# Notability vs OrigNotes

Notability and OrigNotes both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 84% of OrigNotes's written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's. OrigNotes also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 13) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.5). Notability's advantage is ratings volume (457K vs 313) and chart position (#80 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. OrigNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notability against 4.7 for OrigNotes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 313, 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 84% of OrigNotes's.

Notability ships an update weekly, OrigNotes every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | OrigNotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [4.7 (313 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/orignotes/id6446162922/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 313 |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | **83.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 11 days |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#80** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 96 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Hangzhou Future Writing Technology Co.,LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1676398498) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #80 Top Grossing · Productivity, #129 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


### OrigNotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/orignotes/id6446162922)

Create, organize, and manage high-quality handwritten notes with ease. Supports handwriting, drawing, image insertion, and PDF annotation. Stay organized and productive for study, work, or daily ideas.

**Highlights:** Handwritten notes and drawing, Image insertion and PDF annotation, Organize and search documents, Customizable note covers and paper styles, Palm rejection and writing settings, Variety of brushes and tools, Cloud sync support

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is OrigNotes free?

OrigNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Notability or OrigNotes?

Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while OrigNotes averages 4.7 from 313 ratings.

### Do Notability or OrigNotes have ads?

Neither Notability nor OrigNotes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notability or OrigNotes?

Notability ships an update weekly, and OrigNotes every 11 days. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 24, 2026 and OrigNotes on September 21, 2026.

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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.*