# LiquidText vs MarginNote 3

LiquidText and MarginNote 3 both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of MarginNote 3's written reviews are positive against 50% of LiquidText's. MarginNote 3 also leads on iOS requirement (11.2 vs 17.6). LiquidText's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. LiquidText sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $5.49 per month and MarginNote 3 sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for LiquidText against 4.7 for MarginNote 3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.4K and 5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of LiquidText's written reviews are positive against 75% of MarginNote 3's.

LiquidText ships an update every 2 weeks, MarginNote 3 every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | LiquidText | MarginNote 3 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (6.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/liquidtext/id922765270/reviews) | **[4.7 (5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginnote-3/id1348317163/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **6.4K** | 5K |
| Positive reviews | 49.6% of reviews | **74.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 317 MB | 392 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **11.2** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [LiquidText, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/922765269) | [Beijing Yunsi Software Technology Co., Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/723205556) |

## What reviewers say

### LiquidText

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/liquidtext/id922765270)

This app provides a dynamic workspace for reviewing and organizing information from documents and webpages. It allows users to extract key facts, connect ideas across different sources, and annotate content for research, writing, or study.

**Highlights:** Import documents and webpages, Extract and organize excerpts, Connect ideas with ink links, Compare document sections, Annotate PDFs, Word, and PowerPoint, Search across all documents

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| LiquidText Live, Monthly, Stu | $5.49 | per month |
| LiquidText Live, Monthly, StPr | $5.49 | per month |
| LiquidText Unlimited, Mo, Stu | $10.90 | per month |
| LiquidText Live, Monthly | $10.90 | per month |
| LiquidText Live, Monthly, Upg | $10.90 | per month |
| LiquidText Unlimited, Yr, Stu | $19.00 | per month |
| LiquidText Live, Yearly, Stu | $54.90 | per year |
| LiquidText Live, Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| LiquidText Live, Yearly, Upg | $99.99 | per year |
| LiquidText Unlimited, Yr | $189.99 | per year |
| LT Pro - For Students | $19.99 | one-time |
| LiquidText Pro | $29.99 | one-time |
| LiquidText Pro II | $89.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful annotation and organization features
- 📚 Excellent for academic and research work
- 💡 Innovative concept and workflow
- 🤖 Responsive and helpful customer support
- 🖼️ Smooth integration with Apple Pencil

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive, especially for the subscription model
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable at times
- 🤯 Steep learning curve and unintuitive interface
- 🔗 Lack of seamless cross-device sync and integration
- 🔍 Navigation and file management issues

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and data loss issues
- Inconsistent behavior with Apple Pencil
- Text selection and highlighting problems
- Sync issues between iPad and Mac versions
- Unexpected changes to existing annotations

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Improved palm rejection and writing experience
- Better export and sharing options
- Thumbnail/outline view for easier navigation
- Ability to rotate and resize text/image annotations


### MarginNote 3

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginnote-3/id1348317163)

This app redefines studying by integrating e-reading with powerful annotation, mind mapping, and flashcard tools. Organize knowledge, connect ideas with hashtags, and enhance memory retention through spaced repetition. It offers a seamless workflow across multiple documents and devices.

**Highlights:** Integrated PDF/EPUB reader, Advanced annotation tools, Mind mapping and outline organization, Flashcard creation and Anki export, Multi-document support, Handwriting and Apple Pencil support, OCR for scanned PDFs

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| OCR Pro (Monthly) | $0.99 | per month |
| OCR Pro (Annually) | $9.49 | per year |
| 14 days Free Trial | Free | one-time |
| Unlock Full | $12.99 | one-time |
| Upgrade to Full | $12.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful and efficient for studying and research
- 👍 Excellent mind mapping and note-taking features
- 💡 Unique and innovative functionality like video annotation
- 🚀 Handles large volumes of documents and notes well
- 👍 Useful for organizing and synthesizing information from multiple sources

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 👎 Steep learning curve and lack of comprehensive documentation
- 👎 Unreliable cloud syncing between devices
- 👎 Cluttered and unintuitive user interface in some areas
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches with certain features like handwriting and OCR

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues causing data loss across devices
- Crashes and freezes when working with large documents
- Inconsistent behavior with highlighting, erasing, and text formatting
- OCR not functioning reliably for non-Latin scripts
- Difficulty managing and organizing large document libraries

**Requested features**

- Improved export options and ability to share projects
- Better integration with other productivity apps like Anki
- More customization options for mind maps and annotations
- Smoother handwriting experience and better palm rejection
- Support for more file formats like PowerPoint


## Frequently asked questions

### Is LiquidText free?

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

### Is MarginNote 3 free?

MarginNote 3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, LiquidText or MarginNote 3?

MarginNote 3 is rated higher. LiquidText averages 4.6 out of 5 from 6.4K ratings, while MarginNote 3 averages 4.7 from 5K ratings.

### Do LiquidText or MarginNote 3 have ads?

Neither LiquidText nor MarginNote 3 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, LiquidText or MarginNote 3?

LiquidText ships an update every 2 weeks, and MarginNote 3 every 6 weeks. Most recently, LiquidText was updated on October 27, 2026 and MarginNote 3 on October 27, 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.*