# ZiNote vs alphaXiv

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: alphaXiv at none against ZiNote's 5. alphaXiv also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (17 vs 2). ZiNote's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. ZiNote sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. alphaXiv asks for nothing beyond the download.

ZiNote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: alphaXiv has 17 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

ZiNote ships an update every 6 weeks, alphaXiv every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ZiNote | alphaXiv |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zinote-research-paper-reader/id6756495932/reviews)** | [4.7 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alphaxiv/id6782411985/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **17** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 72 MB | 61 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [小双 王](https://appshunter.io/developer/1860645573) | [alphaXiv Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/6782411987) |

## What reviewers say

### ZiNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zinote-research-paper-reader/id6756495932)

Access and organize academic papers from top research databases. Get personalized daily feeds, AI summaries, and journal tracking. Save, share, and export citations for your research library.

**Highlights:** Personalized daily research feed, Swipe to discover papers, AI summaries with offline translation, Journal tracking for 4,000+ publications, Save, share, and export citations, Organize papers in a personal library

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ZiNote Pro Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Early Bird Pricing | $4.99 | per month |
| ZiNote Pro Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| Early Bird Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| ZiNote Pro Lifetime | $69.99 | one-time |


### alphaXiv

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alphaxiv/id6782411985)

This app helps researchers stay updated with the latest AI studies from arXiv. It offers AI-powered summaries, literature reviews, and visual explanations of complex papers. Users can also annotate papers and track their research interests.

**Highlights:** Trending research feed, AI-powered literature reviews, Interactive paper reader with notes, AI Visual Blogs for paper explanations, Personalized research recommendations

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ZiNote free?

ZiNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is alphaXiv free?

alphaXiv is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ZiNote or alphaXiv?

ZiNote is rated higher. ZiNote averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while alphaXiv averages 4.7 from 17 ratings.

### Do ZiNote or alphaXiv have ads?

Neither ZiNote nor alphaXiv shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ZiNote or alphaXiv?

ZiNote ships an update every 6 weeks, and alphaXiv every 4 days. Most recently, ZiNote was updated on October 30, 2026 and alphaXiv on November 5, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*