# Notability vs Notes The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Notes at none against Notability's 13. Notes also leads on review sentiment (51% vs 37%) and device support (5 vs 3). Notability's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 9 months) and chart position (#80 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them. Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Notes asks for nothing beyond the download. On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notability against 4.8 for Notes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 457K and 641K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 51% of Notes's. Notability ships an update weekly, Notes every 9 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026. ## The numbers | Metric | Notability | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | Free | Free | | Rating | [4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews) | [4.8 (641K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notes/id1110145109/reviews) | | Number of ratings | 457K | **641K** | | Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | **51.2% of reviews** | | In-app purchases | Yes | **No** | | Ads | No | No | | Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 9 months | | Monetization | Freemium | **Free** | | Best chart rank | **#80** | — | | Size | 411 MB | 6 MB | | Requires iOS | 17.5 | **15.0** | | Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** | | Age rating | 4+ | 4+ | | Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Apple](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353) | ## What reviewers say ### Notability [App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530) **Currently charting:** #80 Top Grossing · Productivity, #129 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 ### Notes [App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notes/id1110145109) Capture your thoughts, ideas, and important information with a versatile note-taking app. Attach various file types, scan documents, create checklists, and even sketch directly within your notes. Organize with folders, tags, and smart searches, and collaborate with others on shared notes. **Highlights:** Add attachments (PDFs, images, links), Scan paper documents, Create checklists, Sketch with finger or stylus, Search text in notes and handwriting, Collaborate on shared notes, Quick Note feature **Features:** Apple Watch app **In-app purchases:** none **What reviewers like** - 📝 Versatile note-taking app - 🔒 Secure with password/biometric lock - 🌐 Seamless sync across devices - 🚀 Quick and responsive - 📂 Organized with folders and tags **What reviewers complain about** - 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches - 🔍 Difficulty finding/retrieving notes - 🔋 High battery drain when using Apple Pencil - 📝 Limited formatting options (font, color, etc.) - 🔒 Password reset issues with locked notes **Reported bugs** - Notes randomly disappearing or not syncing - Cursor jumping around when editing text - Typing lag and performance issues - Inconsistent behavior when adding images - Formatting problems when pasting content **Requested features** - Add undo/redo functionality - Improve table formatting and calculations - Allow custom folder colors and icons - Implement a page view for longer notes - Integrate with Reminders app for to-do lists ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Notability free? Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available. ### Is Notes free? Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases. ### Which has better reviews, Notability or Notes? Notability and Notes are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 457K and 641K ratings respectively. ### Do Notability or Notes have ads? Neither Notability nor Notes shows ads. ### Which is updated more often, Notability or Notes? Notability ships an update weekly, and Notes every 9 months. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 24, 2026 and Notes on September 24, 2026. --- *Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*