# Notability vs AxNote

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.

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.

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.

Notability ships an update weekly, AxNote every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | AxNote |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [4.3 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/axnote-note-taking/id1532017999/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | **50.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#80** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.5** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Jonathan Benjamin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1667195856) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #80 Top Grossing · Productivity, #129 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


### AxNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/axnote-note-taking/id1532017999)

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:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AxNote+ | $24.99 | one-time |


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