# Notability vs Workflowy

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.

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.

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.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Workflowy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews) | [4.8 (8.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/workflowy-note-list-outline/id551139514/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 8.2K |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | **88.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#77** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 147 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [FunRoutine INC](https://appshunter.io/developer/551139517) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #77 Top Grossing · Productivity, #126 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


### Workflowy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/workflowy-note-list-outline/id551139514)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Workflowy Pro - Monthly | $8.99 | per month |
| Workflowy Pro - Yearly | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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)


## Frequently asked 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 25, 2026.

---

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