# Notability: AI Note Journal — Digital notepad, daily planner

> Digital note-taking, annotation, and audio recording app with AI features. (iPhone/iPad app by Ginger Labs.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-note-journal/id360593530 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112)
- Category: Productivity, Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.80/5 from 457,493 App Store ratings · 3,636 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 18.0 · 411 MB
- Languages: American English, Danish, Dutch, French (France), German (Germany), Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay and 11 more
- Released: 2010-04-01
- Data updated: 2026-10-06
- Monetization: freemium
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-note-journal/id360593530/reviews.md

## What is Notability?

From your first lecture to your next big meeting, Notability helps you think, learn, and work better. Take handwritten notes, annotate documents, record audio, and stay organized in one place so your ideas are always clear, searchable, and ready when you need them.

NEW: NOTABILITY CLASSIC IS BACK
Prefer to pay one time for Notability? Our Classic plan is a one-time purchase with no subscription required.

FREE DIGITAL NOTES FOR WORK & SCHOOL
• Write, type, or sketch with digital ink, highlighters, and text tools.
• Mark up anything: PDFs, textbooks, lecture slides, images, and more.
• Combine handwriting, typed text, images, diagrams, and sketches on the same page.
• Stay organized with customizable folders and subjects that grow with you.

FOR PROFESSIONALS: WORK SMARTER AND SAVE TIME
• Mark up documents, capture meetings, organize ideas, and present with confidence.
• Import and handwrite on any document: PDFs, DOCs, presentations, reports, and more.
• Fill out forms in the office or on a job site.
• Combine handwriting, text, photos and documents in one place.
• Record calls and meetings to transcribe voice in real-time. Audio is synced to your notes so nothing is missed.
• Receive automated meeting notes, takeaways, and summaries.
• Search handwriting, transcripts, text, and PDFs to quickly revisit decisions and action items.
• Present notes, documents, and ideas in full screen, with a laser pointer to guide attention.
• View and edit two notes side-by-side to stay focused and productive.
• Share a PDF of your note in one tap.

FOR STUDENTS: STUDY SMARTER AND ACE EXAMS
• Take handwritten notes digitally or annotate lecture slides or your textbooks.
• Record lectures and get instant audio transcripts and real-time summaries in your notes.
• Audio recordings are synced to the exact moment you write in a note — perfect for lectures.
• Import lecture slides, textbook PDFs, and assignments into organized folders and subjects.
• Search across handwriting, typed notes, and transcripts to instantly find content from classes.
• Study content from your note with personalized quizzes and flashcards to practice with active recall.
• Chat with your notes to review concepts, clarify ideas, and prepare for exams.
 
WORK YOUR WAY
• Seamlessly switch between handwriting and typing.
• Import files instantly and keep everything connected.
• Share notes easily to collaborate or get feedback when needed.
• Access your notes across iPad, iPhone, Mac, and the web.
• Create beautiful notes using templates from the Notability Gallery.

UPGRADE TO A NOTABILITY SUBSCRIPTION
Notability is free to use. With an upgraded subscription, you can receive:
• Unlimited note-taking
• AI-powered productivity and study tools
• Handwriting recognition and math conversion
• Live Audio transcripts
• Auto-backup and iCloud sync

Download for free on iPad, iPhone, Mac, and web.
Privacy Policy: notability.com/privacy
Terms of Service: notability.com/terms

## Key features

- Handwritten and typed notes
- PDF and document annotation
- Audio recording and transcription
- AI-powered summaries and quizzes
- Customizable organization
- Cross-device sync

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Notability Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Plus | $7.99 | per month |
| Notability Plus | $12.99 | per 3 months |
| Notability Lite | $14.99 | per year |
| Notability Pro | $99.99 | per year |
| Notability Pro | $19.99 | per month |
| Notability Lite | $5.99 | per month |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Notability Classic | $49.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #157 in Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)
- #87 in Top Grossing · Productivity (US App Store)

## What do users think of Notability?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Great app for note-taking
- 👍 Smooth handwriting experience
- 📝 Excellent organization and file management
- 🎙️ Useful audio recording feature
- 🔍 Handwriting recognition and search
- 🌈 Customizable colors and themes

**Cons**

- 🐛 Sync issues with iCloud
- 🔍 Limited search and organization options
- 🖍️ Frustrating highlighter behavior
- 🔒 Concerns about subscription model
- 🔧 Buggy after recent updates

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Notes disappearing or getting corrupted
- Frequent crashes and performance issues
- Palm rejection problems after updates
- Inconsistent behavior when importing files

**Most requested features**

- Improved folder/hierarchy organization
- More shape recognition and drawing tools
- Side-by-side viewing of multiple notes
- Ability to edit/rename audio recordings
- Better integration with other apps and services

## Recent user reviews (10 of 3,636)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-note-journal/id360593530/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Please bring back “Fill in the Blanks” “Mix and Match” “Flashcards” and “Auto”.

*2026-10-03, version 16.12.4*

The new updated Learning method is horrible. Please bring back “Fill in the Blanks” “Mix and Match” “Flashcards” and “Auto”. I loved it so much, it really helped me learn, it helped me get 80% in my modules.

### 5/5 — Best ever

*2026-09-30, version 16.12.4*

Love it so far for uni notes

### 5/5 — The best

*2026-09-29, version 16.12.4*

Consistently excellent software just keeps getting better. Admittedly, I’ve been with this software from the beginning and have a classic version. I just can’t afford to start yet another subscription model. I wish like many other developers there was a pay once version.

### 5/5 — University

*2026-09-27, version 16.12.3*

Perfect for university and taking notes.

### 1/5 — The app founders are desperate for subscriptions fee

*2026-09-26, version 16.12.3*

You can only write five notes before subscribing their VIP, I do love the functions they provide though…

### 4/5 — Great study tool, but needs fixing

*2026-09-25, version 16.12.3*

I love this app for content heavy lectures and studying. I have the Pro version, but the AI “explain this” feature only works 50% of the time. It will say “something went wrong.” That is one of the most helpful features for me when studying for a test so it’s frustrating that they haven’t fixed the issue. Other than that the app works great and has been super helpful. Would love for them to add other AI study tools aside from flashcards and test questions like a mind map feature and allowing you to organize and highlight note summaries to create study guides.

### 4/5 — Great App Plagued by Untapped Potential and Poor Framework

*2026-09-25, version 16.12.3*

Notability is a fantastic note taking software that is worth the optional buy-in for additional functionality. As a student who has used the app almost daily for 4 years, it is hard to imagine getting through college without it. Major features I like - you can import pdfs, images, and more into a note, and adjust your template in the same note. You can record audio that links to your writing strokes and navigate to where transcribed audio matches your notes. Depending on your tablet model, you can enable quick gestures/features that drastically speed up note taking, like double or triple taps to undo and redo strokes. You can also use Apple Pencil tapping gestures to swap tools if you have the right models. You can export pdfs and other file types, adjusting page count and more. Now, with all of that being said, as someone who has subscribed for years, this app has many issues that, frankly, have gone unaddressed by the Notability development team for too long. First and foremost, the biggest issue with this app is how it stores and loads your notes. If you have too little storage, or a bad iCloud sync occurs, your notes will be completely inaccessible. This has happened several times, and is well documented by other Notability users. Other small bugs have also persisted, like bad shape recognition for auto-drawing, poor UI such as file names at the top of notes being covered by drawing tools, and more. Furthermore, for every good feature there is with this app, there is a glaring gap of another. A primary example is there is no infinite canvas in the app. Still. Other lacking features like better file management/hierarchy are also frustrating (devs-give us sub-folders!), this includes the inability to name two notes the same, regardless of whether they exist in separate folders. Missing basic functionalities like these are frustrating when the dev-team appears more focused on improving AI note analysis. This brings me to my final issue with the app - only offering a subscription pricing model for a service that hasn’t fixed minor bugs, hasn’t offered greater note taking functionality, and poorly stores your files externally feels criminal. All-in-all, this is a great app that, unfortunately, has IMMENSE untapped potential, and a dev-team preoccupied with the wrong things. Do I recommend it? Yes. Do I find it frustrating and feel abandoned by the devs? Also yes.

### 4/5 — Resume

*2026-09-25, version 16.12.3*

V

### 1/5 — Login issue

*2026-09-25, version 16.12.3*

It forces me to login once a while, which is really annoying.  Sometimes it freezes during the login and I cannot access my notes.

### 1/5 — Unsubscribing

*2026-09-25, version 16.12.3*

I’ve been a paid subscriber for years. I’m no longer paying for this app. I had yearsssssss of organized written content in my app. They did a mass logout of all accounts and I could not log back in. Their customer support is atrocious. It is only AI slop support with no care or helpful responses. It was only me following up, asking for more help. Nothing. I never got to log back in. Never again will I give another penny to this thoughtless, selfish app

## Frequently asked questions about Notability

### What does Notability do?

Notability is a digital note-taking application that allows users to write, type, annotate, draw, and record audio. It helps users organize their thoughts, study materials, and work documents in one place. The app supports annotating PDFs, lecture slides, and other documents, and offers AI-powered features for summaries and quizzes.

### What are the key features of Notability?

Key features include the ability to combine handwriting, typed text, images, and sketches on a single page, annotate PDFs and other documents, record audio synced to notes, and generate real-time transcripts and summaries. It also offers AI-powered study tools like quizzes and flashcards, and allows for side-by-side note viewing.

### How much does Notability cost?

Notability is free to download and use with basic features. An optional subscription unlocks unlimited note-taking, AI-powered productivity and study tools, handwriting recognition, math conversion, live audio transcripts, and auto-backup with iCloud sync.

### What devices is Notability compatible with?

Notability is available for free on iPad, iPhone, Mac, and the web. Users can access and edit their notes seamlessly across all these devices, ensuring their information is always connected and accessible.

### Who is Notability for?

This app is designed for students who need to take lecture notes, annotate textbooks, and study effectively, as well as professionals who need to mark up documents, capture meeting details, organize ideas, and present information efficiently.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 16.12.5 — 2026-10-05

• Use the Ruler to set a scale and measure lengths or areas on your note.
• Added 1.5 and 2.5 widths for finer control with the pen, highlighter, and calligraphy tools.
• Open the Note Switcher faster with ⌘⇧S.
• Fixed an issue with shared notes on the Starter plan.
• Dropped support for iOS 17.

Thanks for using Notability.

### 16.12.4 — 2026-09-28

• Selecting text in an imported PDF now scrolls the note when you drag to the edge, on Notability Cloud.
• Long-press a note on Home to get the same menu you get in the main Notes list.
• General crash and stability improvements.

Thanks for using Notability.

### 16.12.3 — 2026-09-23

• Notability for Business Templates: Add templates for your team to use when creating notes.
• Fixed an issue with scrolling alongside text selection.
• General crash and stability improvements.

Thanks for using Notability.

### 16.12.2 — 2026-09-21

• Notability for Business Templates: Add templates for your team to use when creating notes.
• Fixed an issue with scrolling alongside text selection.
• General crash and stability improvements.

Thanks for using Notability.

### 16.12.1 — 2026-09-14

• Introducing YouTube Import: Start a note from any video's transcript, ready to summarize and study. Only available on Notability Cloud.
• Introducing Comments: Leave notes on the page for yourself or your team, and resolve them in a tap. Only available on Notability Cloud.
• General bug fixes and stability improvements.

Thanks for using Notability.

## Apps similar to Notability

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334) | 4.8 (23,681) | Free | Productivity |
| [Freenotes®: AI Notes Taking](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/freenotes-ai-notes-taking/id6464237904) | 4.7 (60,756) | Free | Productivity |
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| [CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/collanote-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1540956268) | 4.7 (13,785) | Free | Productivity |
| [Kilonotes-Notes & Mark up PDF](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kilonotes-notes-and-mark-up-pdf/id1514322479) | 4.6 (4,924) | Free | Productivity |
| [Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goodnotes-ai-notes-docs-pdf/id1444383602) | 4.7 (459,411) | Free | Productivity |

## More apps by Ginger Labs

- [Twobird](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/twobird/id1455545515)

All apps by Ginger Labs: https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-06.*