# Notability vs Notepad

The clearest difference is rating: Notability at 4.8 against Notepad's 4.3. Notability also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Notepad sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 64, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 33% of Notepad's.

Notability ships an update weekly, Notepad every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Notepad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [4.3 (64 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notepad-an-organised-notes/id1099400916/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 64 |
| Positive reviews | **36.3% of reviews** | 33.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#75** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 64 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **16.6** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Parth Pandya](https://appshunter.io/developer/1063945331) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #75 Top Grossing · Productivity, #142 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


### Notepad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notepad-an-organised-notes/id1099400916)

Securely store and organize your thoughts with advanced features like PIN/biometric locking and an anti-theft system. Convert images to text, sync across devices, and customize your notes with rich formatting and tags. Share, backup, and easily retrieve your important information.

**Highlights:** PIN/Biometric note locking, Anti-theft system with photo capture, OCR for image to text conversion, Cloud sync across devices, Rich text formatting and styling, Tagging and color-coding for organization, Text, photo, and drawing note types

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Month License For Notes App | $1.49 | per month |
| 1 Year License For Notes App | $11.99 | per year |
| Ad Free Notes | $1.99 | one-time |
| 1 Month License | $1.99 | one-time |
| 1 Year License | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is Notepad free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Notability or Notepad?

Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Notepad averages 4.3 from 64 ratings.

### Do Notability or Notepad have ads?

Notepad shows ads; Notability does not.

### Which is updated more often, Notability or Notepad?

Notability ships an update weekly, and Notepad every 3 months. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 26, 2026 and Notepad on September 17, 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.*