# Notability Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Notability the right Note-Taking solution for you? Explore 47 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/229356/Notability/reviews --- Notability 4.6 (47) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/229356/Notability/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of Notability Ease of use 4.7 Customer Service 4.4 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Daniel E Senior PastorNon-Profit Organization Management, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “My overall experience with Notability is that its the notetaker that I keep coming back to for its dependability, ease of use, and intuitive features.“ January 13, 2022 Nurul Miza M Information Technology SpecialistFinancial Services, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Things that i notice with this software is, there are no option to integrate the application with third parties software like Google Chrome.“ January 11, 2022 RB Roxanne B Doctor residentHospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Sometime it’s hard to navigate through the notes.“ October 13, 2022 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 47 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Mohammad M. Technical Office Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notability has, & will always be my go-to note-taking utility." January 12, 2023 5.0 Notability offers exceptional note-taking & sharing flexibility to carry on my work. Being able to draft my notes from my phone & continue where I left off on the bigger iPad screen is a great experience thanks to its flawless synchronization. As such, I always draft my work reports (& personal notes) using the reliable software, & will continue to do for the foreseeable future. Pros Ever since I started using the app nine years ago during college, I was easily able to write down notes, sketch important details on snapped photos of the class whiteboard from my iPad mini & even share my notes to classmates in PDF format. Upon graduating & starting my engineering career, Notability has remained faithful with its feature-set & stability to continually support my productivity requirements. The highly-detailed, yet small-sized PDF exports of my notes are easily shareable especially on sites that have upload limit. The ability to move around & resize writings & inserted photos without messing the note page ensures content tidiness, & the wide selection of page UI options substantially elevates the note-taking experience. Cons I have absolutely no complaints with the app. It's just great. Alternatives considered [Nuclino](https://www.capterra.com/p/174926/Nuclino/)[Papyrus](https://www.capterra.com/p/162572/Papyrus/)[Skitch](https://www.capterra.com/p/246693/Skitch/) Reason for choosing Notability What compelled me to try Notability first among other considerations were the reviews praising the user interface & overall experience. So, I installed it & gave it a try (& kept on using it since then). Review Source BC Blake C. Owner, Lead Consultant Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Wonderful note-taking app for small teams and personal use! " June 20, 2023 5.0 We have been able to find a great note taking and to do list system with Notability. They have been outstanding in the features that we needed and we have no issues with it to date. We are anxiously awaiting the ability to use the app with WindowsOS, but other than that, our expectations have been met/exceeded. Pros It was nothing for us to integrate it into our routines, which was great because we don’t have a ton of time to deal with things like that. I love that we were grandfathered in to the pricing, because the amount of subscriptions we are forced to have for apps today is ridiculous. We got grandfathered in at $8.99 for life, so that was nice. They have unfortunately switched to the subscription model for new users though, which was disappointing. I love the personal customization options, and the robust document editing capabilities. I also live the filing system. It is neat and organized well. Cons The inability to use it on windows systems and devices. We do not use MacOS, so we can’t use this app on our laptops. Only mobile devices. Alternatives considered [Todoist](https://www.capterra.com/p/149339/Todoist-for-Business/)[NotePlan 3](https://www.capterra.com/p/217998/NotePlan-3/) Reason for choosing Notability We didn’t want another subscription fee each month on top of the 23 we already have 😵‍💫 Review Source SL Stacey L. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notes just SPIN" December 2, 2025 3.0 Good to begin with, but the spinning, inaccessible notes have put me over the edge. When I need to find something, random files are inaccessible. It’s incredibly annoying Pros In the beginning, I loved the ease of use, the variety of templates, fonts and the search ability they the app had. Cons Even though I I have a paid subscription, the notes spin and are often not accessible. It is VERY frustrating! So much so, that, I am looking before a replacement note taking app Review Source AB Angelica B. University Intern Pharmaceuticals Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Notability: Unleashing the Potential of Digital Note-Taking" June 16, 2023 5.0 Notability proved to be a crucial tool for recording and compiling research findings, meeting notes, and study materials during my internship in the university's Department of Pharmaceutical Development and Research. I was able to take notes, highlight crucial details, and annotate PDF documents with ease because to the app's user-friendly design and plethora of writing options. The option to record meetings and courses was especially helpful for later listening. Even when working from different places, Notability's synchronization across my Apple devices made sure I always had access to my notes. Overall, Notability greatly improved my productivity and organization while I was an intern in the pharmaceutical industry. Pros A broad feature set makes Notability a remarkable option for digital note-taking and organization. Users can easily create rich and interactive notes with its user-friendly design and powerful writing tools. The program offers versatility for information capture by supporting a range of input techniques, such as typing, handwriting, and sketching. The synchronization features of Notability allow for smooth access to notes on many devices, assuring consistency and ease. Users can improve their note-taking capabilities and better record meetings or lectures with features like audio recording and annotating. Furthermore, Notability provides sophisticated organizational features like folders and tags that make it possible to efficiently categorize and retrieve notes. Overall, Notability gives consumers the tools they need to advance their note-taking. Cons Even while Notability succeeds in many areas, there are a few things to keep in mind. One drawback is that Notability is only available to iOS and macOS users because it was initially created for Apple devices. It's possible that users of other platforms won't have access to all of the app's features. Lack of real-time collaboration tools makes it less ideal for collaborative work than some other note-taking apps, which is another possible downside. Furthermore, even while Notability offers good handwriting recognition, it could not be as precise as other handwriting recognition software. Despite these minor drawbacks, Notability is still a strong and functional tool for personal note-taking and planning. Switched from [Microsoft OneNote](https://www.capterra.com/p/227211/Microsoft-OneNote/)[Goodnotes](https://www.capterra.com/p/233930/GoodNotes/)[Notion](https://www.capterra.com/p/186596/Notion/)[Evernote Teams](https://www.capterra.com/p/154969/Evernote-Business/) Due to its concentration on handwriting and annotation features and its flawless connection with the Apple environment, Notability stands out as a top option for digital note-taking. Users who like handwritten notes will find the app to be the perfect tool thanks to its close integration with the iPad and Apple Pencil. Users may view and edit their notes on any Apple device thanks to Notability's synchronization between iOS and macOS devices, which guarantees a consistent note-taking experience. The organization tools in the program, such folders and tags, offer efficient methods to categorize and find notes. Notability is a versatile companion for both lectures and document-based workflows thanks to its audio recording capability and PDF annotation features. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Social Media Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "The Best Note-Taking App" August 16, 2022 5.0 After I got an iPad I put a lot of time into choosing the right note-taking app for everyday use, school and work notes and I am very glad I found Notability. It is very simple yet full of useful tools and possibilities. Some things could be improved but the app is constantly getting better and better which is great. I love that I can automatically sync my notes to OneDrive so I can access them on other devices as well. Pros \- Simple, easy to use - Zoom-in function for handwriting - Customizable pen and paper setting - A lot of templates and stickers - Gallery of other people's notes - Writing over multiple pages - Supports gestures - A lot of useful tools - OneDrive synchronization Cons \- I would appreciate more paper and pen settings: the current options are good but there could be more (for example brush-pen with higher stabilization for calligraphy) - Hard to format when writing with a keyboard (iPad) Alternatives considered [Goodnotes](https://www.capterra.com/p/233930/GoodNotes/) Reason for choosing Notability Notability offered some functions the other did not. Review Source SB Saurabh B. Student Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "One of the apps you need to have if you have iPad" June 24, 2022 5.0 I like Notability and I hope it keeps improving. Import/Export can be improved a little more. Pros Easy to keep track of my subjects, courses, etc. It also has interesting planner themes to incorporate. I had a great overall experience so far. Cons I just came across one problem so far which is the page divider. It seems that when you use lines for your page it's the same color as the page divider and it often gets ignored. I hope there was an option to change the color of the lines Switched from [Zoho Notebook](https://www.capterra.com/p/174696/Zoho-Notebook/) Notability was much more accessible and had a great interface. Review Source GP Gabriel P. Student Computer Software Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Notability Review" October 29, 2023 4.0 So far my experience has been good enough. Like I said, it does its job well. I wish they would do different limitation for their free version, but the application is not that expensive. Pros I am still new to the application, but what I like most so far is how well it allows me to add several types of notes. This can be images, handwritten notes, text, diagrams etc. Cons I would say what I like least about the application is the limitations the free version has, such as having a limit on how much one can edit a document. Switched from [Goodnotes](https://www.capterra.com/p/233930/GoodNotes/) I noticed Notability does better job with palm rejection. Review Source AD Alexandrine D. Director of Innovation and Compliance Medical Devices Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best note taking app for iPad" July 7, 2025 5.0 Pros Best note taking app on iPad, perfect for annotating or signing pdfs. Used it for most of my engineering course, and still using it for note taking at work. I love the iCloud and OneDrive integration. Cons Sometimes it bugs, takes a long time to load my notes. I would also like the possibility to use hyperlinks inside my notes, it's inefficient to have to copy and paste links in my browser. Review Source GM Genevieve M. Owner Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Notability review" October 1, 2024 5.0 I use notability every day to edit documents and share handwritten notes. Pros Very easy to use, integrates well with google drive and calendar. Cons Unable to search text or handwriting in the app, despite this being described as a function available Review Source Francisco R. research coordinator Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good but pricey" January 6, 2022 5.0 Great. I would recommend it if you have the money but there are plenty of free options to choose from. Pros Overall this software is great, I have used it for about 3 years and once you learn how to use it it works great. The best thing is how easy it autosaves files and loads them on all your devices ( I use it on my iPhone, MacBook, and iPad). There is no need to worry as all your files are saved and updated automatically. It has many functions and the keynote feature works like a charm. Cons On its last version now you have to pay for it and it is expensive. it used to be free but not anymore if you are a new user. Review Source cM christine M. Gérante Libraries Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Notability pour tout noter efficacement avec indexage audio de vos prise de notes" May 28, 2023 5.0 Notability est un logiciel dont j'avais rêver qu'il existe un jour, c'est chose faite et je m'étonne qu'il n'ait pas existé plus tôt, ceci étant dit, grâce à ce logiciel je peux enregistrer des heures de conférence audio que j'accompagne de photos, croquis, textes et dessins, et lors de l'écoute je peux ne sélectionner que les portions audio qui m'intéressent grâce aux notes en cliquant sur le zone que je considère comme importante à réecouter, donc un gain de temps gagner incroyable dans l'archivage audio des passages clés Pros Le fait de pouvoir enregistrer l'audio et que cet audio soit synchroniser avec les dessins, prises de notes, textes et photos insérer est juste une révolution, lors de la réécoute de l'audio, il suffit de cliquer sur la portion qui attise notre curiosité pour entendre la portion audio concernant la prise de note, le fait de la reconnaissance des textes manuscrits en texte OCR est puissant Cons J'ai la version ou l'on payait une fois, aujourd'hui ils sortent, comme la plupart, une version avec souscription annuelle... Je suis contre ce modèle économique depuis toujours Review Source KO Kayla O. Owner Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great for Educators and Students" March 30, 2023 5.0 Pros Working virtually, it allows me to write on PDFs or use blank notes to share seamlessly. Cons I have two different versions and I don’t love the newer version’s lag but I love the math converter. Review Source EE Ed E. Attorney Law Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent Note Taking in Notability" January 9, 2022 5.0 I have been able to import my forms into Notability, which has truly enhanced conducting client interviews. Pros This software is just what the doctor ordered to allow me to take notes during client interviews, keep them organized, convert them into popular formats and export them through email. Cons The software is fairly intuitive, but can be tricky to discover and use all the features. Review Source LG Louise G. Chargee de mission Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Très pratique au quotidien" December 26, 2023 4.0 Pros J'utilise l'outil au quotidien pour ma prise de note. c'est très pratique et intuitif et j'apprécie de pouvoir classer mes dossiers et le sretrouver facilement par la suite. Cons J'aurai apprécié qu'il y a ait de la retranscription d'écriture... Malheureusement ce n'est pas dispo. Review Source ML Mauricio L. Independent Financial Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Notes for everyone and everything" April 8, 2022 5.0 it is a great product with an excellent interface and generates a great satisfaction in all aspects. Pros is intuitive to use and does not require a long learning curve Cons when there are new updates or new app services it generates annoying interruptions Review Source JM Jo M. Behavior Therapist Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Good notetaking app" October 2, 2022 4.0 Pros Notability has a pretty nice note organization system. The ability to record audio notes is a great feature. Annotation on an iPad is simple! Cons The free version can be limiting, especially inconvenient once you reach your max allotted space. More variety in the handwriting and pen features would also be nice. Review Source IS Ian S. Mechanical Engineer Construction Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good product bad business model " September 4, 2024 3.0 The product was good. I do not agree with their business model. Pros It was great for taking handwritten notes Cons I did not like that. They moved to a subscription model. I despise software that is a subscription. Review Source BN Ben N. Personal Trainer Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great for Students" September 22, 2024 5.0 Pros It's super easy to use and great for students! Cons You do have to pay for it, but then again, a lot of other note platforms are paid (goodnotes). Review Source MP Madden P. Dental Student Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 2+ years ### "High Utility, Promising New Features" April 27, 2023 4.0 Despite the small flaws, I don't see a near future where I'm not using Notability on a daily basis - its essential to my workflow as a student. Pros I have used Notability the past five years as a student and it has been essential in keeping my information organized and easily accessible on all my devices. I also love the new tape feature, it has already been a quick addition to my workflow for learning. Cons The cloud syncing really should be much faster, if I have the same document open on my computer and iPad it takes far too long for them to catch up. That and I often have to restart the Mac app as pages will just randomly be blurry. Review Source JL Jussi L. Author - Facilitator - Coach Management Consulting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "One of the best note taking/making apps available" April 30, 2022 5.0 I have been using Notability since it became available. It has had a very good roadmap and the company has been very careful not to convolute the tool with unnecessary features. It is a very tight and well rounded product. A true workhorse of note taking. Pros The ease of use and UX are way better than any other similar tools. The audio recording and its synch with the note taking is a killer feature and works like a charm. Cons The folder structure is not flexible enough for advanced use. Review Source HS Himanshu S. Research Scholar Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good notes taking app for school and university students in need to develop productivity skills " October 5, 2022 5.0 having bought it as my first notes taking application and having it at base price with no annual pricing. I initially had no such use of the application. however overtime with understanding of notes and reducing paper footprint in long way have been major motivators for me utilising this application. however due to its annual pricing the feature that I bought initially have been the only one that I am using as the feature that I forgot to buy in initial phase due to restricted financial income have not really affecting my work but same may not be said for current new user who go though annual subscriptions. overall the application is great for usage and has good interface in comparison to goodnotes and native notes taking application. Pros to be able to work on text, scribble and subjects to divider mechanism to divide each section in predefined format. also having different notes template that fits in school, university and research background which are handy. one can also work it out in social experiments requiring working on multiple pdf questionnaires into subject specific. also the with audio ability to record interviews and lecture is plus point in case for individual which like taking up revision and optimising the notes at later phases Cons The pricing mechanism on the application have been shifted annual which is downside for those individual for whom this application have been designed. if following could have been something like 30-50 $ for version and if there are major feature updates, they could make version once in every 3-5 years which can be provided as upgrade for exisintng user at certain discount and retain the 30-50$ price. additionally family sharing could be restricted to single user across multiple devices, instead of provided family sharing which can provide better ability to understand usages and version upgrade feasibility. Review Source BH Bree H. College Student E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Simple & Amazing Organization with Easy Features" November 16, 2021 5.0 My overall experience has been fabulous. I have used Notability for two years now and tried many different note-taking applications, but this is the simplest and user-friendly app I have used. Pros My favorite features about Notability is definitely the organization of notes. You can create folders that are easy to access with as many separate notes as you need, and you can create categories to separate the folders. Everything is super easy to access and create as a user. Importing and exporting are easier than making coffee. The Lasso Tool in Notability can move things around, make them bigger or smaller, copy it, and duplicate. You can turn handwritten words to text, and you can even keep recorded notes! Cons There isn’t anything super specific that is outrageously bad, but this is definitely not an app for drawing or being creative. It’s only function is to take notes in all different ways. Switched from [Goodnotes](https://www.capterra.com/p/233930/GoodNotes/) Ease of Use Review Source NH Naja H. Student Medical Practice Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Notability, multifunctional Note taking app with many built in features, great for Students " April 10, 2022 4.0 Overall I think notability is a great software and I utilize it every day for hundreds and hundreds of notes over the course of my higher education. Pros Some of the things that I like the best about not ability or the ease of organizing different courses or topics and the ability to put in multiple different tabs within a specific course or within a specific project. Additionally I like that you are able to directly back up your notes into another storage feature such as Google drive or box. Cons Some of the things that I like the least about this software are that if you are running out of space on your device it is extremely difficult to upload the notes to be used. You would need to delete some notes or back them up somewhere else and then delete them. Otherwise as you are trying to open the notes up it just says downloading from the cloud and that typically takes a long time if it even downloads at all. Review Source AM Agustin M. Teacher E-Learning Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Opinion" November 4, 2021 5.0 What i like is that i can store large quantities of information in one app and don’t have to carry many notebooks at the same time, and that I’m doing my part in saving the environment, and i can change the fonts of ink without having to carry many pens and making a mess Pros Organization system, preview of notes, dividers to organize subjects, it lets you search recognizing handwriting notes, 15 different paper color options Quick notes, bookmarks, multitasking within the app. Cons That everything is contained within one no itself if you want to add a picture you can do that but you have to either added to a new note or into an existing note with, doesn’t have many paper templates it only has 3, you cannot have mixed paper templates within one document Review Source RA Raghav A. Student Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Amazing note taking app: Notability" April 23, 2023 5.0 Great experience. Have been using this product from 1-2 years. Best for students. They can record the lectures while taking notes. Pros Recording audio while writing and searching through the writing the audio matches. Cons Can’t create notebooks like Onenote by Microsoft. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [Note-Taking](https://www.capterra.com/note-taking-software/)[Productivity](https://www.capterra.com/productivity-software/) ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.