# Mental Note ๛ vs Notability

The clearest difference is price: Notability at Free against Mental Note ๛'s $4.99. Notability also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). Mental Note ๛'s advantage is review sentiment (63% vs 37%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.5). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Notability is free to download; Mental Note ๛ costs $4.99 up front. Mental Note ๛ sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Mental Note ๛'s written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Mental Note ๛ ships an update every 5 months, Notability weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mental Note ๛ | Notability |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.0 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mental-note/id338578109/reviews) | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 15 | **457K** |
| Positive reviews | **63.2% of reviews** | 36.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | **#79** |
| Size | 10 MB | 411 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.5 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zymbiotic Technologies](https://appshunter.io/developer/338578112) | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) |

## What reviewers say

### Mental Note ๛

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mental-note/id338578109)

This app offers a versatile digital notepad experience, allowing users to combine text, photos, voice recordings, and drawings on a single page. Capture ideas in any format, organize them with tags, and share them easily.

**Highlights:** Combine text, photos, audio, and drawings, Finger drawing with multiple colors, Add photos from album or camera, Record audio while editing notes, Organize notes with tags, Password protect private notes, Export notes in various formats (PDF, text)

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Paper Customization feature | $2.99 | one-time |
| Straight Line Drawing feature | $3.99 | one-time |
| Dark Mode Override feature | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app with many features
- 👍 Easy to use and organize notes
- 🎨 Ability to add photos, audio, and drawings
- 💯 Excellent customer support
- 🗂️ Helpful for business, work, and personal use

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
- 🔒 Password protection issues
- 🔍 Lack of search functionality
- 📁 No syncing or backup options
- 🖍️ Drawing tools could be improved

**Reported bugs**

- Notes sometimes disappear or get deleted unexpectedly
- Audio recording feature not working properly
- Keyboard issues causing loss of typed text
- Location services not accurately detecting user's location

**Requested features**

- Add iCloud or Dropbox sync
- Implement copy/paste and text formatting options
- Improve drawing tools with more customization
- Introduce a task/to-do list feature
- Add video recording capability


### Notability

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530)

**Currently charting:** #79 Top Grossing · Productivity, #130 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Capture, organize, and enhance your thoughts with a versatile digital notebook. Seamlessly blend handwriting, typing, and multimedia to annotate documents, record lectures, and generate summaries. Ideal for students and professionals seeking to boost productivity and learning.

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

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Notability Lite | $5.99 | per month |
| Notability Plus | $7.99 | per month |
| Notability Plus | $12.99 | per 3 months |
| Notability Lite | $14.99 | per year |
| Notability Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Pro | $19.99 | per month |
| Notability Plus | $29.99 | per year |
| Notability Pro | $99.99 | per year |
| Notability Classic | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mental Note ๛ free?

Mental Note ๛ costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Notability free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Mental Note ๛ or Notability?

Notability is rated higher. Mental Note ๛ averages 4.0 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Notability averages 4.8 from 457K ratings.

### Do Mental Note ๛ or Notability have ads?

Neither Mental Note ๛ nor Notability shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Mental Note ๛ or Notability?

Mental Note ๛ ships an update every 5 months, and Notability weekly. Most recently, Mental Note ๛ was updated on September 23, 2026 and Notability on September 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.*