Comparison

Notability vs Pocket Scanner by Spalgin

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 thoughts with digital ink, typed text, and audio recordings. This app helps you mark up documents, create presentations, and study smarter with AI-powered tools. Access your notes across all your devices for seamless productivity.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes, typing, and sketching
  • PDF and document annotation
  • Audio recording synced to notes
  • AI-powered summaries and quizzes
  • Folder and subject organization
  • 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

Pocket Scanner by Spalgin

Read full description

Pocket Scanner turns paper notes and receipts into an organized archive on your device. Scan with the document camera or add selected photos. Crop, rotate, reorder, and return to the original imported image. Recognize text on device, search your documents, and share searchable PDFs. Import selected PDF pages, split documents, move pages, or merge documents. Keep folders, tags, and favorites. Preview a backup before restoring it or adding a copy, and recover deleted documents or pages. Available in English and Turkish. No account, advertising, subscription, or server. The camera is used only when you choose to scan. Correct recognized text or add your own page notes; the saved text is searchable and included in searchable PDF exports.

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
Pocket Scanner by Spalgin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pocket Scanner by Spalgin at none against Notability's 10. Pocket Scanner by Spalgin also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Notability's advantage is chart position (#112 vs unranked). On price, ads 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. Pocket Scanner by Spalgin asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notability ships an update weekly, Pocket Scanner by Spalgin every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Notability versus Pocket Scanner by Spalgin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilityPocket Scanner by Spalgin
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (459K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews36.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings459K — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#112 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size455 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger Labsfevzi emre karahan

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

Pocket Scanner by Spalgin

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
None

Pocket Scanner by Spalgin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pocket Scanner by Spalgin free?
Pocket Scanner by Spalgin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Notability or Pocket Scanner by Spalgin have ads?
Neither Notability nor Pocket Scanner by Spalgin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notability or Pocket Scanner by Spalgin?
Notability ships an update weekly, and Pocket Scanner by Spalgin every 2 days. Most recently, Notability was updated on November 5, 2026 and Pocket Scanner by Spalgin on October 31, 2026.

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