Notability vs Noto
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Handwritten and typed notes
- PDF and document annotation
- Audio recording and transcription
- AI-powered summaries and quizzes
- Customizable organization
- Cross-device sync
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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
Noto
A modern writing and note-taking application offering powerful text editing tools and extensive organization features. It supports unlimited attachments and various export formats, with optional Pro features for enhanced functionality. Syncs seamlessly across devices.
- Powerful text editing tools
- Unlimited attachments (Pro)
- Dark mode
- iCloud sync
- Gesture organization
- Multiple export formats
- Desktop-class organization
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Features: - Powerful text editing tools - Bold / Italic / Underline / Strikethrough / Highlight - Number list / Bullet list / Check list - Unlimited attachments (Pro): - Image / Video / Scan / Drawing / File - Table / Block quote / Code / Math Equation - Dark mode - iCloud sync - Organize with gesture - Export to HTML, Markdown, PDF, & JPG - Lock notes (Pro) - Desktop class organization - Drag to reorder your list and paragraph - Drag to organize your notes - Rapid multi select Noto is free to use, including iCloud Sync support. Unlock Noto Pro to enable all features including * Attachments * Note lock * Export * Support future Noto development Terms and Conditions: https://noto.ink/terms Privacy Policy: https://noto.ink/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Noto at 68% against Notability's 37%. Notability's advantage is ratings volume (457K vs 1.3K) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Noto sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 1.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 68% of Noto's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Notability ships an update weekly, Noto every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notability | Noto |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (457K ratings) — better | 4.6 (1.3K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | 68.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 457K — better | 1.3K |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #79 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 411 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ginger Labs | Soysauce Lab |
Customer experience
Notability
Noto
User reviews
Notability
From 457K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great app for note-taking
- 👍 Smooth handwriting experience
- 📝 Excellent organization and file management
- 🎙️ Useful audio recording feature
- 🔍 Handwriting recognition and search
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sync issues with iCloud
- 🔍 Limited search and organization options
- 🖍️ Frustrating highlighter behavior
- 🔒 Concerns about subscription model
- 🔧 Buggy after recent updates
Noto
From 1.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth and fast
- 👍 Clean and intuitive UI
- 🎨 Customizable folders and colors
- 📁 Excellent organization and hierarchy
- 💻 Works well across devices
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and sync issues
- 🔒 Limited free features, requires subscription
- 📁 Difficulty moving/organizing folders and notes
- 🖌️ Lack of font/text customization options
- 🔍 Poor search functionality
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
Noto
Reported bugs
4 issues- Syncing issues between devices
- Folders and notes disappearing after updates
- Crashes when trying to access certain folders
- Widgets not displaying note content properly
Requested features
6 requests- Add tags or keywords for better organization
- Improve table editing and formatting
- Implement better export options (PDF, HTML, etc.)
- Add support for Apple Pencil and handwriting
- Integrate calendar and reminder features
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- Allow custom backgrounds and themes
In-app purchases
Notability
- Notability Lite$5.991 Month
- Notability Plus$7.991 Month
- Notability Plus$12.993 Months
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- 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
- Notability Classic$49.99
Noto
- Noto Pro Monthly3 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Noto Pro Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Noto Lifetime$24.99









