# Notability vs Brain Dump

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Brain Dump at 81% against Notability's 36%. Notability's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (457K vs 38). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Brain Dump sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 38, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 81% of Brain Dump's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Notability ships an update weekly, Brain Dump fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and July 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Brain Dump |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [4.4 (38 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brain-dump-voice-journal/id6473446030/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 38 |
| Positive reviews | 36.3% of reviews | **80.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#87** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Saravanan Pitchaimani](https://appshunter.io/developer/1718934465) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #87 Top Grossing · Productivity, #125 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


### Brain Dump

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brain-dump-voice-journal/id6473446030)

This app transforms spoken thoughts into organized, structured notes with automatic formatting. Capture ideas, journal, or draft content hands-free, receiving clean output without manual editing. It's designed for those who think faster than they type.

**Highlights:** Speech to structured notes, Automatic formatting (headings, bullets), On-device transcription (offline), Export and share notes, AI rewrite features (Pro), Voice journaling

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $44.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is Brain Dump free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Notability or Brain Dump?

Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Brain Dump averages 4.4 from 38 ratings.

### Do Notability or Brain Dump have ads?

Neither Notability nor Brain Dump shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notability or Brain Dump?

Notability ships an update weekly, and Brain Dump fortnightly. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 28, 2026 and Brain Dump on July 17, 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.*