# Notability vs Mind Map

Notability and Mind Map both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 70% of Mind Map's written reviews are positive against 36% of Notability's. Notability's advantage is ratings volume (458K vs 7) and chart position (#92 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Mind Map sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notability against 4.9 for Mind Map. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 458K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 70% of Mind Map's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Mind Map |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (458K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews) | **[4.9 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mind-map-hoodlemind/id1535574338/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **458K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 36.2% of reviews | **69.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#92** | — |
| Size | 413 MB | 42 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **17.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [翔 崔](https://appshunter.io/developer/974649822) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #92 Top Grossing · Productivity, #191 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 Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Pro | $19.99 | per month |
| 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


### Mind Map

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mind-map-hoodlemind/id1535574338)

Create beautiful mind maps intuitively to capture and organize ideas. Supports brainstorming, note-taking, studying, and project planning. Collaborate in real-time and export in various formats.

**Highlights:** Intuitive mind map creation, Brainstorming and ideation, Note-taking and studying, Project planning and management, Customizable themes and formatting, Add notes, links, attachments, and images to nodes, Real-time collaboration, Export as PNG, PDF, OPML

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HoodleMind Quarterly Subscription | $2.99 | per 3 months |
| HoodleMind Pro | $12.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Mind Map free?

Mind Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notability or Mind Map?

Mind Map is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 458K ratings, while Mind Map averages 4.9 from 7 ratings.

### Do Notability or Mind Map have ads?

Neither Notability nor Mind Map shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notability or Mind Map?

Notability ships an update weekly, and Mind Map weekly. Most recently, Notability was updated on October 18, 2026 and Mind Map on October 16, 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.*