# Notability vs XNote

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.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. XNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | XNote |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [4.6 (76 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/xnote-infinite-boards-and-notes/id1644300153/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 76 |
| Positive reviews | 36.3% of reviews | **60.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#77** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 40 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [华清 杨](https://appshunter.io/developer/1643454681) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #77 Top Grossing · Productivity, #146 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


### XNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/xnote-infinite-boards-and-notes/id1644300153)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*