# Notability vs Book Writer One

The clearest difference is rating: Notability at 4.8 against Book Writer One's 2.5. Notability also leads on ratings volume (458K vs 16) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). Book Writer One's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, 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 Book Writer One sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 458K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 44% of Book Writer One's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Notability ships an update every 6 days, Book Writer One every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notability | Book Writer One |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (458K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notability-ai-notes-and-planner/id360593530/reviews)** | [2.5 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/book-writer-one/id917579461/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **458K** | 16 |
| Positive reviews | 36.1% of reviews | **43.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#110** | — |
| Size | 415 MB | 73 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginger Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/318126112) | [Good Effect](https://appshunter.io/developer/432391844) |

## What reviewers say

### Notability

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

**Currently charting:** #110 Top Grossing · Productivity, #176 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, iPhone Duo 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 Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Notability Pro | $19.99 | per month |
| 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


### Book Writer One

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/book-writer-one/id917579461)

Easily create interactive multimedia books with text, images, voice, and video. Organize your thoughts, make photo books, diaries, or even PDF documents. Share your creations with the world or publish them as paperbacks.

**Highlights:** Create multimedia books with text, images, and video, Organize thoughts and notes, Design photo books, diaries, and PDFs, Interactive page elements, Drag-and-drop interface, Share books via Book World, Dropbox, or email, Paperback publishing option

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Book Writer Unlimited | $3.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notability free?

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

### Is Book Writer One free?

Book Writer One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notability or Book Writer One?

Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 458K ratings, while Book Writer One averages 2.5 from 16 ratings.

### Do Notability or Book Writer One have ads?

Neither Notability nor Book Writer One shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notability or Book Writer One?

Notability ships an update every 6 days, and Book Writer One every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notability was updated on October 27, 2026 and Book Writer One on October 15, 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.*