Comparison

Marginalia E 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 E

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 an advanced note-taking app designed for you to take notes, highlight, and add handwritten annotations while reading your e-books. Key Features: - Support for EPUB and PDF files - Personalize your books with notes, highlights, and handwritten annotations - Voice dictation - take notes by speaking instead of typing - Full interface support in 8 languages - Organize and tag notes by page - Export your notes as Word, PDF, or Markdown - Dark/Light theme support - Unlock premium features with flexible subscriptions Rediscover reading with Marginalia — every page becomes your collaborative workspace. 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. 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 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 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

Marginalia E4 screens
BeyondRead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BeyondRead at every 4 days against Marginalia E's every 8 days. Marginalia E'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 E sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and BeyondRead sells 6 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 E against 5.0 for BeyondRead. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marginalia E ships an update every 8 days, BeyondRead every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Marginalia E versus BeyondRead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginalia EBeyondRead
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 8 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
Size44 MB15 MB
Age rating17+9+
DeveloperFURKAN TURGUT章 刘

Customer experience

Marginalia E

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 E

Subscriptions2
  • Marginalia Pro - Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Marginalia Pro - Yearly$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • Marginalia Pro Life Time$9.99
6 purchases

BeyondRead

Subscriptions3
  • Plus Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Max Monthly$8.991 Month
One-time3
  • AI Top-Up · Small$0.99
  • AI Top-Up · Medium$2.99
  • AI Top-Up · Large$4.99

Questions

Is Marginalia E free?
Marginalia E 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 E or BeyondRead?
Marginalia E and BeyondRead are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Marginalia E or BeyondRead have ads?
Neither Marginalia E nor BeyondRead shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Marginalia E or BeyondRead?
Marginalia E ships an update every 8 days, and BeyondRead every 4 days. Most recently, Marginalia E was updated on September 20, 2026 and BeyondRead on September 23, 2026.

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