# Notability vs Corkulous

The clearest difference is monetization model: Notability at freemium against Corkulous's subscription. Notability also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (458K vs 986). Corkulous's advantage is review sentiment (60% vs 36%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Corkulous sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 458K ratings behind it against 986, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 60% of Corkulous's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Notability ships an update every 6 days, Corkulous every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Corkulous |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (458K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [4.4 (986 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/corkulous-your-ideas/id1155543746/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **458K** | 986 |
| Positive reviews | 36.1% of reviews | **60.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | **#111** | — |
| Size | 415 MB | 128 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Corked Labs, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1155543745) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #111 Top Grossing · Productivity, #170 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, iPhone Duo 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 Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Pro | $19.99 | per month |
| 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


### Corkulous

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/corkulous-your-ideas/id1155543746)

Organize and share your ideas naturally on digital corkboards. Collect notes, photos, links, and tasks, then visually connect them. Supports multiple boards, sketching, and cloud syncing for seamless idea management across devices.

**Highlights:** Digital corkboards for idea collection, Support for notes, photos, links, and tasks, Visual connections and grouping of ideas, Sketch tools with gesture support, iCloud and Dropbox syncing, Export and share in multiple formats, Nested boards and templates

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corkulous Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Corkulous Yearly | $14.99 | per year |
| 600 AI Credits | $9.99 | one-time |
| 1200 AI Credits | $19.99 | one-time |
| 1800 AI Credits | $29.99 | one-time |
| 2400 AI Credits | $39.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Subscription | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent app
- 🚀 Great tool for ideas development
- 👍 Brilliant concept
- 👍 Superb and powerful
- 👍 Naturally smart

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Great but has issues
- 🐛 Useless file sharing
- 🐛 Unreliable autosaving
- 🐛 Lacks Windows integration
- 🐛 Small board kinda glitchy

**Reported bugs**

- Boards not opening
- Boards not syncing across devices
- Text disappearing from sticky notes
- Frequent crashes
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Allow drawing directly on board
- Increase canvas size
- Add ability to change default font
- Improve syncing and file sharing
- Add desktop version


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is Corkulous free?

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

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

Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 458K ratings, while Corkulous averages 4.4 from 986 ratings.

### Do Notability or Corkulous have ads?

Neither Notability nor Corkulous shows ads.

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

Notability ships an update every 6 days, and Corkulous every 3 months. Most recently, Notability was updated on October 28, 2026 and Corkulous on October 24, 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.*