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperParatext Inc.Santiago Gonzalez Fernandez

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

Tomely

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
4 purchases

Tomely

Subscriptions3
  • Tomely Plus · Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Tomely Plus · Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Tomely Plus · Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Tomely Plus · Lifetime$89.99

Questions

Is Margins free?
Margins is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tomely free?
Tomely is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Margins or Tomely have ads?
Tomely shows ads; Margins does not.
Which is updated more often, Margins or Tomely?
Margins ships an update every 4 days, and Tomely daily. Most recently, Margins was updated on November 11, 2026 and Tomely on November 6, 2026.

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