Comparison

Notability vs Notes, To

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

Notes, To

Capture notes, tasks, voice recordings, and web pages in a single, private app. Organize your thoughts and projects with flexible blocks, tags, and a folder-like system. Sync your data across devices and personalize your experience with themes.

Highlights
  • Private local data storage
  • Modular content blocks
  • Folder-like organization with tags
  • Integrated to-do list system
  • Save web pages for later
  • Voice memo recording
  • Cross-device cloud sync
Features
Read full description

Notes, tasks, voice recordings, web pages, and files - all in one beautiful native iOS app. Your data stays on your device Featured by Apple - "New Apps We Love" 4.8 stars from thousands of users "Better than Notion for personal use - kind of like Notion, but native" "Better than Evernote's and OneNote's mobile app" "Best notes app. It does everything I could want" - KEY FEATURES - PRIVATE All data stored locally on your device, owned by you. No account required to get started. Just open the app and write. MODULAR Every piece of content is an independent block. Capture texts, lists, to-dos, files, bookmarks, locations, and more - then arrange them however you want. ORGANIZED Folder-like system, tags, color coding, and search. Put notes inside other notes to build any structure you need - shopping lists, project plans, or an entire personal knowledge base. TO-DOS Flexible task and project system built right into your notes. Create checklists, set reminders, check items off. No need for a separate task app. DRAG & DROP Add content and move it around, anywhere you want. Designed for touch from day one - not adapted from desktop. READ IT LATER Save websites and articles to read later. Keep everything you find online in one place alongside your notes. VOICE MEMOS Record memos, meeting notes, lectures, and ideas. Right there next to your text notes, not in a separate app. CLOUD SYNC Back up your data and access it on all your devices. Works offline first - syncs automatically when you reconnect. THEMES Beautiful themes to personalize your space. Make the app feel like yours. - PERFECT FOR - - Shopping lists, grocery lists, daily checklists - Quick notes, ideas, and thoughts - Managing tasks and to-dos - Organizing projects and personal knowledge - Saving web links to read later - Collecting recipes, travel plans, fitness tips - Recording voice memos and meeting notes - Keeping files and documents in one place - Journaling and personal diary - And much more - UNIT PLUS - A powerful free version is available for everyone. Upgrade to Plus to unlock: - Unlimited blocks - Advanced block types (audio, location, toggle) - Passcode protection - Save web pages offline - Premium themes collection - Unlimited uploads - Unlimited devices - Priority support Unit is free. If you choose to upgrade to Plus, payment will be charged to your Apple account, and your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can choose to be billed monthly or yearly. You can turn off auto-renew in your Apple ID Account Settings any time after purchase. - Join our community: - Reddit: r/unitnotes - Twitter: @unitnotes - Email: support@unit.app - Terms of Service: https://unit.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://unit.app/privacy

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
Notes, To4 screens

Verdict

The call

Notability and Notes, To both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 82% of Notes, To's written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's. Notability's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (457K vs 108). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 Notes, To sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 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 Notes, To. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 108, 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 82% of Notes, To's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notability ships an update weekly, Notes, To every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Notability versus Notes, To: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityNotes, To
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings) — better4.8 (108 ratings)
Positive reviews36.5% of reviews81.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings457K — better108
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#77 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.5 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger LabsNazir Dashtiev

Customer experience

Notability

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

Notes, To

All ratings107 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral4.5%
Negative13.6%

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

Notes, To

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
4 purchases

Notes, To

Subscriptions3
  • Month$3.991 Month
  • 6 months$19.996 Months
  • Year$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Notes, To free?
Notes, To is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notability or Notes, To?
Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Notes, To averages 4.8 from 108 ratings.
Do Notability or Notes, To have ads?
Neither Notability nor Notes, To shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or Notes, To?
Notability ships an update weekly, and Notes, To every 6 weeks. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 25, 2026 and Notes, To on September 19, 2026.

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