Notability vs 1Writer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Handwritten and typed notes
- PDF and document annotation
- Audio recording and transcription
- AI-powered summaries and quizzes
- Customizable organization
- Cross-device sync
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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
1Writer
This app is a powerful text editor for creating, revising, and sharing ideas efficiently. It supports plain text and Markdown, with advanced features like an extended keyboard, photo insertion, and custom URL actions. Sync with cloud services and personalize your writing experience.
- Markdown syntax highlighting and preview
- Extended keyboard with custom buttons
- Photo insertion with Dropbox integration
- Sync with iCloud, Dropbox, and WebDAV
- Custom URL actions and JavaScript support
- In-app web browser for research
- Passcode and biometric app protection
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1Writer combines all the basic text editing features you would expect with all the advanced features you will ever need. Use 1Writer to write, research, revise, and share your ideas with maximum efficiency. - - - - - - - - - - "The only Dropbox- and Markdown-enabled text editor for iPhone that’s clicked with me has been 1Writer. It’s simple, looks great, and gets the job done." - TheSweetSetup.com "Really great app, really recommend it." - Federico Viticci, MacStories.net "The app interface is beautiful and distraction-free, with loads of other awesome features lurking beneath its simple exterior. It's now my go-to iPhone text editor." - Chris Gonzales, ToolsandToys.net "For users that want a great visual experience paired with great support for custom actions and third party apps, 1Writer is an excellent choice." - iMore.com "1Writer is the most powerful text editor available for iPhone." - Phillip Gruneich - - - - - - - - - - CREATE - Write :: generate and edit plain text or Markdown files. - Preview :: see the formatted results with Markdown syntax highlighting while you write and a full, rich-text preview when you're done. - Extended keyboard :: a convenient row of buttons for navigation, formatting, special characters (customizable--pick the characters you use the most). - Insert photo :: pick a photo or take a new one, and 1Writer will upload it to Dropbox and generate the Markdown-syntax to add it to your document--all in a single action! - Snippets :: TextExpander Touch support. - Custom URL actions :: insert a document template, encode a selection and replace the original text, look up synonyms and much more. - JavaScript :: create even more powerful custom actions using JavaScript—text manipulation, perform a find & replace, interact with the clipboard—the possibilities are endless. IMPORT - Sync with iCloud, Dropbox and WebDAV. - Share extension :: send text to 1Writer from other apps. In Safari, the extension uses the current URL, page title and selected text to create a new document. - Create, append, prepend, or replace text directly from other apps using the 1Writer URL scheme. EXPORT - CloudApp and Dropbox :: generate a link to share your document in plain text or PDF. - Evernote :: pick your notebook, add tags and turn a text selection or the entire document into a new, rich-text note. - Copy HTML :: put the formatted text for your document directly on the clipboard. - Custom actions :: open a web search, tweet a selection, save a series of items in a list and much more. PERSONALIZE - Support Dark Mode on iOS 13. - 2 dark themes for more comfortable reading and writing at night. - Choose from 20 different fonts. - Bookmark and sync the Dropbox/WebDAV folders you want to have quick access to the sub-folders and documents you need. - Use a passcode or Touch ID/Face ID to protect the app from unauthorized users. RESEARCH - In-app web browser :: research, look up information without having to leave the app. - Bookmarks :: create and access your favorite websites. - Save the current text selection to the clipboard in Markdown syntax. - 1Password support :: login to all your accounts using the 1Password extension. EVEN MORE GREAT FEATURES - Drag and drop. - Open in Place. - Multiple windows on iOS 13. - MultiMarkdown. - Search documents from Spotlight. - Find & replace within document. - Photo and PDF preview. - Today widget :: access your recent documents from the Notification Center or create a new document in one tap. - Checklist support :: create a list of things to do or topics to research, and easily check them off. - Full-text search and hashtag support :: search within a folder to find the document you need, and view related documents that have the same tag.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: 1Writer at 84% against Notability's 37%. 1Writer also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.5). Notability's advantage is price (Free vs $4.99) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and chart position 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
Notability is free to download; 1Writer costs $4.99 up front. Notability sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and 1Writer sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 388, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 37% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 84% of 1Writer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Notability ships an update weekly, 1Writer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notability | 1Writer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (457K ratings) — better | 4.6 (388 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | 83.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 457K — better | 388 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #79 | #44 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 411 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Ginger Labs | Ngoc Luu |
Customer experience
Notability
1Writer
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
1Writer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Notability
- Notability Lite$5.991 Month
- Notability Plus$7.991 Month
- Notability Plus$12.993 Months
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- 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
- Notability Classic$49.99
1Writer
- Small Tip$0.99
- Nice Tip$2.99
- Generous Tip$4.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Massive Tip$9.99
- Amazing Tip$19.99









