Comparison

Notability vs DigitalDetox

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 ideas with handwritten notes, document annotation, and audio recording. This app streamlines learning and work by making your notes searchable, shareable, and interactive.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes and sketching
  • PDF and document annotation
  • Audio recording synced to notes
  • Handwriting recognition
  • AI-powered summaries and takeaways
  • Customizable organization with folders
  • 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

DigitalDetox

Features
Read full description

Welcome to DigitalDetox. This is version 1.0 — the beginning of a quieter relationship with your phone. We built this app to be as distraction-free as the sessions it creates. Simple, honest, and focused on one thing: giving you back your time. Your phone is always on. You don't have to be. DigitalDetox is the simplest, most intentional way to step away from your screen. No complicated settings. No willpower battles. Just you, a timer, and the quiet you've been craving. How it works Set your detox duration, put your phone face down, and let DigitalDetox do the rest. The screen goes dark, brightness drops to zero, and a gentle timer counts down in the background. When your session ends, your phone comes back to life — and so do you. It takes ten seconds to start. The benefits last all day. Why DigitalDetox? We check our phones over 150 times a day. We reach for them before we've said good morning to the people we love. We scroll through noise when we could be sitting in silence. DigitalDetox gives you back those moments — one session at a time. Pure black screen — removes all visual distraction the moment you start Flexible timer — choose anywhere from 1 to 60 minutes to fit your day Intentional exit — requires five deliberate taps to end early, keeping you honest with yourself Airplane mode prompt — reminds you to go fully offline before each session No notifications, no interruptions — just uninterrupted quiet Free sessions up to 15 minutes. Unlock extended sessions of up to 60 minutes for a one-time purchase of €1.99 — no subscription, no recurring charges, ever. Pay once. Unplug forever. Whether you use it during your morning coffee, your lunch break, before bed, or whenever the noise gets too loud — DigitalDetox is the pause button your life has been missing. Put the phone down. Be where you are.

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
DigitalDetox2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Notability at #109 against DigitalDetox's unranked. Notability also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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 9 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and DigitalDetox sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Notability versus DigitalDetox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityDigitalDetox
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (459K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews36.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings459K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#109 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size457 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger LabsButrasol

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

DigitalDetox

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 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 Plus7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Notability Plus$19.991 Year
  • Notability Pro$19.991 Month
  • Notability Pro3 Days trial$99.991 Year
1 purchases

DigitalDetox

One-time1
  • Unplug forever$1.99

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DigitalDetox free?
DigitalDetox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Notability or DigitalDetox have ads?
Neither Notability nor DigitalDetox shows ads.

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