Comparison

Notability vs SMART ServiceCheck

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

SMART ServiceCheck

This app checks network configurations to ensure seamless connectivity with SMART hardware and software solutions. It identifies blocked URLs or ports that may prevent automatic updates or screen sharing, providing specific details for resolution.

Highlights
  • Network port and URL testing
  • Firewall blockage identification
  • Troubleshooting for SMART solutions
  • Automatic update verification
  • Wireless screen sharing support
Features
Read full description

The SMART hardware and software solutions sometimes require access to special websites or ports, for example for functions such as automatic updates or wireless screen sharing. As soon as your smartphone is in the same network as the SMART solution, the SMART ServiceCheck app can test for you whether all of these releases and ports are permitted in the network to be used or whether they are blocked by a firewall. If this is the case, the SMART ServiceCheck app names the corresponding URLs or ports that still need to be allowed in the network so that SMART solutions such as SMART Lumio™, SMART Learning Suite™ or SMART Mirror of the SMART Board® interactive displays works perfectly.

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
SMART ServiceCheck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SMART ServiceCheck at none against Notability's 13. SMART ServiceCheck also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Notability's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (457K vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. SMART ServiceCheck asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SMART ServiceCheck holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notability ships an update weekly, SMART ServiceCheck every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Notability versus SMART ServiceCheck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilitySMART ServiceCheck
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews36.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings457K — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank#79 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.5 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB2 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperGinger LabsThomas Reichwein

Customer experience

Notability

All ratings456,880 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews3,628 reviews
Positive36.3%
Neutral8.7%
Negative55.0%

SMART ServiceCheck

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

SMART ServiceCheck

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
None

SMART ServiceCheck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SMART ServiceCheck free?
SMART ServiceCheck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notability or SMART ServiceCheck?
SMART ServiceCheck is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while SMART ServiceCheck averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Notability or SMART ServiceCheck have ads?
Neither Notability nor SMART ServiceCheck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or SMART ServiceCheck?
Notability ships an update weekly, and SMART ServiceCheck every 6 months. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 26, 2026 and SMART ServiceCheck on June 1, 2026.

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