Comparison

Notely vs Noteara

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Notely

This app offers a private and flexible digital notebook for handwriting, typed notes, and PDF annotation. Convert handwriting to editable text, draw with precision tools, and organize your work with folders and backups. Keep ideas accessible without an account or internet connection.

Highlights
  • Handwriting to editable text conversion
  • Precision drawing tools
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • Organized library with folders
  • On-device search
  • Portable backups
Features
Read full description

Notely is a notebook for iPad and iPhone that feels like paper and keeps everything on your device. Write by hand, mark up PDFs, record a lecture while you take notes, then study from what you wrote. There's no account and no cloud. Your notes stay where you wrote them. New in 1.4 Notely has a hand-drawn look now, with drawn icons and handwritten headings. I also rebuilt the pencil from scratch. It picks up the grain of the paper and responds to pressure, and if you tilt Apple Pencil on its side it shades like a real one. Record the lecture with your notes Press record and keep writing. Notely transcribes on your device as you go and remembers when each stroke was written. Later, tap a line of ink and the audio jumps to what was being said at that moment. Tapping a line in the transcript works too. Transcription depends on on-device speech support for your language and device. If it isn't available, Notely still saves the audio. Study from your own notes Make flashcards yourself, or lay tape over part of a page and quiz yourself on what's underneath. Cards come back on a spaced review schedule, and you can turn on reminders for when they're due. On devices with Apple Intelligence, Notely can also draft cards from a note and answer questions about it, with a link back to the page each answer came from. You review every draft before it's saved. Handwriting that turns into text Tap the handwriting button and Notely turns your writing into typed text, on the device. Anything it can't read confidently stays as ink. Search also looks inside your handwriting, typed text and PDFs. Pages or open space Use Letter or A4 pages, or switch a note to an infinite canvas when you need room to think. There's always a blank page waiting at the end, and if you don't use it, it's left out when you export. Templates include Cornell notes, dot grid, lab reports, math and physics pages, and music staff. Import PDFs and write on them, or scan paper pages with the camera. Private by default Notely works offline, with no analytics and no ads. Lock any note with Face ID or a password. Locked notes are kept out of Spotlight search and the widget. A few more things - Export pages as PDF or PNG - Back up notes to a .vectora archive and restore them without overwriting anything - Bring notebooks over from Goodnotes or Notability (PDF exports work best; native import is experimental) - A home screen widget with recent notes and a New note button - Shortcuts actions to create a quick note or open recent notes - Folders, tags and smart collections Notely is made by one person. If something bugs you, the support page reaches me directly.

About

Noteara

This AI-powered app combines note-taking, whiteboard functionality, and planning tools. It allows for natural handwriting, task organization with reminders, and live collaboration on shared boards, mimicking the feel of pen and paper.

Highlights
  • AI-powered note-taking
  • Natural handwriting input
  • Live collaborative whiteboards
  • Task organization with reminders
  • Chat with your notes
Features
Read full description

Noteara is an AI-powered notes, whiteboard, handwriting, and planner app for iPad and iPhone. Capture ideas fast, sketch naturally, organize tasks with reminders, chat with your notes, and collaborate live on shared whiteboards—without losing the feel of pen and paper.

Screenshots

Notely4 screens
Noteara4 screens

Verdict

The call

Notely and Noteara both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 33% of Notely's written reviews are positive against 0% of Noteara's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Notely against 4.3 for Noteara. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 3 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of Notely's written reviews are positive against 0% of Noteara's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Notely versus Noteara: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotelyNoteara
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (8 ratings) — better4.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJUSTIN WEI SUNMd Shohag

Customer experience

Notely

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Noteara

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Notely

No in-app purchases

None

Noteara

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notely free?
Notely is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Noteara free?
Noteara is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notely or Noteara?
Notely is rated higher. Notely averages 4.4 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Noteara averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Notely or Noteara have ads?
Neither Notely nor Noteara shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notely or Noteara?
Notely ships an update every 5 days, and Noteara every 5 days. Most recently, Notely was updated on October 31, 2026 and Noteara on October 24, 2026.

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