# Noteful vs Notewise

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Noteful at 87% against Notewise's 53%. Noteful also leads on ratings volume (24K vs 282) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). Notewise's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Notewise sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Noteful holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteful has 24K ratings behind it against 282, 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 53% of Notewise's.

Noteful ships an update fortnightly, Notewise every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Noteful | Notewise |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews)** | [4.6 (282 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notewise-ai-notes-pdf-docs/id6480045936/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **24K** | 282 |
| Positive reviews | **87.0% of reviews** | 53.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 157 MB | 431 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.4** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Noteful Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587904336) | [ZIIKR](https://appshunter.io/developer/1535317711) |

## 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.)


### Notewise

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notewise-ai-notes-pdf-docs/id6480045936)

This app offers a versatile digital canvas for note-taking, PDF annotation, and sketching. It leverages AI to summarize content, generate quizzes, and transcribe audio. Designed for students, professionals, and creators, it provides tools for organization, collaboration, and enhanced productivity.

**Highlights:** AI-powered note summarization and quizzing, Handwritten notes and PDF annotation, Audio recording with synced transcripts, OCR for searchable handwriting, Real-time collaboration, Infinite freeform canvas

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Notewise Cloud Basic Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Notewise Cloud Starter Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Notewise Cloud Pro Monthly | $15.99 | per month |
| Notewise Cloud Basic Yearly | $28.99 | per year |
| Notewise Cloud Starter Yearly | $36.99 | per year |
| Notewise Cloud Pro Yearly | $129.99 | per year |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $1.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $2.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $3.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $4.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $5.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $6.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $7.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $8.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Marketplace Content | $9.99 | one-time |
| Notewise Unlimited | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🔄 Excellent cross-platform synchronization (Android, iOS, Mac, PC)
- ✨ Comprehensive feature set with tables, shapes, and drawing tools
- 🎨 High-quality dark mode implementation
- 📱 Works seamlessly across multiple devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes after updates
- 🐛 Handwriting and annotations disappearing randomly
- 🐛 Lasso selection tool includes unwanted background
- 🐛 App freezes and lags when highlighting large areas
- 🐛 Text input fields not functioning properly

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on every update
- Handwritten content randomly disappears
- Annotations vanishing intermittently
- Lasso selection tool malfunctions
- Text input fields not responding

**Requested features**

- Add layers feature for advanced editing
- Implement automatic zoom box that follows writing
- Add pencil, waterbrush, and crayon drawing tools
- Sticker marketplace or sticker customization
- Horizontal page flipping/swiping navigation


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Noteful free?

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

### Is Notewise free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Noteful or Notewise?

Noteful is rated higher. Noteful averages 4.8 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Notewise averages 4.6 from 282 ratings.

### Do Noteful or Notewise have ads?

Neither Noteful nor Notewise shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Noteful or Notewise?

Noteful ships an update fortnightly, and Notewise every 2 days. Most recently, Noteful was updated on October 16, 2026 and Notewise on October 16, 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.*