Comparison

Notability vs Workflowy

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

Workflowy

Capture ideas, manage tasks, and organize your thoughts with an infinitely nestable system. This app offers AI assistance for summarization and brainstorming, along with collaborative features and robust search capabilities. It syncs across devices and works offline, making it a powerful tool for personal and team productivity.

Highlights
  • Infinitely nested lists
  • AI summarization and brainstorming
  • Kanban boards for task management
  • Real-time collaboration and sharing
  • Global search and filtering
  • Offline access and cross-device sync
  • Tagging and mentions
Features
Read full description

Workflowy is a simple, distraction-free app for capturing notes, managing tasks, and organizing your thinking. Infinitely nestable, surprisingly powerful - it helps you manage all the information in your life. With Workflowy you can: • Capture notes and ideas in an instant • Organize complex thinking with infinite nesting • Ask AI to summarize, rewrite, or brainstorm with your notes • Plan and manage tasks with kanban boards • #Tag and @assign items to stay on top of things • Link items across lists - edit once, update everywhere • Share and collaborate in real-time • Upload photos, files, and embed videos • Search and filter your entire Workflowy in seconds Workflowy syncs across all your devices and auto-saves everything. No more missing notes or lost files. Trusted by teams and thinkers at: Atlassian, Slack, The New York Times, and thousands of entrepreneurs, writers, engineers, scientists, and students worldwide. Feature highlights: • Infinitely nested lists • Workflowy AI (chat with notes, AI nodes, quick actions) • Calendar • Kanban boards • Mirrors (live synced copies) • #Tags and @mentions • Date organization with /date shortcuts • Global text search and filtering • Simple sharing and permissions • Works offline • Syncs with desktop and web • One-swipe task completion • File uploads and image attachments • Highlight text and color tags • Item starring • YouTube and X embeds • MFA (Multi-factor authentication) • Expand and collapse lists • Mobile keyboard shortcuts Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
Workflowy4 screens

Verdict

The call

Notability and Workflowy both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 88% of Workflowy's written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's. Workflowy also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.5). Notability's advantage is ratings volume (457K vs 8.2K) and chart position (#77 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 Workflowy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 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 4.8 for Workflowy. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 8.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 88% of Workflowy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Notability versus Workflowy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityWorkflowy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings)4.8 (8.2K ratings)
Positive reviews36.5% of reviews88.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings457K — better8.2K
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#77 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.515.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB147 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger LabsFunRoutine INC

Customer experience

Notability

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

Workflowy

All ratings8,216 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews1,066 reviews
Positive88.0%
Neutral4.8%
Negative7.2%

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

Workflowy

From 8.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Best way to organize thoughts
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive
  • 👍 Excellent for productivity and organization
  • 👍 Versatile for various use cases

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional data loss issues
  • 🐛 Offline mode not always reliable
  • 🔋 Can be slow on mobile devices
  • 👎 Limited customization options

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

Workflowy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Cursor sometimes gets stuck
  • Syncing issues between web and mobile versions
  • Inability to delete items consistently

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to attach files and documents
  • Improve mobile app experience
  • Implement better notification and reminder system
  • Add more formatting options (e.g., font styles, colors)

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
2 purchases

Workflowy

Subscriptions2
  • Workflowy Pro - Monthly$8.991 Month
  • Workflowy Pro - Yearly$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Workflowy free?
Workflowy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notability or Workflowy?
Notability and Workflowy are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 457K and 8.2K ratings respectively.
Do Notability or Workflowy have ads?
Neither Notability nor Workflowy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or Workflowy?
Notability ships an update weekly, and Workflowy weekly. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 25, 2026 and Workflowy on September 23, 2026.

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