Comparison

Protocol Tracker vs Marginalias

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

Head to head
About

Protocol Tracker

Features
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Protocol Tracker is a compressed version of Emacs Org Mode and Bullet Journalling workflows. It stores all user data on the device, making using this app lightning fast and internet-free. It is intended to eliminate the burden of making todo lists and the annoyance of the limited features of other popular iOS task and habit trackers. It also combines into one platform unique tasks and repeating habits, making it the only app you need to use to access all of your to-do information. With detailed habit data storage, this app is perfect for tracking calories, workouts, complex procedures, health protocols, and more.

About

Marginalias

Features
Read full description

Keep the quote with its source Evidence Board collects exact passages across your documents, with topics and notes. Verify each clip against the local source and share a focused Markdown evidence sheet. โ€ข Open a document โ†’ Clip evidence. Enter an exact passage of at least three characters and choose its occurrence. โ€ข Save a topic and note with the clip. Open Evidence Board from the library to find and review clips. โ€ข Open a clip to verify its quote and source hash, edit notes, or share the visible board. Exact case-sensitive matching shows up to 32 occurrences. A source hash identifies the local text version; it is not proof of authorship or truth. Up to 256 clips and 1 MiB are retained. Unavailable or changed sources are reported. Marginalias is a private reading companion for your own documents. Import text-based PDFs, plain text, or Markdown notes, then use on-device intelligence to summarize, ask questions, and pull out useful structure without sending your content to a developer server. Build a local library of documents, open the source text whenever you need it, and keep AI output close to the material it came from. Marginalias is designed for focused review, research, note cleanup, study, and document triage. Features: - Import text-based PDFs, plain text, and Markdown - Keep a searchable local document library - Generate concise document summaries - Ask questions grounded in document excerpts - Inspect exact evidence excerpts, character ranges, and PDF pages behind generated claims - See the retrieved context used for each answer - Extract key points, action items, outlines, and glossary terms - Copy and share generated output - Use light, dark, or system appearance - Review a bundled sample document before importing your own files Privacy: Marginalias does not require an account, does not include analytics or advertising SDKs, and does not collect your documents or AI output. Documents and generated output stay on your device. Device note: AI features use Apple on-device intelligence. If Apple Intelligence is unavailable or not enabled, importing and reading documents still work and the app explains the requirement.

Screenshots

Protocol Tracker3 screens
Marginalias3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Protocol Tracker at Free against Marginalias's $3.99. Protocol Tracker also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Protocol Tracker is free to download; Marginalias costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Protocol Tracker ships an update fortnightly, Marginalias every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Protocol Tracker versus Marginalias: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProtocol TrackerMarginalias
PriceFree โ€” better$3.99
Update frequencyFortnightly โ€” betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS2626.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size2 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFinnian MurphyRobert Corbin

In-app purchases

None

Protocol Tracker

No in-app purchases

None

Marginalias

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Protocol Tracker free?
Protocol Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Marginalias free?
Marginalias costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Protocol Tracker or Marginalias have ads?
Neither Protocol Tracker nor Marginalias shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Protocol Tracker or Marginalias?
Protocol Tracker ships an update fortnightly, and Marginalias every 5 weeks. Most recently, Protocol Tracker was updated on October 28, 2026 and Marginalias on October 28, 2026.

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