Comparison

Notability vs Microsoft PowerPoint

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 PowerPoint

Create, edit, and present slideshows from anywhere. Access recent files, sync across devices via OneDrive, and collaborate with others in real time. Features AI-powered design ideas and a Presenter Coach for public speaking practice.

Highlights
  • Create and edit presentations
  • View and present slideshows
  • Sync across devices with OneDrive
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Design ideas and templates
  • AI-powered Presenter Coach
Features
Read full description

Create, edit, view, present and share presentations with ease, whether you're on your phone or switching between devices. Quickly access your recent presentations and slides across all your devices. OneDrive syncing keeps your work up to date, so you can start on your PC and continue editing on mobile without worrying about version conflicts. Make an impact with customizable, professional-looking slides. Use templates and design ideas to build polished presentations fast. Present confidently with Presenter Coach, an AI tool that offers real time suggestions to help you improve your pace, reduce filler words and speak naturally. (Microsoft 365 subscription required.) Collaborate in real time – share presentations with one tap, see who’s working with you, manage permissions and track comments and changes as your deck evolves. Get more done with Copilot – your built in AI assistant for PowerPoint.* • Summarize lengthy presentation decks • Get suggested Q&As to prep for meetings • Research a topic using Copilot Chat Present with Confidence • Create or continue presentations on the go • Seamless OneDrive syncing across devices • Practice with Presenter Coach for personalized feedback Customizable Slideshow Maker • Start from templates or build slides from scratch • Powerful editing tools help your work stand out Collaborate on Presentations • Invite others to edit or review with one click sharing • Manage access and see who’s active in your deck • View comments and compare changes over time Requirements • 1 GB RAM or above *Unlock the full Microsoft 365 experience with a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription for your phone, tablet, PC or Mac. Microsoft 365 subscriptions purchased in app are billed to your App Store account and auto renew unless disabled in account settings. Subscriptions cannot be cancelled during the active period. This app may be provided by Microsoft or a third party publisher and is subject to its own privacy statement and terms. Data may be transferred to or stored in the United States or other regions where Microsoft or its service providers operate. EULA: http://aka.ms/eula

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
Microsoft PowerPoint4 screens

Verdict

The call

Notability and Microsoft PowerPoint both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 53% of Microsoft PowerPoint's written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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 PowerPoint sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 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 PowerPoint. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 457K and 578K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 53% of Microsoft PowerPoint's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 10 level
Notability versus Microsoft PowerPoint: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityMicrosoft PowerPoint
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings) — better4.7 (578K ratings)
Positive reviews36.5% of reviews53.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings457K578K — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#79#29 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.5 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB447 MB
Age rating4+4+
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 PowerPoint

All ratings578,321 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.2%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews1,662 reviews
Positive53.0%
Neutral7.6%
Negative39.4%

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 PowerPoint

From 578K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Helpful for school and work
  • 🚀 Smooth transitions and animations
  • 👍 Wide range of fonts and designs

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
  • 🔒 Difficult to share and collaborate
  • 🔒 Limited functionality compared to desktop version
  • 🔋 Slow loading times
  • 👎 Requires subscription for full features

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 PowerPoint

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Slides getting corrupted or deleted unexpectedly
  • Inability to open or save files in certain locations
  • Inconsistent behavior when using Bluetooth keyboard
  • Text formatting issues when moving between devices
  • Overwriting of recent changes with older versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to select and edit multiple slides at once
  • Improved palm rejection and text input with Apple Pencil
  • Equation editor for scientific presentations
  • Picture-in-picture mode for viewing slides and taking notes
  • Seamless integration with other cloud storage services

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
11 purchases

Microsoft PowerPoint

Subscriptions11
  • Office 365 Personal1 Month trial$6.991 Month
  • Office 365 Home1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$9.991 Month
Show 8 more
  • Microsoft 365 Personal Student1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial$12.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Microsoft Copilot Pro$20.001 Month
  • Office 365 Personal$69.991 Year
  • Office 365 Home$99.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$99.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial$129.991 Year

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Microsoft PowerPoint free?
Microsoft PowerPoint is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notability or Microsoft PowerPoint?
Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Microsoft PowerPoint averages 4.7 from 578K ratings.
Do Notability or Microsoft PowerPoint have ads?
Neither Notability nor Microsoft PowerPoint shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or Microsoft PowerPoint?
Notability ships an update weekly, and Microsoft PowerPoint weekly. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 24, 2026 and Microsoft PowerPoint on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Notability or Microsoft PowerPoint?
Notability currently peaks at #79 in the App Store charts, and Microsoft PowerPoint at #29. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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