Comparison

ReadSync vs Margina

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

Head to head
About

ReadSync

Features
Read full description

ReadSync remembers where you stopped reading — on every device. Open a PDF on your Mac, read to page 120, then pick up your iPhone. ReadSync opens the same document on the same page. Your highlights, notes and bookmarks are already there. WHY READSYNC • Your reading position syncs automatically through iCloud — in the free version too • No account to create, no subscription, no company server holding your files • Works completely offline — syncing is a layer on top, never a requirement PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF • A Continue Reading row at the top of your library, most recent first • A Home Screen widget that opens the document on the page you left • Nothing to press: the page is saved as you read and travels with you • Handoff: the document open on your Mac appears on your iPhone, and opens on the same page READING • A quiet reader that hides its controls while you read • A reading lock that turns off selection, highlights and notes, so you can scroll and zoom without triggering anything by accident • Keep the screen awake while a document is open • Night mode that darkens the page without draining the colour from your highlights • Single or two-page layout, vertical or horizontal scrolling • Adjustable default zoom • Translate any passage you select into your own language, on your device with Apple's built-in translation • Look up any word in the dictionary without leaving the page • Password-protected PDFs open too — remember the password once, in your iCloud Keychain, and your other devices open them without asking HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTES • Five highlight colours • Attach a note to any passage • Every highlight and note in one list — tap to jump straight to the page • Export everything from a document as a single file, to Notes, Mail or Files • Nothing is written into the PDF itself; your original file stays untouched FINDING YOUR PLACE • Full-text search inside the document • The PDF's own table of contents • Bookmarks for the pages you want to come back to YOUR LIBRARY • Add files from Files or iCloud Drive • Open a PDF in ReadSync from Mail, Safari, Messages or any app's share sheet • Leave a file where it is, or copy it into ReadSync so it syncs across your devices • Cover, progress and page count at a glance • Sort by last read, title or date added • Search your library by title READING STATS • Total reading time, and how much of it was this week • A chart of the last seven days • Progress for every document you have started FREE AND PRO The free version is a whole reader, not a demo: iCloud sync, night mode, search, table of contents, bookmarks, translation and all five highlight colours, with room for 5 documents and 10 highlights or notes in each one. ReadSync Pro lifts both limits and opens reading stats and note export. It is a one-time purchase — there is no subscription. A limit only ever stops you adding something new. Everything already in your library stays open, in full, whether you buy or not. PRIVACY ReadSync is built entirely with Apple's own frameworks and stores everything in your private iCloud database. Your documents are never uploaded to anyone else's server. Anonymous usage statistics are sent only if you agree when asked, and never include your files, page contents, notes or highlights.

About

Margina

This app provides a private, distraction-free reading environment for various document types. Organize, highlight, and annotate your readings, with options to export your notes. It prioritizes user privacy by keeping all data on the device.

Highlights
  • Supports PDF, EPUB, Word, Markdown, and text
  • Distraction-free reading experience
  • Highlight and annotate with notes
  • Organize library with folders
  • Search across documents and annotations
  • Export highlights and notes
  • Offline reading
Read full description

Margina is a calm, private home for everything you read. Send yourself a PDF, EPUB, Word doc, Markdown file, or plain text. Margina opens them all in one distraction-free reader that remembers exactly where you left off. No account, no cloud requirement, no clutter: just you and the page. A LIBRARY THAT LOOKS LIKE ONE Your documents live on a clean shelf of covers, each showing its format and how far you have read. Prefer rows? Switch to list view with one tap. Filter by what you are reading now, what is new, and what you have finished, and pin the book you keep coming back to. HIGHLIGHT AND ANNOTATE Mark passages in five colors, attach a note in the margin, and drop bookmarks anywhere. Drag across a PDF page to select and highlight in one motion. Every annotation is gathered in one place, ready to browse, filter, and revisit. Tap any highlight to jump straight back to its page. FIND ANYTHING, FAST Search across titles, authors, highlights, and notes at once. Matches light up inside the results exactly like highlights on a page, grouped by document so you always know where a passage came from. STAY ORGANIZED Sort your library into color-coded folders for work, study, research, or that stack of essays you have been meaning to get to. Jump back into any book at the exact spot, or the exact highlight, you were last at. MADE FOR LONG READING A reading experience designed like a well-set book: quiet paper tones, generous margins, and your progress drawn as a thin rule in the margin itself. Choose paper, sepia, or dark. Tune font, size, line spacing, and margins right in the reader. Includes a dyslexia-friendly typeface option and respects your system accessibility settings, from Dynamic Type to VoiceOver, Reduce Motion, and Reduce Transparency. EVERY FORMAT YOU ACTUALLY USE PDF reader, EPUB reader, Word document viewer, Markdown reader, and plain text, all in one app. Import from the share sheet, the Files app, email attachments, or anywhere else you can tap Share. Everything works offline, on the train, on a plane, or at the cabin with no signal. EXPORT AND SHARE Turn your highlights and notes into a clean Markdown file or a formatted PDF and send them to your notes app, your research workflow, or a friend. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your library lives on your device. No account, no sign-up, no tracking, nothing to set up. Margina hosts nothing about you. Reading is personal; your reading data should be too. MARGINA PRO Upgrade to back up your library to your OWN iCloud, unlock the sepia reading theme, export your annotations, and add unlimited documents. Available monthly, annually, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Your backup stays in your iCloud, never on our servers, so even Pro keeps your data yours. WHO MARGINA IS FOR Students annotating readings and lecture notes. Researchers working through papers. Book club readers who argue in the margins. Writers collecting passages. Anyone who sends themselves things to read later and actually wants to read them, without ads, feeds, or noise. Read anything. Mark it up. Keep it yours. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://margina.app/privacy Margina Pro is offered as a monthly or annual auto-renewable subscription or a one-time Lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings.

Screenshots

ReadSync4 screens
Margina4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: ReadSync at 3 against Margina's 1. Margina's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). 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. ReadSync sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Margina sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
ReadSync versus Margina: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadSyncMargina
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB63 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperAlper AlbayrakEcho Persona LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ReadSync

One-time1
  • Unlock Pro$7.99
3 purchases

Margina

Subscriptions2
  • Margina Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Margina Pro Annual$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Margina Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is ReadSync free?
ReadSync is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Margina free?
Margina is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ReadSync or Margina have ads?
Neither ReadSync nor Margina shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ReadSync or Margina?
ReadSync ships an update every 3 weeks, and Margina every 3 weeks. Most recently, ReadSync was updated on November 8, 2026 and Margina on October 31, 2026.

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