# Notability vs Handwriting Book

The clearest difference is rating: Notability at 4.8 against Handwriting Book's 3.6. Notability also leads on review sentiment (36% vs 0%) and ratings volume (457K vs 7). Handwriting Book's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Handwriting Book sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.49 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 0% of Handwriting Book's.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Handwriting Book |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [3.6 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/handwriting-book-note-taking/id1645807794/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | **36.3% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#75** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [婧 李](https://appshunter.io/developer/797015558) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #75 Top Grossing · Productivity, #134 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


### Handwriting Book

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/handwriting-book-note-taking/id1645807794)

This app offers an infinite canvas for note-taking and creative work. It features natural writing, shape and text insertion, document scanning, and easy sharing options. Organize your notes with folders and tags, and sync across devices.

**Highlights:** Infinite canvas, Natural writing experience, Insert text, shapes, and images, Built-in document scanner, Folder and tag organization, Multi-device synchronization, Export to PDF and image

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Annual subscription | $4.49 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is Handwriting Book free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Notability or Handwriting Book?

Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Handwriting Book averages 3.6 from 7 ratings.

### Do Notability or Handwriting Book have ads?

Neither Notability nor Handwriting Book shows ads.

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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.*