Comparison

Shakespeare vs eNotes

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Shakespeare

Access the complete works of Shakespeare, including plays, sonnets, and poems. Features include a powerful search, integrated glossary, note-taking, and customization options for a rich reading experience.

Highlights
  • Complete works of Shakespeare
  • Powerful search and concordance
  • Integrated glossary with definitions
  • Add and share personal notes
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Scene breakdowns and character descriptions
  • Modern translations and lexicons
Features
Read full description

“It’s really great!” —Kenneth Branagh, actor and director “I can't remember a time it wasn't on my iPhone. So feature rich!" —Stephen Fry, actor and writer “‘The app’s the thing.’ Hamlet was almost right. Great to see Shakespeare Pro superplaying with Shakespeare’s plays.” —David Crystal, linguist and author of Shakespeare's Words “The Shakespeare Pro app is simply terrific and filled with loads of wonderful information!” —Ken Ludwig, Tony and Olivier Award Winning Playwright Shakespeare Pro® includes the complete works of Shakespeare (41 plays, 154 sonnets and 6 poems, including apocrypha) and search the concordance to find the exact word or phrase you’re looking for (with “relaxed” searching to find words close to your search term). Shakespeare Pro is packed with these impressive features: ••• QUALITY TEXTS are a top priority and our team spent years compiling and editing the best references available. In the updated editions, the text is even more clear and each individual character is uniquely identified. ••• FIRST FOLIOS AND QUARTOS in original spelling show the works as they were originally published in Shakespeare’s time. ••• AN INTEGRATED GLOSSARY, based on the bestselling lexicon by David & Ben Crystal, Shakespeare’s Words™ is included. Simply tapping on a word will display its definition in context (not just a general definition). ••• ADD YOUR OWN NOTES AND SHARE THEM with your students, classmates, friends, and colleagues. Organize your notes into notebooks for use in the classroom, theatre, or just to remember key facts. Then share them via email or AirDrop. ••• POWER SEARCH THE WORKS by customizing multiple parameters like gender, genre, work, language, line form, soliloquies, and more. ••• CUSTOMIZE YOUR READING EXPERIENCE by choosing from a variety of color themes, change the font family and size, display long or short character names, jump around to different scenes, and view line numbers (*read the note below about line numbering). ••• BOOKMARK YOUR FAVORITE PARTS in addition to remembering the last page you viewed. Even copy/paste that great line. ••• DETAILED SCENE BREAKDOWNS give you an overview of the scenes within each play, their locations, and the characters present in each. ••• CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS help you better understand the actions and motivations of every character—all 1,155 of them. ••• MODERN TRANSLATIONS and lexicons to help you better understand Elizabethan English (extra add-ons). ••• GET THE FACTS by reading up on Shakespeare’s life, view data and chronology about his works, and an overview of scansion terminology or rhetoric. Character Arc Visualizers show individual character arcs or allow for comparison of multiple characters. ••• SHAKE YOUR DEVICE for Shakespeare himself to display a random memorable quote or insult. Or get a new random quote every day. ••• BROWSE THE GALLERY of famous Shakespeare portraits. ••• TEACHER CURRICULUM makes it easy for teachers to introduce students to Shakespeare's works. ••• COMPLETE APOCRYPHA is the most comprehensive breakdown of 14 plays Shakespeare may have had a hand in. ••• BARDFIND™ is the easiest way to find a Shakespeare theatre or venue anywhere in the world. These are just a few highlights of the great things in Shakespeare Pro. If you’re a student, professor, actor, or just plain love the Bard, this must-have app ensures you have the complete works at your fingertips. Like the new features? Having trouble and need support? Let us know at support@playshakespeare.com or at http://support.playshakespeare.com.

About

eNotes

This app provides literature students with study guides, homework help, and quizzes to deepen their understanding of books and prepare for classes. It offers access to over 40,000 study guides and more than 300,000 homework questions with answers across various subjects.

Highlights
  • 40,000+ literature study guides
  • 300,000+ homework questions & answers
  • Multiple-choice quizzes
  • Audio and PDF summaries
  • Personalized homework help
  • Daily and weekly new content
Features
Read full description

If you’re a literature student looking to get the best grades in every book on your syllabus then the eNotes app is your perfect companion. Our Literature Notes app makes the learning process easier and faster for the students, assisting them in achieving the goals mentioned above by gaining a deeper understanding of books, plays, poems, novels, and historical documents which helps in preparing their class lessons, tests, or even quizzes. Literature Notes Made Easy with eNotes Our eNotes app has over 40,000 study guides for students. Our study guides provide detailed summaries, analyses, critical essays, quote analyses, and short questions and answers to searched books. This helps students to gain a deeper understanding of the book without reading it page by page; if you don't find a study guide for any book in our library you are searching for, then you can contact us, and we will make it available to you as soon as possible. Student's Homework Helper: eNotes Our Literature notes app provides more than 300,000 questions & answers related to different subjects, which include Literature, History, Science, Math, Arts, Business, Religion, and Social Sciences related questions & answers. Students can find answers to questions related to any subject by using the search bar in the Homework help section. We add new and fact-checked questions and their answers on a daily & weekly basis. If you don’t find an answer to any of your questions, feel free to ask our expert tutors, who will try to get it answered as soon as possible. The third section of our literature notes app is the quizzes section, where 800+ multiple-choice quizzes are available for the students. You can give overview-based, chapter-based, and character-based multiple-choice quizzes related to any literature book in this section. Features of Our eNotes: Literature Notes App More than 40,000 In-Depth Literature Study Guides with summaries and analysis. - Real answers by real teachers to more than 300,000 homework help questions. - New Answers are published on a daily & weekly basis. - Personalized Homework Help from our Tutors. - Students can download audio and PDF summaries of books. - Fast Learning with a deeper understanding. - 3 Days free trial with full access to all content. - 800+ multiple choice quizzes. - 100% ad-free Quality Content. - 5 Star Customer Support. Download eNotes: Literature Notes App So, what are you waiting for? Download & Install the eNotes Literature Notes App for FREE and make your learning faster & easier! Subscribe To eNotes Pro Plus Plans And Get Full Access To All Content In the free version of our Literature Notes app, access to content is limited. Subscribe to eNotes Pro Plans & get full access to all the content as well as thousands of study guides and critical materials with No Limits, No Ads, and our 5 Star Customer Support. Subscribe To eNotes Pro Plus Plans And Get Full Access To All ContentIn the accessible version of our Literature Notes app, access to content is limited. Subscribe to eNotes Pro Plans & get full access to all the content as well as thousands of study guides and critical materials with No Limits, No Ads, and our 5 Star Customer Support. Terms of use available at https://www.enotes.com/help/tos

Screenshots

Shakespeare4 screens
eNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Shakespeare at 4.8 against eNotes's 4.0. Shakespeare also leads on ratings volume (3.5K vs 292) and review sentiment (74% vs 61%). eNotes's advantage is iOS requirement (12.2 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Shakespeare sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and eNotes sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shakespeare holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shakespeare has 3.5K ratings behind it against 292, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Shakespeare's written reviews are positive against 61% of eNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shakespeare ships an update every 3 weeks, eNotes every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Shakespeare versus eNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShakespeareeNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.5K ratings) — better4.0 (292 ratings)
Positive reviews74.1% of reviews — better61.5% of reviews
Number of ratings3.5K — better292
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.012.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size416 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlayShakespeare.comeNotes.com, Inc.

Customer experience

Shakespeare

All ratings3,541 ratings
Positive96.1%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews336 reviews
Positive74.1%
Neutral7.4%
Negative18.5%

eNotes

All ratings292 ratings
Positive73.6%
Neutral5.5%
Negative20.9%
Written reviews109 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral8.3%
Negative30.3%

User reviews

Shakespeare

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Best app out there
  • 👍 Excellent app
  • 👍 Terrific app for Shakespeare lovers
  • 👍 Remarkable level of detail and care
  • 👍 Invaluable for actors and students

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes, buggy, unstable
  • 💰 Nickel-and-diming for features
  • 💰 Upgrade to pro is misleading
  • 💰 Constant nagging to upgrade
  • 🤔 Abbreviated character names

eNotes

From 292 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful study guides
  • 💡 Comprehensive content
  • 🚀 Quick responses from staff
  • 🧠 Improves understanding and grades

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Subscription required for full access
  • 🐛 Crashes and login issues
  • 💰 Expensive subscription fees

Bugs and requests

Shakespeare

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on launch or opening plays
  • Scrolling and UI issues
  • Incompatible with latest iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add modern translations
  • Include line numbers
  • Improve search and navigation
  • Add more content like sonnets
  • Sync purchases across devices

eNotes

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Subscription issues and unexpected charges
  • Inability to cancel or manage subscription
  • Content not accessible after payment

Requested features

3 requests
  • Offline access to content
  • More free features and trial options
  • Improved user interface and navigation

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Shakespeare

One-time10
  • Modern Translation (Hamlet)$2.99
  • Modern Translation (Macbeth)$2.99
  • Schmidt's Lexicon$3.99
Show 7 more
  • All Apocrypha$7.99
  • Course: Intro to Shakespeare$9.99
  • All Lexicons$9.99
  • Upgrade to Shakespeare Pro$12.99
  • Modern Translation (All Works)$14.99
  • Modern Translation (All Works)$19.99
  • Shakespeare Ultimate$59.99
7 purchases

eNotes

Subscriptions4
  • eNotes Pass3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • eNotes Pass$14.991 Month
  • eNotes Pass3 Days trial$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • eNotes Pass$49.991 Year
One-time3
  • 1-week Pass$6.99
  • 1-month Pass$14.99
  • 1-year Pass$29.99

Questions

Is Shakespeare free?
Shakespeare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is eNotes free?
eNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shakespeare or eNotes?
Shakespeare is rated higher. Shakespeare averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while eNotes averages 4.0 from 292 ratings.
Do Shakespeare or eNotes have ads?
Neither Shakespeare nor eNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shakespeare or eNotes?
Shakespeare ships an update every 3 weeks, and eNotes every 6 weeks. Most recently, Shakespeare was updated on November 6, 2026 and eNotes on November 1, 2026.

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