# MarginNote

> Study reader that turns highlights into mind maps and cards

MarginNote is a reading and study app for iPhone, iPad and Mac in which every excerpt from a PDF, EPUB, web page or video becomes a card that also appears as a mind-map node and a flashcard. Cards stay linked to their source page and are reviewed with FSRS spaced repetition. The current version, MarginNote 4, is sold as lifetime licenses or an annual subscription through the App Store, or as a direct Mac download.

- **Category:** Note-Taking Apps
- **Made by:** MarginSoft Technology (Hong Kong) Limited (since 2013)
- **Website:** https://www.marginnote.com
- **Runs on:** iOS, macOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 6, 2026

## Pricing

MarginNote is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $12.99 one-time (Pro Lifetime, iPhone and iPad only).

- **Pricing model:** Free trial
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** 14-day free trial with no auto-charge; the Max Annual trial runs 1 month and auto-renews.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |

Read from https://www.marginnote.com/en/pricing/index.html on Oct 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with MarginNote before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Lifetime licenses from $12.99** (Lifetime license): 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. Source: https://www.marginnote.com/en/pricing/index.html
- **Student and faculty discount** (Education): 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. Source: https://www.marginnote.com/en/pricing/index.html

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- 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

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## What people say

- **App Store rating of the iPhone and iPad app:** 4.5 out of 5 from 731 ratings in the United States, read Oct 6, 2026. This is the store's rating of the app, not a score from ToolGPA. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1531657269

## Works with

Zotero, iCloud, Google Drive, Baidu NetDisk, YouTube, Bilibili

**Tags:** Notes, Highlights, Mind mapping, Linked notes, AI features, Works offline, One-time purchase

## Alternatives

- [LiquidText](https://toolgpa.com/tools/liquidtext): Document review workspace that links excerpts to notes. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/liquidtext-vs-marginnote)
- [RemNote](https://toolgpa.com/tools/remnote): Note-taking app with built-in flashcards and spaced repetition. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marginnote-vs-remnote)
- [Flexcil](https://toolgpa.com/tools/flexcil): PDF reader and handwriting notebook built around pen gestures. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/flexcil-vs-marginnote)
- [Goodnotes](https://toolgpa.com/tools/goodnotes): Handwritten notes, PDF markup and whiteboards with an AI assistant. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/goodnotes-vs-marginnote)
- [Heptabase](https://toolgpa.com/tools/heptabase): Visual notes app that arranges linked cards on whiteboards. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/heptabase-vs-marginnote)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 6, 2026:

- https://www.marginnote.com/en/pricing/index.html
- https://www.marginnote.com/en/index.html
- https://www.marginnote.com/en/features/index.html
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/marginnote-4-ai-notes-mindmap/id1531657269

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/marginnote
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).