# Microsoft Excel vs Noteful

Microsoft Excel and Noteful both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of Noteful's written reviews are positive against 24% of Microsoft Excel's. Noteful also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). Microsoft Excel's advantage is ratings volume (1.5M vs 24K) and chart position (#26 vs unranked). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Microsoft Excel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Microsoft Excel against 4.8 for Noteful. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Excel has 1.5M ratings behind it against 24K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 24% of Microsoft Excel's written reviews are positive against 87% of Noteful's.

Microsoft Excel ships an update weekly, Noteful fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Microsoft Excel | Noteful |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (1.5M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/microsoft-excel/id586683407/reviews) | **[4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.5M** | 24K |
| Positive reviews | 24.3% of reviews | **86.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#26** | — |
| Size | 439 MB | 157 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **16.4** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Microsoft Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/298856275) | [Noteful Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587904336) |

## What reviewers say

### Microsoft Excel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/microsoft-excel/id586683407)

**Currently charting:** #26 Top Free · Productivity, #42 Top Grossing · Productivity (US App Store)

This powerful productivity app allows you to create, view, and edit spreadsheets on the go. Manage data, perform calculations, and analyze information with robust formatting and charting tools. Share your work easily with others.

**Highlights:** Create, view, and edit spreadsheets, Data analysis with charts and graphs, Budgeting and accounting tools, Customizable tables and formatting, Share files with collaborators, Draw and annotate with ink

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Office 365 Personal | $5.99 | per month |
| Office 365 Personal | $6.99 | per month |
| Microsoft 365 Personal Student | $9.99 | per month |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $9.99 | per month |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $12.99 | per month |
| Office 365 Home | $12.99 | per month |
| Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Microsoft Copilot Pro | $20.00 | per month |
| Office 365 Personal | $69.99 | per year |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $99.99 | per year |
| Office 365 Home | $129.99 | per year |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $129.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Powerful and feature-rich
- 🔍 Useful for data management and analysis
- 🔧 Convenient for on-the-go work
- 🤝 Good integration with Microsoft ecosystem
- 🤩 Excellent for personal and professional use

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Subscription required for full functionality
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 📱 Limited features compared to desktop version
- 🤔 Confusing user interface changes
- 🤯 Frustrating syncing and file management issues

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to open or edit files
- Unexpected app closures
- Syncing problems with OneDrive
- Formatting issues when copying and pasting
- Slow performance on high-end devices

**Requested features**

- Conditional formatting options
- Ability to open password-protected files
- Improved Apple Pencil and keyboard support
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts
- Better compatibility with Dropbox and other cloud storage


### Noteful

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334)

This app revolutionizes paperless note-taking on iPad, allowing for handwritten notes, document annotation, and knowledge organization. It offers a fluid writing experience, PDF markup, powerful tagging, and audio recording synced with notes.

**Highlights:** Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil, PDF and document annotation, Organize notes with tags, Layers for annotations, Audio recording synced with notes, Import PDFs and MS Office documents

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Noteful Pro, Lifetime | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth writing experience
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 💡 Layers feature
- 👍 Affordable one-time purchase
- 🚀 Efficient and lightweight

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🔍 No handwriting recognition or search
- 🔍 Limited text editing options
- 🔍 Lack of advanced features like math conversion
- 🔍 Exporting PDFs loses some formatting

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues across devices
- Lasso tool not working properly with PDFs
- Eraser tool not functioning as expected

**Requested features**

- Handwriting recognition and search
- More text editing options (bullet lists, etc.)
- Improved PDF handling and annotations
- Custom templates and sticker support
- Expanded cloud storage options (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Microsoft Excel free?

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

### Is Noteful free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Microsoft Excel or Noteful?

Noteful is rated higher. Microsoft Excel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5M ratings, while Noteful averages 4.8 from 24K ratings.

### Do Microsoft Excel or Noteful have ads?

Neither Microsoft Excel nor Noteful shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Microsoft Excel or Noteful?

Microsoft Excel ships an update weekly, and Noteful fortnightly. Most recently, Microsoft Excel was updated on November 1, 2026 and Noteful on November 1, 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.*