Comparison
Boox Notes vs Margen: an honest comparison
Updated
Boox Notes is the app that comes with your Boox, and for most people it is a very good notes app. Margen is for one thing it doesn't do: getting every handwritten page transcribed automatically and readable from Claude or ChatGPT. Here is how they compare, written by the people who make Margen, so weigh it accordingly.
At a glance
| Boox Notes | Margen | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, built in | Free for up to 100 new notes a month; Pro $49 a year, unlimited |
| Pen and page tools | Many: templates, layers, shapes, PDF annotation, notebooks and folders | Fewer: pens, eraser, lasso, undo, an infinite vertical page, a flat library with starred notes |
| Handwriting to text | On demand: lasso a selection and convert it, or export a note as text | Automatic: every page is transcribed in the background when you close it |
| How it reads handwriting | Recognition set per language | A vision model reads the page image, like a person, including mixed languages, abbreviations and margin notes |
| Titles and summaries | Notebook names you choose | A short title and a one-line summary written for every page |
| Search | On the tablet: handwriting search in recent firmware, and tags | From Claude or ChatGPT; no search box on the tablet yet |
| Ask an AI about your notes | Export or share pages, then upload them yourself | Built in: Claude (any plan) or ChatGPT (paid) reads your notes through a read-only connector |
| Works offline | Yes | Writing yes; transcription when connected |
| Where notes are kept | On the tablet, with optional cloud sync | On the tablet, plus a cloud copy for transcription, Claude and backup |
Where Boox Notes is better
- Page tools. Templates, layers, shapes and PDF annotation. Margen keeps the page simple on purpose.
- No cloud needed. If your notes must stay on the tablet, stay with Boox Notes. See what Margen sends.
- Search on the tablet. Margen has no search box on the Boox yet; you search from Claude or ChatGPT.
- It's free and already there.
Where Margen is better
- Nothing to convert. You don't select, export or press a button: every page becomes text on its own, and the text follows when you edit the page.
- Messy, real handwriting. Reading the whole page as an image copes with quick notes, arrows, lists and words squeezed into the margin. One early user wrote that it "read my handwriting very accurately and also pointed out the one word that it thought may have been incorrectly interpreted".
- Your notes in your AI assistant. Ask Claude what you decided in last week's meeting, turn a page into a to-do list, or make flashcards from your study notes. Claude can open the page image when a diagram or a word matters.
Can I use both?
Yes, they're separate apps on the same tablet. Many people keep Boox Notes for PDFs and templates and write in Margen what they want to find again. You can also bring your Boox Notes notebooks into Margen (Settings → Boox Notes): their pages come in as read-only pages and become searchable from Claude.
Questions
Is Boox Notes handwriting recognition good enough?
For converting a selection on demand, often yes, especially with neat writing in one language. If you want every page converted automatically, mixed languages handled, and the notes readable from Claude or ChatGPT, Margen is built for that.
Is there an alternative to Boox Notes that works with AI?
Margen is a notes app for Boox tablets that transcribes every page with a vision model and connects your handwritten notes to Claude and ChatGPT through a read-only connector.
Can Margen import my Boox Notes notebooks?
Yes. In Margen, open Settings → Boox Notes and pick the notebooks to import. Their pages come in as read-only pages and are transcribed like the rest; each page with writing counts as one new note from your monthly allowance.
Does Margen cost money?
Margen is free for up to 100 new notes a month, and an account opened now stays free. Pro is $49 a year for unlimited notes.