Notability vs Smart Note Notepad
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
Read full descriptionHide 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
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.
- Gallery interface
- Customizable paper styles
- Pinch to zoom
- Edit cells
- Draw memos
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Notability | Smart Note Notepad |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (457K ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.3% of reviews — better | 10.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 457K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #74 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 14.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 411 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ginger Labs | JIN HWAN KIM |
Customer experience
Notability
Smart Note Notepad
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
Notability
- Notability Lite$5.991 Month
- Notability Plus$7.991 Month
- Notability Plus$12.993 Months
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- 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
Smart Note Notepad
- upgrade to pro$3.99
Questions
Is Notability free?
Is Smart Note Notepad free?
Which has better reviews, Notability or Smart Note Notepad?
Do Notability or Smart Note Notepad have ads?
Which is updated more often, Notability or Smart Note Notepad?
Other comparisons















