Comparison

Notability vs Smart Note Notepad

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 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
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

Smart Note Notepad

Create visually appealing notes and memos using professionally designed coloring paper styles. This app offers a simple gallery interface for easy management and editing of your digital creations.

Highlights
  • Gallery interface
  • Customizable paper styles
  • Pinch to zoom
  • Edit cells
  • Draw memos
Features
Read full description

with simple and awesome gallery interface. make beautiful notes and memos with professionally designed coloring paper styles. thank you for your support ! relax and wonderful digital experience on iPhone and iPad ! How to use. pinch And stretch fingers to zoom, press hold or swipe to edit cells in collection, The Creativity Never Ends ! appreciate your encouragement with good comments.

Screenshots

Notability4 screens
Smart Note Notepad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notability at 4.8 against Smart Note Notepad's 1.0. Notability also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). Smart Note Notepad's advantage is iOS requirement (14.1 vs 17.5). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Smart Note Notepad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notability holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notability has 457K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of Notability's written reviews are positive against 10% of Smart Note Notepad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notability ships an update weekly, Smart Note Notepad every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Notability versus Smart Note Notepad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotabilitySmart Note Notepad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (457K ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews36.3% of reviews — better10.4% of reviews
Number of ratings457K — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#74 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.514.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size411 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinger LabsJIN HWAN KIM

Customer experience

Notability

All ratings456,880 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews3,624 reviews
Positive36.3%
Neutral8.7%
Negative55.0%

Smart Note Notepad

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive10.4%
Neutral7.8%
Negative81.8%

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

Smart Note Notepad

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 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 Plus$19.991 Year
  • Notability Pro$19.991 Month
  • Notability Plus$29.991 Year
  • Notability Pro3 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • Notability Classic$49.99
1 purchases

Smart Note Notepad

One-time1
  • upgrade to pro$3.99

Questions

Is Notability free?
Notability is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Smart Note Notepad free?
Smart Note Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notability or Smart Note Notepad?
Notability is rated higher. Notability averages 4.8 out of 5 from 457K ratings, while Smart Note Notepad averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Notability or Smart Note Notepad have ads?
Smart Note Notepad shows ads; Notability does not.
Which is updated more often, Notability or Smart Note Notepad?
Notability ships an update weekly, and Smart Note Notepad every 5 months. Most recently, Notability was updated on September 25, 2026 and Smart Note Notepad on June 23, 2026.

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