Comparison

Notability vs AxNote

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

AxNote

This app offers an intelligent canvas for note-taking, allowing users to generate summaries from text, handwriting, and audio recordings. It supports image annotation, data visualization with tables and charts, and handwriting conversion to typed text. Designed for Apple Pencil, it provides flexible layouts and on-device AI features.

Highlights
  • AI-powered summaries from text, handwriting, and audio
  • Audio transcription and topic exploration
  • Image and PDF annotation
  • Data visualization with tables and charts
  • Handwriting to typed text conversion
  • Apple Pencil integration
  • Customizable layouts
Features
Read full description

AxNote is an intelligent canvas that thinks with you. Generate summaries from your notes and audio recordings with Apple Intelligence. Explore topics in recordings and jump to where they're discussed. Create flashcards from your notes with a single tap. Handwrite your notes and convert it to typed text. Drag and drop images, and instantly annotate on a blank canvas, lined, or grid paper. Snap perfect shapes. Create beautiful tables and charts to visualize your data. AxNote is a next-level digital note-taking experience. FEATURES Magic Summary: Generate summaries of your text, handwriting, or audio recordings using a device that supports Apple Intelligence. Summaries are perfect for catching up with meetings, revision, and for creating flashcards. Magic Summary cards can also be converted to a PDF or plain text for use in your favorite flashcard platform. Ask About Topics: Magic Summary automatically finds key topics discussed in your audio recordings and gives you summaries of those topics. You can also ask specific questions about the contents of your recording and Magic Summary will give you an answer using your recording as the source of truth. Jump To Topic: Instantly skip to the part of a recording where a specific topic is discussed with Magic Summary. No more manually scrubbing through hours of lectures or meetings. Audio Transcription: AxNote features fast, accurate audio transcription that runs directly on your device and supports languages other than English. Audio transcriptions can be added to your note or shared with others. Images, PDFs, Tables, and Charts: Drag and drop images and PDFs anywhere in a note. Images can be annotated directly over using a markup tool. Create simple tables with CSV support and link them with charts to create beautiful data visualizations. Images, tables, and charts live right alongside your handwriting and typed text. AxNote also supports Image Playground, so you can turn a prompt into an image and add it to your note (requires a device with Apple Intelligence enabled). Made for Pencil: AxNote is the perfect companion for Apple Pencil. With support for tilt and pressure sensitivity, shape snapping, Apple Pencil Hover, and handwriting-to-text, it's the only app you need to turn your ideas into beautiful ink. Layouts: Transform your iPad or iPhone into a real notebook with a selection of preset Layouts, including lined, grid, dot grid paper, and a freeform canvas. Customize your layouts with specific measurements for line and grid spacing and colors. Bookmarks: Pin what matters most in your notes. You can access your bookmarks from anywhere in a note, allowing you to jump within (and between) pages for quick access to important content. Privacy and Flexibility: With AxNote, you're in control of your data and where it's stored. Save your documents in your preferred cloud storage provider with the Files app or keep them on your device. AxNote's AI features also run directly on your Apple Intelligence-supported device, so your notes are never sent to an online service for processing or AI model training. Offline Support: AxNote's AI features (including Magic Summary and Audio Transcription) don't need an internet connection after initial setup, so you can work even when you're off the grid. --- AxNote+ - Unlimited pages - Unlimited Magic Summary usage - Customize Layouts These features are available with a one-time in-app purchase to AxNote+. Please read the Terms of Service at animantlabs.com/axnote/terms --- Need help? Please visit support.animantlabs.com/axnote Terms of Service: animantlabs.com/axnote/terms

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
AxNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notability at 4.8 against AxNote's 4.3. Notability also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (457K vs 7). AxNote's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and review sentiment (50% vs 37%). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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 and AxNote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 50% of AxNote'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, AxNote every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Notability versus AxNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityAxNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings) — better4.3 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews36.5% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings457K — better7
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank#80 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.5 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger LabsJonathan Benjamin

Customer experience

Notability

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

AxNote

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

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

AxNote

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
1 purchases

AxNote

One-time1
  • AxNote+$24.99

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AxNote free?
AxNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notability or AxNote?
Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while AxNote averages 4.3 from 7 ratings.
Do Notability or AxNote have ads?
Neither Notability nor AxNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or AxNote?
Notability ships an update weekly, and AxNote every 2 months. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 24, 2026 and AxNote on September 19, 2026.

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