# Notability vs AI Note Taker

Notability and AI Note Taker both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of AI Note Taker's written reviews are positive against 37% of Notability's. AI Note Taker also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.5). Notability's advantage is ratings volume (457K vs 548) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and AI Note Taker sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. 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 AI Note Taker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 548, 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 75% of AI Note Taker's.

Notability ships an update weekly, AI Note Taker monthly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | AI Note Taker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (457K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews) | [4.8 (548 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-note-taker-notesai/id6504924859/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **457K** | 548 |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | **75.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#80** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 45 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Akash Jain](https://appshunter.io/developer/1473155604) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #80 Top Grossing · Productivity, #127 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


### AI Note Taker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-note-taker-notesai/id6504924859)

This app leverages AI to streamline note-taking for lectures, meetings, and general voice recordings. It converts audio and video into text, automatically generating notes and meeting minutes for efficient information capture and organization.

**Highlights:** Automatic lecture notes generation, Voice to text conversion, Video to text note generation, Automatic meeting minutes, Smart note organization

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| NotesAI Weekly | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| NotesAI Weekly | $8.99 | per 7 days |
| NotesAI Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| NotesAI Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| NotesAI Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| NotesAI Lifetime | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Accurate transcription
- 👍 Helpful for ADHD/neurodivergent users
- 💡 Generates flashcards and quizzes
- 👍 Great customer support
- 👍 Useful for nursing/high school students

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Transcription errors, especially for complex topics
- 🔒 Difficult to contact support
- 💰 Expensive premium subscription
- 🐛 Fails to upload/open recorded lectures

**Reported bugs**

- Transcription issues with non-English languages
- App not working in background
- Inability to delete/manage recorded lectures

**Requested features**

- Improved transcription of equations and formulas
- More inclusive and detailed summaries
- Automatic detection of important topics
- Better free version with more functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is AI Note Taker free?

AI Note Taker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notability or AI Note Taker?

Notability and AI Note Taker are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 457K and 548 ratings respectively.

### Do Notability or AI Note Taker have ads?

Neither Notability nor AI Note Taker shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notability or AI Note Taker?

Notability ships an update weekly, and AI Note Taker monthly. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 25, 2026 and AI Note Taker 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.*