Notability vs Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Handwritten and typed notes
- PDF and document annotation
- Audio recording and transcription
- AI-powered summaries and quizzes
- Customizable organization
- Cross-device sync
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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
Notes
Capture ideas, plan events, and manage tasks with this versatile note-taking app. Organize notes with custom views, filters, and priority pinning. Enjoy voice notes, file attachments, and secure local accounts.
- Voice notes
- Checklist creation
- File attachments
- Drag and drop organization
- Board and list views
- Local accounts
- Day/night modes
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Notes — simple notes, reminders and ideas in one app Capture ideas, plan events and keep important lists in one place. Notes helps you stay organized — from quick thoughts to important tasks with reminders. Write, draw and organize everything your way. At home, at work or on the go — your notes are always with you. Main features: • Notes with reminders • Drawing and sketch notes • Easy organization with lists • Board and list views • Filters and pinning • Simple drag-and-drop controls • Local accounts without restrictions • Light and dark modes Pro features: • Voice notes • Unlimited file attachments • Checklists inside notes • Full backup and restore • App lock • Note forwarding and sharing • Printing No ads or annoying pop-ups — just a clean and intuitive interface. Works offline for better privacy, security and stability. Download Notes and manage your ideas, plans and daily tasks with ease. Terms of Use: https://calenhub.com/note_terms_of_use.html
Screenshots
Verdict
Notability and Notes both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Notes's written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's. Notes also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.5). Notability's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (457K vs 8). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. 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 Notes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 100% of Notes's.
Notability ships an update weekly, Notes every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (457K ratings) | 4.9 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 457K — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #80 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 411 MB | 155 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ginger Labs | Planning Technologies LLC |
Customer experience
Notability
Notes
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
Notes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Notability
- Notability Lite$5.991 Month
- Notability Plus$7.991 Month
- Notability Plus$12.993 Months
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- 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
- Notability Classic$49.99
Notes
- Full Access for a Month$1.491 Month
- Full Access for a Year7 Days trial$11.991 Year
- Full Access Forever$24.99







