# Notability vs Greatnotes5

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Greatnotes5 at 65% against Notability's 37%. Notability's advantage is ratings volume (457K vs 1.4K) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Greatnotes5 sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 1.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 65% of Greatnotes5's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Notability ships an update weekly, Greatnotes5 every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Greatnotes5 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [4.6 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/greatnotes5-ai-note-taking/id1591954297/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 1.4K |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | **65.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#77** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 71 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.5** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Kanza Ahmad](https://appshunter.io/developer/1667956463) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #77 Top Grossing · Productivity, #124 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


### Greatnotes5

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/greatnotes5-ai-note-taking/id1591954297)

Record, transcribe, and organize lectures, meetings, and ideas with AI-powered summaries, instant answers, and quick actions. Export notes as polished PDFs for easy sharing and collaboration.

**Highlights:** Automatic transcription with time-stamps, AI-generated summaries and key takeaways, Ask AI questions about your notes, Quick AI actions: translate, proofread, expand, Export notes as PDF, Record lectures and meetings

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GreatNotes Weekly Premium | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| GreatNotes 40% Off | $4.99 | per month |
| Monthly | $5.99 | per month |
| Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| GreatNotes Yearly Offer | $39.99 | per year |
| GreatNotes Yearly Premium | $59.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $39.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime | $239.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is Greatnotes5 free?

Greatnotes5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notability or Greatnotes5?

Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Greatnotes5 averages 4.6 from 1.4K ratings.

### Do Notability or Greatnotes5 have ads?

Neither Notability nor Greatnotes5 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notability or Greatnotes5?

Notability ships an update weekly, and Greatnotes5 every 3 days. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 25, 2026 and Greatnotes5 on September 23, 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.*