# Pages vs Microsoft OneNote

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pages at none against Microsoft OneNote's 3. Pages also leads on review sentiment (59% vs 45%). Microsoft OneNote's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and chart position (#84 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Microsoft OneNote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Pages asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Pages against 4.7 for Microsoft OneNote. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 573K and 1.1M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 59% of Pages's written reviews are positive against 45% of Microsoft OneNote's.

Pages ships an update every 3 months, Microsoft OneNote weekly. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pages | Microsoft OneNote |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (573K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pages-create-documents/id361309726/reviews) | **[4.7 (1.1M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/microsoft-onenote/id410395246/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 573K | **1.1M** |
| Positive reviews | **59.2% of reviews** | 44.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#84** |
| Size | 683 MB | 409 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Apple Distribution International](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353) | [Microsoft Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/298856275) |

## What reviewers say

### Pages

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pages-create-documents/id361309726)

Create visually appealing documents with a wide range of templates and editing tools. Enhance your work with multimedia, track changes, and collaborate seamlessly. Offers advanced features for writing, design, and presentation.

**Highlights:** Apple-designed templates, Add images, video, audio, Track changes and comments, Screen View for mobile editing, Interactive EPUB creation, Drawing and annotation with Apple Pencil, Writing Tools for AI assistance

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Versatile writing app
- 🎨 Excellent creative features
- 🤝 Collaborative capabilities
- 📚 Great for writing books/stories
- 🏫 Useful for school/work documents

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional glitches and crashes
- 🔍 Difficult to find/organize documents
- 🖋️ Frustrating cursor and text editing
- 🔄 Inconsistent sync and file management
- 🔢 Limited font and formatting options

**Reported bugs**

- Documents disappearing or failing to save
- Keyboard freezing and unresponsive typing
- Formatting issues when importing/exporting files
- Compatibility problems with older devices/OS versions

**Requested features**

- Add more font and formatting options
- Improve cursor and text editing controls
- Streamline document organization and search
- Enhance sync and offline editing capabilities
- Integrate grammar/spelling correction tools


### Microsoft OneNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/microsoft-onenote/id410395246)

**Currently charting:** #84 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Capture thoughts, ideas, and plans in a digital notepad. Organize, search, and secure your notes, memos, and sketches. Sync across devices for access anywhere, anytime. Collaborate with others on shared notepads.

**Highlights:** Capture thoughts and ideas, Digital sketchbook, Organize and search notes, Sync notes via OneDrive, Collaborate on shared notepads, Handwritten notes and drawings

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $9.99 | per month |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $11.99 | per month |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $12.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Simple, works well
- 👍 Great for planning
- 👍 Powerful note-taking app
- 👍 Invaluable tool for note taking
- 👍 Used for years, couldn't be without this app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔨 Could be better
- 🔨 Formatting issues on mobile app
- 🔨 Buggy widget, no dark app icon
- 🐛 Glitchy, crashes often
- 🐛 Terrible sync speeds

**Reported bugs**

- Cursor positioning is erratic
- Search function does not work well
- Ink to text conversion missing on iPad
- Syncing issues, notes not syncing properly across devices
- Crashing, freezing, and performance issues

**Requested features**

- Native Markdown support and merged cell support
- Ruler, ability to choose or create notebook covers
- Ability to password protect app or individual notebooks
- Option to open on last opened page instead of Home
- Ability to turn note into task that appears on To Do and Planner


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pages free?

Pages is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Microsoft OneNote free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Pages or Microsoft OneNote?

Microsoft OneNote is rated higher. Pages averages 4.6 out of 5 from 573K ratings, while Microsoft OneNote averages 4.7 from 1.1M ratings.

### Do Pages or Microsoft OneNote have ads?

Neither Pages nor Microsoft OneNote shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pages or Microsoft OneNote?

Pages ships an update every 3 months, and Microsoft OneNote weekly. Most recently, Pages was updated on October 14, 2026 and Microsoft OneNote on October 14, 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.*