Notability vs Blankbook
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
Blankbook
Experience a natural handwriting feel on an infinite canvas. Organize notes with a visual bookshelf and access tools quickly. Offers various paper types and intuitive controls for seamless creativity.
- Infinite scrolling canvas
- 7 static paper types (dark/light variants)
- Pen, pencil, marker, lasso, ruler, erasers
- Three quick-access tool slots
- Intuitive gesture controls
- Automatic dark mode matching system settings
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Blankbook reduces the clutter and reproduce the essence of an extraordinary handwriting experience. It features a well-thought design that makes your content speak. The bookshelf offers a see-through preview that allows you to see your content directly. Canvas: Infinite scrolling canvas allows your creativity flow, you’ll never be bothered by manually creating a new page over and over again. Paper: It offers 7 static paper types. All with dark and light variants. Dotted, squared, watercolor papers, etc. We get you covered. Tools: Pen, pencil, marker, lasso for copy and cut, ruler, pixel eraser and vector eraser. All powered by the best Apple Pencil technology. Shortcuts: Want quick access to your favorite tools without adjusting the setting repeatedly? We offer you three quick-access slots per note. Add any tools to it and it saves for you. Intuitiveness: Tap the title name your note, long press to reorder, two-finger tap to undo, two-finger pinch to zoom. It’s that easy! Dark mode: The color scheme will match the system setting automatically. Or you can use iOS dark/light switch to set it to your preferences. Have fun writing! ----------------- “You’ve got the brownie when night is coming, huh~ It's not a dessert". Licensed from artist Yuanyu Zhou(Ins: @frost.tree), Bookbook iMessage app integrates with her "Brownie" series of emoji packs. Term of service: https://www.legolas.me/paperworks/blankbook-terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://www.legolas.me/paperworks/blankbook-privacy-policy Developer: Yuxiao Wang Special thanks: @Yuanyu Zhou, @Minja. For ideas, testing and feedbacks.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Notability at 4.8 against Blankbook's 3.9. Notability also leads on ratings volume (457K vs 129) and chart position (#80 vs unranked). Blankbook's advantage is review sentiment (55% vs 37%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.5). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Blankbook sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 129, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 55% of Blankbook's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Notability ships an update weekly, Blankbook every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and July 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notability | Blankbook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (457K ratings) — better | 3.9 (129 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | 54.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 457K — better | 129 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #80 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 411 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ginger Labs | 璐 徐 |
Customer experience
Notability
Blankbook
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
Blankbook
From 129 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✍️ Natural handwriting and pen feel
- ♾️ Infinite canvas for unlimited space
- 🎨 Simple and clean interface
- ⚡ Good performance and responsiveness
- 💰 One-time purchase option available
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and app failures
- 💾 Data loss and note disappearance
- ⏱️ Severe lag with large amounts of data
- 🔄 Notes not syncing across devices
- 🗂️ No folder or organizational system
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
Blankbook
Reported bugs
16 issues- App crashes when creating new sheets or files
- Notes permanently disappear without warning
- Severe lag and slow loading with accumulated data
- Delete function doesn't permanently remove notes
- Unresponsive settings and help buttons
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- App fails to open or closes immediately
- Palm rejection issues causing accidental zooms
- Eraser and pencil tool flashing/switching randomly
- Grid/lines don't move with canvas when scrolling or zooming
- Random dots appearing while writing
- Zoom gestures misinterpreted
- Crashes after leaving app in background
- Premium purchase not recognized after reinstall
- Incompatibility with Mac version for editing
- Settings not persisting across sessions
- Performance issues on iPad Pro with iOS 14+
Requested features
20 requests- Folder organization system for notes
- Cloud backup and sync across devices
- Image and PDF insertion capability
- Snap-to-grid and smart shapes
- Ability to rotate and scale selected content
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Dark mode toggle within app
- Customizable color swatches
- Copy and paste image functionality
- Multi-window support
- Undo/redo button in addition to gesture
- Export as vector file option
- Snap shapes and lines feature
- Lock/pin canvas to grid lines
- Duplicate entire notes function
- Typed text insertion
- More than three tool shortcuts
- Default tool customization
- Larger color palette
- Device synchronization for iPad and iPhone
- Backup system for data protection
In-app purchases
Notability
- Notability Lite$5.991 Month
- Notability Plus$7.991 Month
- Notability Plus$12.993 Months
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- 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
Blankbook
- Monthly7 Days trial$2.491 Month
- Lifetime$6.99









