# Noteful vs Digital Notebook

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Noteful at 87% against Digital Notebook's 10%. Noteful also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (24K vs 249). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Digital Notebook sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Noteful holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteful has 24K ratings behind it against 249, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Noteful's written reviews are positive against 10% of Digital Notebook's.

Noteful ships an update fortnightly, Digital Notebook every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Noteful | Digital Notebook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews)** | [4.5 (249 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/digital-notebook-note-taking/id6449457503/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **24K** | 249 |
| Positive reviews | **86.9% of reviews** | 10.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 157 MB | 133 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Noteful Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587904336) | [Appsprings, TOO](https://appshunter.io/developer/1689193977) |

## What reviewers say

### Noteful

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334)

This app revolutionizes paperless note-taking on iPad, allowing for handwritten notes, document annotation, and knowledge organization. It offers a fluid writing experience, PDF markup, powerful tagging, and audio recording synced with notes.

**Highlights:** Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil, PDF and document annotation, Organize notes with tags, Layers for annotations, Audio recording synced with notes, Import PDFs and MS Office documents

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Noteful Pro, Lifetime | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth writing experience
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 💡 Layers feature
- 👍 Affordable one-time purchase
- 🚀 Efficient and lightweight

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🔍 No handwriting recognition or search
- 🔍 Limited text editing options
- 🔍 Lack of advanced features like math conversion
- 🔍 Exporting PDFs loses some formatting

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues across devices
- Lasso tool not working properly with PDFs
- Eraser tool not functioning as expected

**Requested features**

- Handwriting recognition and search
- More text editing options (bullet lists, etc.)
- Improved PDF handling and annotations
- Custom templates and sticker support
- Expanded cloud storage options (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)


### Digital Notebook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/digital-notebook-note-taking/id6449457503)

This app offers a versatile platform for note-taking, drawing, and document annotation. It includes an AI assistant for brainstorming and research, along with tools for creating class notes, diaries, and sketches. Users can also import and organize their documents for easy access.

**Highlights:** AI-assistant for brainstorming and research, Freeform note-taking with pen and pencil tools, Drawing and sketching capabilities with stickers, Document import, annotation, and organization, Diary and abstract creation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 week subscription | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| Note taking & PDF markup tools | $2.99 | per month |
| Note taking & PDF markup tools | $4.99 | per month |
| 1 Week Subscription | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| 3 months subscription | $7.99 | per 3 months |
| 1 Year Subscription | $14.99 | per year |
| 1 Month Subscription | $19.99 | per month |
| 12 Months Premium | $19.99 | per year |
| 3 Months | $41.49 | per 3 months |
| 3 Months Subscription | $41.49 | per 3 months |
| 12 Months Subscription | $66.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Noteful free?

Noteful is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Digital Notebook free?

Digital Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Noteful or Digital Notebook?

Noteful is rated higher. Noteful averages 4.8 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Digital Notebook averages 4.5 from 249 ratings.

### Do Noteful or Digital Notebook have ads?

Digital Notebook shows ads; Noteful does not.

### Which is updated more often, Noteful or Digital Notebook?

Noteful ships an update fortnightly, and Digital Notebook every 6 weeks. Most recently, Noteful was updated on October 26, 2026 and Digital Notebook on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*