# Notability vs Minimal | Notes

Notability and Minimal | Notes both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 81% of Minimal | Notes's written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's. Notability's advantage is monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and ratings volume (457K vs 290). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notability against 4.7 for Minimal | Notes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 290, 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 81% of Minimal | Notes's.

Notability ships an update weekly, Minimal | Notes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Minimal | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [4.7 (290 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-notes/id1442727443/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 290 |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | **81.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | **#77** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Timeless](https://appshunter.io/developer/1183067513) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #77 Top Grossing · Productivity, #126 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


### Minimal | Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-notes/id1442727443)

This app offers a distraction-free writing environment inspired by meditation. It features collaborative writing, note expiration, and the ability to publish notes as websites. Organize tasks with integrated to-do lists and sync across all your Apple devices.

**Highlights:** Note Lifetime reminders, Collaborative writing, Publish notes as websites, Todo lists sync with Calendar, Beautiful formatting, Sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimal Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Minimal Annual | $49.99 | per year |
| Minimal Family Plan | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent note-taking app
- 👍 Beautiful and simple design
- 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
- 👍 Customizable appearance and formatting
- 🚀 Responsive and helpful developer

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Lack of password protection or locking for notes
- 💰 Expensive subscription model

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when using certain formatting or pasting content
- Syncing issues between iOS and macOS versions
- Incompatibility with older macOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add ability to insert images or attachments
- Improve iCloud sync reliability
- Implement a folder-based organization system
- Add a word/character count feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is Minimal | Notes free?

Minimal | Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notability or Minimal | Notes?

Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Minimal | Notes averages 4.7 from 290 ratings.

### Do Notability or Minimal | Notes have ads?

Neither Notability nor Minimal | Notes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notability or Minimal | Notes?

Notability ships an update weekly, and Minimal | Notes every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 25, 2026 and Minimal | Notes on September 19, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*