Comparison

Notability vs XNote

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

XNote

This app offers unlimited whiteboards, PDF annotation, and notebook creation in a simple, intuitive interface. It allows for jotting down ideas, studying materials, and taking daily notes with smooth performance and flexible organization.

Highlights
  • Unlimited whiteboards
  • PDF annotation
  • Notebook creation
  • File organization with folders
  • Web, photo, and file browsing within the app
  • Quick search functionality
  • One-click export and sharing
Features
Read full description

XNote is a passionate app that hopes to slow you down~ XNote combines the ability of using unlimited whiteboards, annotating PDFs and creating notebooks in one, and is easy-to-use You can use it to jot down inspiration, read professional materials and take daliy notes In every possible scenario, Xnote wants to give you smooth experience 【simple and understated, relaxing and flexible】 We made XNote simple and understated, with no complicated buttons and no confusing controls All the important features are at a glance and easy to operate ~ Keep the homepage as default and you'll find most of the files you want to edit ~ On the homepage, you can drag files directly into folders ~ You can quickly create a temporary draft with very simple gestures ~ By clicking the "+" button in the upper right corner, you can easily browse different files and web pages ~ You can take excerpts at any time while browsing files Xnote will become more and more flexible in continuous improvement and iteration 【Pursue the details and control the whole】 We worked on the XNote like horticulturists, pruning the gaudy leaves and carving the key branches You can create folders on the homepage to categorize files Highly compatible with the original pen case gives you a silky writing experience Text, picture, shape, search, every button is irreplaceable You can use the "Search" button to search quickly, and locate the target locator pin with one click You can edit and switch shapes at any time 【Sincere enthusiasm, aspirant and hardworking] We want XNote to be as sincere and passionate as the people it serves We hope that in the classroom, XNote accompanies the students to absorb the essence of knowledge with enthusiasm We hope that in life, XNote accompanies people to record the happy moments of their daily life We hope that at work, XNote accompanies everyone who strives to record the traces of their struggle 【XNote can】 Provide unlimited drawing boards allowing your thoughts and inspiration to extend infinitely Support finger doodling and the original brush of system, making it more convenient for you to draw Support viewing multiple documents simultaneously and inserting pictures, videos, files to enrich your notes Create different shapes to help you highlight key messages quickly Create locator pins to help you locate your target content Support browsing the web, photos and files within the app, helping you integrate internal and external information and study efficiently Search for notes quickly ...... 【Easy to share】 One click export, support for sharing (supports images, PDFs, drafts, and can be shared to guga, goodnotes, notability, collanote, and noteshelf for use) 【Friendly reminder】 XNote is currently in a high-frequency iteration stage, and we are continuously working on new features, welcome to follow and explore! 【Report the issue】 Report bugs and crashes to us, and we'll be happy to fix any problem you encounter while using it Email address:xnoteapp@163.com 【Contact us】 What do you expect from XNote, come and chat with us! ~ Your problems ~ Your advice ~ Your expectations All of the above can be heared in XNote community There are not only users like you, but also our R&D team We believe that everyone here will be excited by the spark of inspiration Contact our WeChat:li1299033501

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
XNote3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: XNote at none against Notability's 13. XNote also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 36%) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.5). Notability's advantage is ratings volume (457K vs 76) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. XNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 60% of XNote's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and August 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Notability versus XNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityXNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings) — better4.6 (76 ratings)
Positive reviews36.3% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings457K — better76
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank#75 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger Labs华清 杨

Customer experience

Notability

All ratings456,880 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews3,624 reviews
Positive36.3%
Neutral8.7%
Negative55.0%

XNote

All ratings76 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral9.2%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral40.0%
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

XNote

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

XNote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is XNote free?
XNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notability or XNote?
Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while XNote averages 4.6 from 76 ratings.
Do Notability or XNote have ads?
Neither Notability nor XNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or XNote?
Notability ships an update weekly, and XNote weekly. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 26, 2026 and XNote on August 11, 2026.

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