Comparison

Notability vs myNotes

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

myNotes

Create notes, sketches, and to-do lists on an expansive, customizable canvas. Easily export your creations as high-resolution images for sharing via email or messaging. Supports Apple Pencil and finger input for a seamless creative experience.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas
  • Apple Pencil & finger drawing
  • Export as JPEG/PNG
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Customizable background
  • Dark Mode
Features
Read full description

It was never easier to create notes, sketches, todo lists, reminders or whatever comes to your mind. You can use the Apple Pencil or your fingers to create amazing notes on an almost infinite canvas. With the export function you can easily save your note as an image and use it wherever you like. Forwarding via email, messages, whatsapp, etc. is no problem either. FUNCTIONS AT A GLANCE: • Draw with Apple Pencil or your fingers • Almost infinite canvas size • Customize the canvas background • Export as JPEG or PNG (max. 8192 pixels x 8191 pixels) • Customize the image export settings • iCloud Synchronization • On iPad and iPhone • Autosave function • Fast positioning • Fast zoom • Toolbar is hideable • Dark Mode • and much more… Data protection is a top priority at myNotes. The data belongs to you. The app will not send any data to anyone, neither the developer nor any other third party or service. Except for the data exchange between your devices through your iCloud, but this function is deactivatable. You have full control over your data and to whom it is sent. You can delete them at any time. QUESTIONS? Do you have any questions or feedback? Write a message to help.myTime@gmx.de! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
myNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notability at 4.8 against myNotes's 2.3. Notability also leads on ratings volume (457K vs 4) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). myNotes's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 37%). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and myNotes sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. 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 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 78% of myNotes'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, myNotes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Notability versus myNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilitymyNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings) — better2.3 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews36.5% of reviews78.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings457K — better4
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#80 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.516.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger LabsHeiner Gerdes

Customer experience

Notability

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

myNotes

All ratings4 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive78.1%
Neutral3.1%
Negative18.8%

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

myNotes

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
4 purchases

myNotes

One-time4
  • Small Coffee$0.99
  • Medium Coffee$3.99
  • Pro Version$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Large Coffee$4.99

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is myNotes free?
myNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notability or myNotes?
Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while myNotes averages 2.3 from 4 ratings.
Do Notability or myNotes have ads?
Neither Notability nor myNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or myNotes?
Notability ships an update weekly, and myNotes every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 24, 2026 and myNotes on September 21, 2026.

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