Keep the ideas.
Not just the episodes.
Voice notes for the podcasts that make you think. Save a thought with its episode and chosen timestamp. Find it later in your own library, or share a text note with your listening club.
Free for iPhone and iPad · iOS 17.6 or later.
Start on your own. No Spotify sign-in needed for episode links.
See Margin in action ↓From a passing thought
to a note you can find.
Your voice, your transcript, and the moment that sparked it. Here’s what it looks like in the app.
Actual app screens with example notes.
Capture solo.
Discuss together.
Share a Spotify episode link to Margin, choose the moment, and record your thought. Keep it private or share a text note with a club when you want to discuss it.
Press & hold
Share a Spotify episode link to Margin, choose a timestamp, then hold the microphone button in the app.
Speak the thought
Record what stood out. Transcription runs on your device. With imported links, you control playback in Spotify.
Release & resume
Your note stays with the episode and selected timestamp. Release to save, then continue listening in Spotify.
Share with your club
Create or join a club with Sign in with Apple. Share text notes with friends; your private voice recordings stay on your device.
For people who think
through audio.
Margin is for listeners who treat podcasts as research, taste-making, or a weekly conversation with people they trust.
Catch market lessons
Save the pricing, distribution, and company-building ideas you hear before they disappear into the episode queue.
Founder podcastsTurn episodes into notes
Keep product ideas, UX references, and customer-language moments linked to the episode that sparked them.
Product manager podcastsDiscuss the exact moment
Give your small group a shared layer over an episode, so the conversation starts where the thought actually happened.
Why clubs should existBuilt for the way
you actually listen.
Stays out of the way
Keep listening in Spotify. Import an episode link into Margin when you want to save a thought.
Anchors to the moment
Keep each note with its episode and timestamp. Imported links use the time you choose.
On-device by default
Voice transcription runs locally. Private recordings stay on your device; text you share is visible to your club.
One tap back
Revisit a saved note and its timestamp, then open the episode in Spotify.
Small clubs, not feeds
Listen with 2–5 friends. Share text notes at the moments that mattered. Live progress depends on Spotify access.
Discussion lives in the margin
No public feed, no algorithm. Just the friends you'd actually want to talk to about what you heard.
Marginalia.
Essays on active listening, the marginalia tradition, and the craft of capturing what matters from the things you hear.
Why I built Margin
A founder story. The moment I realized podcast insights were disappearing, and the first prototype that fixed it.
Shipping an iOS app in 5 days with AI tools
The Cursor + Claude + Xcode workflow that built Margin. What was magic, what was useless, what surprised me.
The marginalia tradition
From medieval monks to Susan Sontag, why notes in the margins have always mattered, and why they matter more now.
The best note-taking apps for podcasts in 2026
An honest review of 8 tools, Notion, Obsidian, Apple Notes, Otter, Snipd, Airr, Pocket Casts, and Margin.
Questions people
usually ask.
Can I use Margin on my own?
Yes. Import episode links and save private voice notes without joining a club or signing in to Spotify. Clubs are optional.
Is Margin free?
Yes. Download it for free on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17.6 or later. You can start with one episode link and one thought.
What is Margin?
Margin is a podcast note-taking app for iOS. It lets you capture voice notes while listening, attach them to exact episode moments, and discuss those moments with a small listening club.
Does Margin replace Spotify or Apple Podcasts?
Margin is not a podcast player. Import a Spotify episode link, choose a timestamp, and record your note. Playback stays in Spotify. Spotify sign-in is not required for this flow.
Are my notes private?
Yes by default. Voice transcription runs locally, and you choose what to share with a club. Your private thoughts should stay yours.
Who is Margin for?
Founders, product managers, designers, investors, and curious listeners who hear useful ideas in podcasts and want to remember or discuss them later.
Start keeping the ideas you hear.
Start with your next episode. Save one thought you want to remember. Your personal library grows from there.
Download on the App Store