Comparison

Marginalia vs BeyondRead

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

Head to head
About

Marginalia

Transform passive reading into active learning with this app. It functions as an EPUB and PDF reader with powerful note-taking and annotation tools, all stored locally for maximum privacy. Export your notes in Markdown format for seamless integration with other productivity tools.

Highlights
  • Personal EPUB and PDF library
  • Keyboard and stylus annotation
  • Multi-color highlighting
  • Smart book navigation
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Offline-first and privacy-focused
  • Markdown note exporting
Features
Read full description

Marginalia is where your reading lives on: the quotes that stopped you, the thoughts they sparked and the books that shaped you, all in one place. Read EPUB and PDF books in a clean, distraction-free reader, or keep notes for the paper books on your shelf. Highlight a passage, write what you think in the margin, and come back to it anytime. NOTES THAT STAY WITH YOU - Highlight in color and add a note to any passage - Type, speak or handwrite your notes - Tag notes by your stance and topic, then filter them in seconds - Notebooks for paper books: save quotes and thoughts from books you read outside the app - Jump from any note straight back to its place in the book THINK DEEPER WITH AI - Discuss any note with an AI companion that knows the book, the quote and your stance, and helps you dig further SHARE AND EXPORT - Turn a favorite quote into a beautiful image for stories and posts - Export your notes as Markdown (ready for Obsidian and other note apps), Word or PDF BUILD A READING HABIT - Daily reading goal with streaks - Yearly book goal with your finished books on display - Reading timer for paper books MADE FOR READING - Adjustable fonts, margins and page colors, including sepia and dark - Full interface in 8 languages - Light and dark theme MARGINALIA PRO Voice and handwritten notes, all tag groups, Word and PDF export, and AI note discussions. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. 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. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

BeyondRead

This app is an EPUB and PDF reader that includes a library of over 20,000 public-domain classics. It offers AI-powered features to explain, translate, or discuss any sentence within a book, and can generate concise AI Digests of entire books. All reading data is stored locally for enhanced privacy.

Highlights
  • AI sentence explanation, translation, and chat
  • AI book digests
  • Library of 20,000+ public-domain classics
  • EPUB, PDF, and MOBI support
  • Local-first data storage
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Quote card creation and sharing
Features
Read full description

BeyondRead is a local-first ebook reader for your own EPUB, PDF and MOBI files, now with a built-in library of more than 20,000 public-domain classics. Listen to any book in a lifelike voice, and keep reading from the exact sentence where listening stopped. Select any sentence and ask AI to explain it, translate it, or keep the conversation going in the context of the book. AI Digest turns a whole book into an article you can read in a few minutes. BROWSE (NEW) • More than 20,000 public-domain classics in over 40 languages, free to download and keep • Shelves of great books, browsing by language and genre, and a "Surprise me" pick • Search by title, author or subject, with several words in any order LISTEN (NEW) • Tap the headphones: the free System Voice reads any book on your device and highlights the sentence being read • Premium Voice: a lifelike female or male voice in 10 languages. Try 5 minutes of any book first • Reading and listening stay in sync: turn pages freely, then jump back to where it is reading or start from the page you are on • Say "Hey Reader" while listening to stop and ask about the book; the answer is read aloud • Speed from 0.5x to 2x, sleep timer, lock-screen controls; what you have heard stays on the device for offline listening, and the whole book can be downloaded • Premium Voice sends the text being read to our narration provider to generate the audio; the text is not stored READ • EPUB, PDF and MOBI (MOBI is converted to EPUB on import), on iPhone and iPad • Full-page bookmarks with notes; every book reopens where you left off • Quote cards in three styles: save them to Photos or share them • In-book search, table of contents, adjustable font size and background • Reading, bookmarks, quotes and search need no account ASK AI ABOUT ANY SENTENCE • Translate, Explain and Chat, with as many follow-up questions as you like • Only the passage you select and about 300 characters around it are sent, never the whole book • Translation, explanation and chat on the same passage merge into one highlight you can reopen AI DIGEST • Built from the title, the author, the real table of contents extracted on your device, and roughly the first 200 characters of each chapter • The full text is never uploaded; scanned PDFs and DRM-protected books cannot be digested • You are notified when a digest is ready PRIVACY • Books, bookmarks, quotes, reading positions and AI history live only on your device; our server stores no book content • AI can be switched off entirely, and then nothing leaves the device PLANS • Reading is free, and so is the public-domain library • AI features require signing in (Sign in with Apple) • AI translation is free and does not use your allowance (a fair-use monthly limit applies) • Free plan: 10 AI chats every month, plus 3 AI Digests to keep • Subscriptions raise your monthly chat and digest allowance. They renew automatically, are charged to your Apple ID and can be cancelled at any time in Settings; prices are shown in the app • AI Top-Up packs (new): buy chats and digests without subscribing. Credits never expire and are only used after your monthly allowance runs out • Premium Voice is bought per book and per voice, sized to the book's length (5 to 200 hours). It is a one-time purchase, not a subscription LANGUAGES • Interface in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German and Russian • The AI reply language can be set separately Questions or suggestions? Use "Report a problem" in the app or visit the support page. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ BeyondRead Terms of Use: https://beyondread.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://beyondread.app/privacy

Screenshots

Marginalia4 screens
BeyondRead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BeyondRead at every 4 days against Marginalia's every 9 days. Marginalia's advantage is iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Marginalia sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and BeyondRead sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 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 — 5.0 for Marginalia against 5.0 for BeyondRead. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marginalia ships an update every 9 days, BeyondRead every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Marginalia versus BeyondRead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginaliaBeyondRead
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.5 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB16 MB
Age rating17+9+
DeveloperFURKAN TURGUT章 刘

Customer experience

Marginalia

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

BeyondRead

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Marginalia

Subscriptions2
  • Marginalia Pro - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Marginalia Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Marginalia Pro Life Time$79.99
12 purchases

BeyondRead

Subscriptions3
  • Plus Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Max Monthly$8.991 Month
One-time9
  • AI Top-Up · Small$0.99
  • Premium Voice · 5 hours$2.99
  • AI Top-Up · Medium$2.99
Show 6 more
  • AI Top-Up · Large$4.99
  • Premium Voice · 15 hours$6.99
  • Premium Voice · 25 hours$13.99
  • Premium Voice · 50 hours$27.99
  • Premium Voice · 100 hours$54.99
  • Premium Voice · 200 hours$109.99

Questions

Is Marginalia free?
Marginalia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BeyondRead free?
BeyondRead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Marginalia or BeyondRead?
Marginalia and BeyondRead are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Marginalia or BeyondRead have ads?
Neither Marginalia nor BeyondRead shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Marginalia or BeyondRead?
Marginalia ships an update every 9 days, and BeyondRead every 4 days. Most recently, Marginalia was updated on October 24, 2026 and BeyondRead on October 24, 2026.

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