# LiquidText vs MarginNote 5

The clearest difference is ratings volume: LiquidText at 6.4K against MarginNote 5's 736. MarginNote 5's advantage is review sentiment (58% vs 50%). On price, rating, update cadence 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 5 sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 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 4.5 for MarginNote 5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LiquidText has 6.4K ratings behind it against 736, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of LiquidText's written reviews are positive against 58% of MarginNote 5's.

LiquidText ships an update every 2 weeks, MarginNote 5 every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | LiquidText | MarginNote 5 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (6.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/liquidtext/id922765270/reviews)** | [4.5 (736 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginnote-5-ai-notesmindmap/id1531657269/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.4K** | 736 |
| Positive reviews | 49.6% of reviews | **58.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 317 MB | 371 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| 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 5

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marginnote-5-ai-notesmindmap/id1531657269)

This app enhances reading and study with integrated note-taking and flashcard creation. It offers task-based templates for focused learning, AI assistance for content breakdown, and spaced repetition for effective review. Organize your research and master material efficiently.

**Highlights:** Task-based reading templates, AI-powered content breakdown and question extraction, Integrated flashcard creation and spaced repetition, Mind-map organization of notes, PDF and EPUB import, Handwriting and annotation tools, Sync across devices

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

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscription to MAX (Monthly) | $1.99 | per month |
| Subscription to MAX (3 months) | $4.99 | per 3 months |
| Subscription to MAX (6 months) | $7.99 | per 6 months |
| Subscription to MAX (Annually) | $12.99 | per year |
| MarginNote Max Annual | $16.99 | per year |
| 14 days Free Trial | Free | one-time |
| Upgrade to PRO from MN3(iOS) | $4.99 | one-time |
| Unlock PRO Forever (New) | $12.99 | one-time |
| Upgrade to MAX from MN3(macOS) | $19.99 | one-time |
| Unlock MAX based on PRO | $39.99 | one-time |
| Unlock MAX based on PRO (New) | $40.00 | one-time |
| Unlock MAX Forever (New) | $51.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful features
- 📚 Great for academic/research use
- 👍 Useful note-taking and organization
- 🖊️ Improved handwriting and annotation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🕰️ Slow and laggy sync between devices
- 🤯 Steep learning curve, poor documentation
- 💰 Expensive upgrade from previous version

**Reported bugs**

- Disappearing annotations when using extend function
- Inability to restore accidentally deleted mind maps
- Inconsistent behavior with PDF file management

**Requested features**

- Improved iCloud/cloud sync reliability
- More intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Better support for external document libraries
- Ability to disable auto-excerpt selection


## Frequently asked questions

### Is LiquidText free?

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

### Is MarginNote 5 free?

MarginNote 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, LiquidText or MarginNote 5?

LiquidText is rated higher. LiquidText averages 4.6 out of 5 from 6.4K ratings, while MarginNote 5 averages 4.5 from 736 ratings.

### Do LiquidText or MarginNote 5 have ads?

Neither LiquidText nor MarginNote 5 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, LiquidText or MarginNote 5?

LiquidText ships an update every 2 weeks, and MarginNote 5 every 3 weeks. Most recently, LiquidText was updated on October 30, 2026 and MarginNote 5 on October 30, 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.*