Comparison

Notability vs DisplayNote App

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

DisplayNote App

Wirelessly share your iOS device's screen or content to a room display. Follow and annotate presentations, or share files, videos, and links with others. Control video playback directly from your device.

Highlights
  • Wireless screen sharing
  • Content sharing with attendees
  • Follow and annotate presentations
  • Video playback control
  • File sharing
Features
Read full description

Easily share content from your iOS device to a room display without having to pass cables or be on the same network as everyone else. Share your screen to the room display Follow and annotate on content from your device Share images, videos, links and files with other attendees Present videos and control playback from your device

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
DisplayNote App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notability at 4.8 against DisplayNote App's 2.1. Notability also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (457K vs 21). DisplayNote App's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and review sentiment (50% vs 36%). On price, ads and device support 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. DisplayNote App asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 50% of DisplayNote App's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notability ships an update weekly, DisplayNote App every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Notability versus DisplayNote App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityDisplayNote App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings) — better2.1 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews36.3% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings457K — better21
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank#75 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger LabsDisplayNote Technologies Ltd

Customer experience

Notability

All ratings456,880 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews3,624 reviews
Positive36.3%
Neutral8.7%
Negative55.0%

DisplayNote App

All ratings21 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

DisplayNote App

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
None

DisplayNote App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DisplayNote App free?
DisplayNote App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notability or DisplayNote App?
Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while DisplayNote App averages 2.1 from 21 ratings.
Do Notability or DisplayNote App have ads?
Neither Notability nor DisplayNote App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or DisplayNote App?
Notability ships an update weekly, and DisplayNote App every 2 months. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 25, 2026 and DisplayNote App on June 4, 2026.

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