Comparison

Notability vs Microsoft Copilot

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

Microsoft Copilot

This AI-powered app helps you be more productive at work. Chat with an AI assistant to create content, manage projects, find files, and learn new concepts. It offers voice interaction and expert insights for various tasks.

Highlights
  • Chat with AI assistant
  • Voice interaction
  • Find files quickly
  • Accelerate learning
  • Generate research reports
  • Create and edit content
  • Manage projects with notebooks
Read full description

The Microsoft Copilot app is the AI built for work. Copilot helps you keep your work moving, from early ideas to finished documents, presentations, and more. Whether you're creating content, managing projects, organizing your day, or finding information, Copilot helps you get more done from one place. Copilot connects to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more, bringing the files and information you use into one place. Create polished documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, summarize articles and files, draft emails, brainstorm ideas, analyze information, and get answers grounded in the work you're doing. Need help tackling a bigger task? With Cowork, Copilot can take on multi-step work and help deliver finished files and completed to-dos, so you spend less time piecing work together and more time making progress. Choose between leading AI models, selecting the one that's best suited to the task at hand. Whether you're writing, researching, planning, or analyzing, Copilot gives you the flexibility to work your way. Copilot also remembers what matters, connects to the files and information you use most, and helps you pick up where you left off. Upload Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images or PDF files directly from your phone to ask questions, generate summaries, and find the information you need. For organizations with a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, Work IQ gives Copilot a deep understanding of your organization's work, people, and relationships, delivering more intelligent, relevant, personalized and trusted assistance. Copilot is built on the same enterprise-grade security foundation as Microsoft 365 — your permissions, encryption, and compliance commitments already in place. Data processing and protection commitments differ by subscription; see the full security documentation for details. Availability of Microsoft Copilot features may vary. Some capabilities require specific licenses or may be disabled by your organization's administrator. See this webpage for more information on feature availability by license: https://support.microsoft.com/topic/understanding-the-different-microsoft-copilot-experiences-cfff4791-694a-4d90-9c9c-1eb3fb28e842 Please refer to Microsoft’s EULA for Terms of Service for Microsoft 365. By installing the app, you agree to these terms and conditions: https://learn.microsoft.com/legal/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-copilot-mobile-license-terms

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
Microsoft Copilot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Notability at none against Microsoft Copilot's shown. Microsoft Copilot's advantage is chart position (#10 vs #80). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 and Microsoft Copilot sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notability against 4.7 for Microsoft Copilot. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 457K and 1.3M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 29% of Microsoft Copilot's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notability ships an update weekly, Microsoft Copilot every 4 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Notability versus Microsoft Copilot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityMicrosoft Copilot
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings) — better4.7 (1.3M ratings)
Positive reviews36.5% of reviews — better29.2% of reviews
Number of ratings457K1.3M — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#80#10 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.5 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB448 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperGinger LabsMicrosoft Corporation

Customer experience

Notability

All ratings456,880 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews3,594 reviews
Positive36.5%
Neutral8.6%
Negative54.8%

Microsoft Copilot

All ratings1,326,525 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews3,130 reviews
Positive29.2%
Neutral6.0%
Negative64.8%

User reviews

Notability

From 457K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app for note-taking
  • 👍 Smooth handwriting experience
  • 📝 Excellent organization and file management
  • 🎙️ Useful audio recording feature
  • 🔍 Handwriting recognition and search

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues with iCloud
  • 🔍 Limited search and organization options
  • 🖍️ Frustrating highlighter behavior
  • 🔒 Concerns about subscription model
  • 🔧 Buggy after recent updates

Microsoft Copilot

From 1.3M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Seamless integration of Office apps
  • 🔒 Secure cloud storage with OneDrive
  • 👍 Convenient all-in-one productivity solution
  • 🚀 Great for on-the-go work and collaboration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent file saving and syncing
  • 🔍 Confusing file management and navigation
  • 🔍 Limited functionality compared to desktop Office
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and performance issues
  • 💰 Subscription-only model, no standalone option

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

Microsoft Copilot

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Documents not saving properly
  • Inability to change file names or locations
  • Compatibility issues with older devices and OSes
  • Unreliable syncing between devices and cloud

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow opening multiple documents side-by-side
  • Improve iPad optimization and user experience
  • Provide better integration with third-party cloud storage
  • Add more advanced formatting and editing capabilities

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
14 purchases

Microsoft Copilot

Subscriptions14
  • Microsoft 365 Basic$1.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$6.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal2 variants$9.991 Month
Show 11 more
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial2 variants$12.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Family$12.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly2 variants$19.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Microsoft Copilot Pro$20.001 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$99.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$99.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial2 variants$129.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Family$129.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Premium Annual1 Month trial$199.991 Year

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Microsoft Copilot free?
Microsoft Copilot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notability or Microsoft Copilot?
Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Microsoft Copilot averages 4.7 from 1.3M ratings.
Do Notability or Microsoft Copilot have ads?
Microsoft Copilot shows ads; Notability does not.
Which is updated more often, Notability or Microsoft Copilot?
Notability ships an update weekly, and Microsoft Copilot every 4 days. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 24, 2026 and Microsoft Copilot on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Notability or Microsoft Copilot?
Notability currently peaks at #80 in the App Store charts, and Microsoft Copilot at #10. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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