Comparison

Notability vs Audio Notes | Email Me

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Handwritten and typed notes
  • PDF and document annotation
  • Audio recording and transcription
  • AI-powered summaries and quizzes
  • Customizable organization
  • Cross-device sync
Features
Read full description

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

About

Audio Notes | Email Me

Quickly capture ideas, thoughts, tasks, and follow-ups on the go by emailing them to yourself. Supports text, audio with transcription, images, and clipboard content. Integrates with iOS extensions and Apple Watch for seamless note-taking.

Highlights
  • Email notes in one tap
  • Audio notes with transcription
  • Send images from camera/library
  • Clipboard content sharing
  • iOS App Extensions support
  • Apple Watch standalone app
  • macOS menu bar integration
Features
Read full description

Email Me is designed to be the fastest way to record your ideas, thoughts, tasks, and follow-ups when you're on the go. It is the easiest and fastest way to email something to yourself so you will never forget things again. Ever. CORE FEATURES AND BENEFITS – Send notes to your email in one tap – Send audio notes with transcriptions – Send images from your Camera or Library in one tap – Send your clipboard content in one tap – Supports multiple recipients with multiple email addresses – Supports Widgets – Supports iOS App Extensions – Universal App for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro – Multiple custom App icons and themes – Siri and Shortcuts support – Option to use your own SMTP Configuration AI TOOLS – Summarize any note in one tap – Turn a note into a task list automatically – Translate a note into another language – Edit any AI result with a prompt before regenerating over your changes TRANSCRIPTION – Transcribe your own audio notes automatically – Transcribe WhatsApp voice notes by sharing them into the app – Transcribe Apple Voice Memos by sharing them into the app – On-device transcription support SHARE EXTENSION / ACTION EXTENSION – Share a voice note to transcribe it in one tap – Share a link from Safari in one tap – Share text from a website in one tap – Share an image in one tap from the Action Extension – Share extension supports major App Store apps APPLE WATCH – Standalone Watch App – Watch App Complications for every Complication type – Send text notes in one tap – Send audio notes in one tap – Send audio recordings in one tap – Notes sent from your Watch appear in My Notes on your iPhone MAC APP – Standalone macOS App – Integrates as a macOS menu bar icon – Supports macOS Widgets – Supports macOS Share Extension EASY TO CONFIGURE – Set predefined email addresses – Set a predefined subject prefix if desired – Set a predefined email signature if desired – Set an email alias – Set the reply-to email address ACCESSIBILITY – Accessibility labels app-wide for VoiceOver – Supports dynamic text sizing – Supports sounds and vibration feedback – Supports dark mode – Custom CoreHaptics for precise haptics – Reduce Motion accessibility checks within the app, which automatically reduce motion IMPORTANT – Send an unlimited number of emails – Notes are delivered to your email inbox instantly – No data collected or shared with third parties, at all – AI Voice Memos supports two URL schemes: EmailMe://?message=Hello emailme://hello PRESS "If you're looking for something to capture everything you need to remember, and capture it quickly, I highly recommend picking up AI Voice Memos." – The Unofficial Apple Weblog "If you need to send photos or screenshots to yourself on a regular basis, then AI Voice Memos will save you quite a bit of time." – Productivity Blog SUBSCRIPTIONS Yearly Premium Subscription: Send unlimited emails for 1 year. Cancel your subscription any time. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period by going to your iOS Account Settings after purchase. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms and conditions: https://www.emailmeapp.net/terms/ For more information or questions, please contact: info@emailmeapp.net

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
Audio Notes | Email Me4 screens

Verdict

The call

Notability and Audio Notes | Email Me both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 92% of Audio Notes | Email Me's written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's. Audio Notes | Email Me also leads on device support (6 vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.5). Notability's advantage is ratings volume (457K vs 669) and chart position (#81 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Audio Notes | Email Me sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notability against 4.8 for Audio Notes | Email Me. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 669, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 92% of Audio Notes | Email Me's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notability ships an update weekly, Audio Notes | Email Me every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Notability versus Audio Notes | Email Me: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityAudio Notes | Email Me
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings)4.8 (669 ratings)
Positive reviews36.5% of reviews92.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings457K — better669
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#81 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.515.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB77 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperGinger LabsManuel Escrig Ventura

Customer experience

Notability

All ratings456,880 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews3,594 reviews
Positive36.5%
Neutral8.6%
Negative54.8%

Audio Notes | Email Me

All ratings669 ratings
Positive96.3%
Neutral0.9%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive92.0%
Neutral0.9%
Negative7.1%

User reviews

Notability

From 457K App Store ratings

What 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

Audio Notes | Email Me

From 669 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast, full-featured, and easy to use
  • 👍 Excellent app, solid, and great for productivity
  • 🚀 Seamless, intuitive, and efficient workflow
  • 👍 Responsive and helpful developer
  • 🚀 Extremely useful and time-saving

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues with Apple Watch
  • 🔒 Concerns about security and privacy with custom SMTP
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔒 Subscription model and lack of lifetime purchase option

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

Audio Notes | Email Me

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Emails not always sending as expected
  • Losing unsent notes after app crashes
  • Subscription issues and inability to restore purchases

Requested features

4 requests
  • Transcription of voice notes
  • More customization options for app appearance
  • Ability to edit text without triggering send
  • Improved Apple Watch integration and functionality

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Notability

Subscriptions9
  • Notability Lite$5.991 Month
  • Notability Plus$7.991 Month
  • Notability Plus$12.993 Months
Show 6 more
  • Notability Lite$14.991 Year
  • Notability Plus1 Year trial2 variants$19.991 Year
  • Notability Plus$19.991 Year
  • Notability Pro$19.991 Month
  • Notability Plus$29.991 Year
  • Notability Pro3 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • Notability Classic$49.99
5 purchases

Audio Notes | Email Me

Subscriptions4
  • Email Me: Audio Notes – Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Email Me: Audio Notes – Weekly3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Email Me: Audio Notes – Quarterly$5.993 Months
Show 1 more
  • Email Me: Audio Notes – Yearly7 Days trial$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • Voice Memos Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Audio Notes | Email Me free?
Audio Notes | Email Me is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notability or Audio Notes | Email Me?
Notability and Audio Notes | Email Me are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 457K and 669 ratings respectively.
Do Notability or Audio Notes | Email Me have ads?
Neither Notability nor Audio Notes | Email Me shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or Audio Notes | Email Me?
Notability ships an update weekly, and Audio Notes | Email Me every 9 days. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 24, 2026 and Audio Notes | Email Me on September 23, 2026.

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