Notability vs Sibelius KeyPad
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Notability
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.
- Handwritten and typed notes
- PDF and document annotation
- Audio recording and transcription
- AI-powered summaries and quizzes
- Customizable organization
- Cross-device sync
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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
Sibelius KeyPad
Transform your iPhone or iPad into a virtual keypad for your computer to enhance creativity and productivity within Sibelius. Connect wirelessly via Wi-Fi for seamless control, with a slick interface and quick setup.
- Virtual keypad for Sibelius
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- Automatic keypad switching
- Slick user interface
- Personal Hotspot support
- Easy 3-step setup
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Sibelius KeyPad turns your iPhone or iPad into a dedicated notation keypad for Sibelius. Keep the controls you use most close at hand while you compose, arrange, and edit. Connect over Wi-Fi, choose the keypad you need, and send notation shortcuts to Sibelius on your Mac or Windows PC. Made for scoring - Common Notes - More Notes - Beams and Tremolos - Articulations - Jazz Articulations - Accidentals Customize your workflow - Assign keyboard shortcut actions to keypad buttons - Choose the shortcut sent when switching each keypad tab - Reset keypads to factory settings any time - Automatically switch keypads in Sibelius based on your selection Simple setup - Works with Sibelius for Mac and Windows - Connect over Wi-Fi or Personal Hotspot - Set up in three quick steps - No direct line of sight required System Requirements - iPhone or iPad - Sibelius for Mac or Windows - Mac: macOS 10.13 or later with helper app - Windows: Windows 7 or later with helper app - Shared Wi-Fi network or Personal Hotspot Helper app Requires the free helper app for Mac or Windows: https://rs.ltd/get Ratings are like gold for indie developers like me - please give the app a quick rating on the App Store. • Privacy policy can be found at https://www.cherpake.com/privacy • Terms and Conditions can be found at https://www.cherpake.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
Notability and Sibelius KeyPad both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 89% of Sibelius KeyPad's written reviews are positive against 36% of Notability's. Notability's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (458K vs 142). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Sibelius KeyPad sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notability against 4.6 for Sibelius KeyPad. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 458K ratings behind it against 142, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 89% of Sibelius KeyPad's.
Notability ships an update every 6 days, Sibelius KeyPad every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notability | Sibelius KeyPad |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (458K ratings) — better | 4.6 (142 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.1% of reviews | 89.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 458K — better | 142 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #111 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 415 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ginger Labs | Remote Sunrise LTD |
Customer experience
Notability
Sibelius KeyPad
User reviews
Notability
From 458K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great app for note-taking
- 👍 Smooth handwriting experience
- 📝 Excellent organization and file management
- 🎙️ Useful audio recording feature
- 🔍 Handwriting recognition and search
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sync issues with iCloud
- 🔍 Limited search and organization options
- 🖍️ Frustrating highlighter behavior
- 🔒 Concerns about subscription model
- 🔧 Buggy after recent updates
Sibelius KeyPad
From 142 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Significantly speeds up Sibelius workflow and note input
- 👍 Easy to install and set up
- ⚡ Minimal lag and responsive performance
- 🎯 Intuitive user interface aligned with Sibelius keypad
- 💰 Affordable alternative to physical keypads
Room to improve
- 🐛 Accent symbol and grace note keys non-functional
- 🔌 WiFi-dependent, causes issues on public networks
- 🔄 Connection drops requiring history workaround to reconnect
- ⏱️ Occasional latency when changing rhythm values
- 🎵 Missing voice selector buttons
Bugs and requests
Notability
Reported bugs
4 issues- Notes disappearing or getting corrupted
- Frequent crashes and performance issues
- Palm rejection problems after updates
- Inconsistent behavior when importing files
Requested features
5 requests- 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
Sibelius KeyPad
Reported bugs
10 issues- Accent symbol key does not function
- Grace note key non-functional
- Main screen shows 'no computer found' despite prior connection
- App crashes on iPhone with certain iOS versions
- Buttons trigger Mission Control or desktop reveal instead of intended functions
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- Incorrect note duration symbols displayed on some keys
- App occasionally inputs notes automatically after 30 minutes of use
- Tab switching not working properly
- Inconsistent button functionality on certain pages
- Connection issues on public WiFi networks
Requested features
9 requests- Voice selector buttons for editing different voices
- Piano keyboard option for note input
- Numeric display on keys for dual numpad functionality
- Sync between Sibelius keypad clicks and app display
- iPad Sibelius compatibility
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Custom key mapping/settings
- Upstroke/downstroke articulation symbols
- Customizable skins and themes
- Better button positioning for smaller hands
In-app purchases
Notability
- Notability Lite$5.991 Month
- Notability Plus$7.991 Month
- Notability Plus$12.993 Months
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- Notability Lite$14.991 Year
- Notability Plus1 Year trial2 variants$19.991 Year
- Notability Plus7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Notability Plus$19.991 Year
- Notability Pro$19.991 Month
- Notability Pro3 Days trial$99.991 Year
- Notability Classic$49.99
Sibelius KeyPad
- Sibelius KeyPad Pro - 1 month$0.991 Month
- Sibelius KeyPad Pro - 1 year$4.991 Year
- Sibelius KeyPad Pro - lifetime$2.99
- Sibelius KeyPad Pro - forever$9.99
Questions
Is Notability free?
Is Sibelius KeyPad free?
Which has better reviews, Notability or Sibelius KeyPad?
Do Notability or Sibelius KeyPad have ads?
Which is updated more often, Notability or Sibelius KeyPad?
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