# Notability vs Notes

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Notes at none against Notability's 10. Notes also leads on review sentiment (52% vs 36%) and device support (5 vs 3). Notability's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 9 months) and chart position (#116 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 9 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 — 459K and 667K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 52% of Notes's.

Notability ships an update weekly, Notes every 9 months. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (459K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-study/id360593530/reviews) | **[4.8 (667K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notes/id1110145109/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 459K | **667K** |
| Positive reviews | 36.1% of reviews | **52.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 9 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#116** | — |
| Size | 455 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **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-study/id360593530)

**Currently charting:** #116 Top Grossing · Productivity, #182 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Capture, organize, and enhance your thoughts with digital ink, typed text, and audio recordings. This app helps you mark up documents, create presentations, and study smarter with AI-powered tools. Access your notes across all your devices for seamless productivity.

**Highlights:** Handwritten notes, typing, and sketching, PDF and document annotation, Audio recording synced to notes, AI-powered summaries and quizzes, Folder and subject organization, Cross-device sync

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

**In-app purchases (9)**

| 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 Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Pro | $19.99 | per month |
| Notability Pro | $99.99 | per year |

**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, iPhone Duo support

**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?

Notes is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 459K ratings, while Notes averages 4.8 from 667K ratings.

### 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 November 9, 2026 and Notes on November 9, 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.*