MarginNote vs RemNote

MarginNote

• Students preparing for exams from textbooks and PDFs
• Researchers working through many papers for a literature review
• Readers who want highlights to become flashcards without retyping

RemNote

• Students who want notes and flashcards in one app
• Exam preparation built on spaced repetition
• Studying from PDFs and lecture slides

MarginNote

• Apple devices only, and the $12.99 Pro Lifetime license does not include the Mac app.
• AI runs on credits: Pro gets 500 once, Max Lifetime gets 500 a month for 3 years only, and add-on packs start at $1.39 for 500.
• App Store and DMG licenses are separate systems; buying one does not produce a license for the other.
• The Max Annual trial auto-renews at $16.99 a year unless it is cancelled before the month ends.

RemNote

• The Free plan allows only a few uses of each Pro feature: 3 annotated PDFs, 5 image occlusion cards, 1 handwritten document and 1 exam.
• AI credits reset each month and do not carry over, and the frontier models in the AI tutor need the Pro with AI plan.
• The Life-Long Learner license covers Pro server features, such as larger uploads and AI credits, for 5 years rather than for life.
• Subscriptions bought in the iOS or Android app cannot use discounts, and the App Store lists Pro Monthly at $14.99.

MarginNote

One card, three views

Each highlight becomes a card that is at once an excerpt on the page, a node in a mind map and a flashcard, with a link back to its source page.

PDF, EPUB, web and video sources

Annotates PDF and EPUB files, web pages and video, with OCR for equations, tables and handwriting. Advanced OCR is limited to the Max tier.

Mind maps and outline

Ten mind-map styles, including tree, fishbone, timeline, concept map and matrix, and an outline view that shows the same map as plain text.

FSRS spaced repetition

Flashcards are scheduled with the Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler, which sets the next review date for each card individually.

Title Link

Card titles work as keywords: when a term from earlier notes appears in a new document, the earlier annotation is surfaced on the page automatically.

MarginNote AI

Summarizes chapters, answers questions and generates cards, drawing on a credit allowance. The vendor offers no way to use your own API key.

RemNote

Flashcards inside notes

Cards are written in the same outline as the notes, in types that include question and answer, fill in the blank, lists and image occlusion.

Spaced repetition and exam scheduler

Cards come back for review on a spaced schedule. The exam scheduler sets a daily practice plan around an exam date; the Free plan allows 1 exam.

PDF and slide annotation

Upload PDFs and slides and mark them up with highlights, drawings and shapes next to your notes. Free accounts can annotate 3 documents.

Handwritten notes

Write by hand on a tablet, add sketches and convert handwriting to text. The Free plan includes 1 handwritten document.

AI study tools

Generates flashcards, quizzes and summaries from notes and PDFs, explains cards and answers questions in a tutor chat, all metered in monthly AI credits.

Offline mode and sync

The desktop and mobile apps keep working without a connection and sync when back online. Every plan syncs an unlimited number of devices.

MarginNote

• Pro Lifetime$12.99

  one-time purchase

  App Store license for iPhone and iPad only: reading, annotation, mind maps and review, with a one-time gift of 500 AI credits. No Mac access.

• Max Annual Subscription$16.99

  per year

  iPhone, iPad and Mac, adding advanced OCR, AI OCR templates, AI translation, the Database channel and 500 AI credits a month.

• DMG Standard$35

  one-time purchase

  Direct Mac download activated with a Paddle code. Mac only, equivalent to App Store Pro, with no monthly AI credits.

• DMG Premium+ $10

  one-time upgrade pack on top of DMG Standard

  Adds the Max-level features to the Mac download. No iPhone or iPad coverage and no monthly AI credits.

• Max Lifetime$51.99

  one-time purchase

  Same features as Max Annual on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The 500 monthly AI credits are included for the first 3 years only.

RemNote

• Free$0

  Unlimited notes, flashcards and synced devices, plus a few uses of each Pro feature: 3 annotated PDFs, 5 image occlusion cards and 250 AI credits a month.

• Pro$8

  per month, billed yearly ($96); $10 billed monthly

  Unlimited PDF annotation, image occlusion, tables, exam scheduling and handwritten notes, with 1,000 AI credits a month.

• Pro with AI$18

  per month, billed yearly ($216); $20 billed monthly

  Everything in Pro with 20,000 AI credits a month, covering AI flashcards and quizzes from PDFs, the lecture recorder and AI grading.

• Life-Long Learner$395

  one-time purchase

  Local Pro features for life, with Pro server features and 1,000 AI credits a month included for the first 5 years.

MarginNote

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime licenses from $12.99

  Pro Lifetime ($12.99, iPhone and iPad) and Max Lifetime ($51.99, all platforms) are one-time App Store purchases, and the Mac DMG Standard license is $35 one-time.

• Education

  Student and faculty discount

  The pricing page says students and faculty can apply for an education discount through an application guide, and schools arrange bulk purchases by email. No rate is given.

RemNote

• Annual discount

  Save 20% on Pro with yearly billing

  Pro costs $10 a month when billed monthly or $96 when billed yearly, which works out to $8 a month.

• Education

  25% off Pro for students, faculty and staff

  People at an academic institution get 25% off Pro subscriptions, applied when the account uses an institutional email. It excludes Life-Long Learner, AI credits and app-store subscriptions.

• Lifetime license

  Life-Long Learner one-time license

  A single $395 payment gives local Pro features for life, plus Pro server features and 1,000 AI credits a month for 5 years.