CollaNote vs Notability

CollaNote

• Students handwriting notes on an iPad with Apple Pencil
• Marking up lecture slides and PDFs while recording audio
• Keeping planners and flashcards in the same app as notes

Notability

• Students recording lectures alongside handwritten notes
• Turning class notes into flashcards and quizzes
• Annotating PDFs, slides and forms with a stylus
• Schools that manage devices, where Notability for Education is free

CollaNote

• Apple devices only: the listing covers iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision and Macs with an Apple M1 chip or later.
• Neither the site nor the App Store listing itemizes which features need Lifetime Premium.
• The App Store shows four Premium prices from $6.95 to $13.90 without saying who qualifies for each.
• Collaboration requires a login tied to an email address or phone number; other use needs no account.

Notability

• The free Starter plan is limited to 5 notes.
• Audio transcription and the AI quiz and flashcard tools start at Plus; real-time summaries, note chat and unlimited transcription are listed under Pro.
• Third-party backups are iOS only, and YouTube link-to-note conversion works on the web only.
• The plan comparison marks handwriting recognition, math conversion and audio playback sync as iOS and Android only.

CollaNote

Handwriting with Apple Pencil

The site lists 50+ pens and brushes with Apple Pencil support, along with shape and diagram recognition that tidies what you draw.

PDF, slide and document markup

Imports PDFs, PowerPoint slides and Word documents to write, highlight and sketch on, leaving the original file unchanged.

Audio recording synced to notes

Records audio while you write. Tapping a word afterwards jumps playback to the moment it was written, and AI turns the recording into a transcript.

Translation and calculator

Translates a selected phrase into 90+ languages with audio pronunciation, and turns handwritten equations into step-by-step solutions.

Planners and flashcards

Hyperlinked digital planners, habit trackers and to-do lists sit in the same document as notes, and flashcard decks can be made, pinned and shared.

Collaboration and community

Real-time collaboration works after logging in, and Public Rooms and a community library let users share notes and flashcards with others.

Notability

Handwriting, typing and document markup

Notes combine handwriting, typed text, images and sketches on one page, and PDFs, documents and slides can be imported and written on.

Audio recording with transcripts

Lectures and meetings are recorded alongside your notes and transcribed, and playback follows the moment each note was written. Live transcription is unlimited on Pro.

AI flashcards and quizzes

Practice questions, quizzes and flashcards are generated from your notes: up to 400 questions a month on Plus and unlimited on Pro.

Summaries and chat with your notes

Pro generates real-time summaries of notes, imported documents and recordings and answers questions about a note in a chat. Meeting notes can also yield action-item checklists.

YouTube link-to-note

On the web, a YouTube link is converted into a note with a transcript and summary: 100 conversions a month on Plus, unlimited on Pro.

Collaboration and shared libraries

Notes can be shared by link and edited together live. Business plans add shared note libraries, centralized user admin and admin-based feature controls.

CollaNote

• CollaNote$0

  Free download for iPad, iPhone and Apple silicon Macs, usable without an account. Its limits are not spelled out.

• Lifetime Premium$13.90

  one-time purchase

  One-time in-app purchase on the US App Store, which also lists a $9.69 Welcome Offer and $6.95 sale and loyal-user versions.

Notability

• Starter$0

  5 notes with all editing tools, PDF and document import, 20,000+ templates and 7-day version history.

• Lite$4.99

  per month, or $14.99 per year

  Unlimited notes and third-party backups (iOS only), with 7-day version history.

• Plus$7.99

  per month, or $19.99 per year

  Adds audio recording and transcription, handwriting search, up to 400 AI quiz and flashcard questions and 100 YouTube conversions a month.

• Pro$19.99

  per month, or $99.99 per year

  Unlimited live transcription, real-time AI summaries, quizzes, flashcards and YouTube conversions, chat with your notes and 90-day version history.

• Classic$49.99

  one-time purchase

  Unlimited notes with handwriting recognition and search, math conversion to LaTeX, live collaboration and Notability Cloud sync.

• Business$6

  per user / month, or $60 per user / year

  Shared note libraries, central admin and billing, AI summaries and transcription. Business Pro is $18 per user / month or $180 per year.

CollaNote

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime Premium as a one-time purchase

  Premium is sold as a one-time in-app purchase, listed at $13.90 on the US App Store alongside a $9.69 Lifetime Premium Welcome Offer.

Notability

• Annual discount

  Yearly plans cost far less than paying monthly

  Lite is $14.99 per year against $4.99 per month ($59.88 over a year), Plus $19.99 against $7.99 per month and Pro $99.99 against $19.99 per month. Business is $60 per user yearly or $6 monthly.

• Lifetime license

  Classic one-time purchase

  The Classic plan is a one-time purchase, regularly $49.99, with unlimited notes, handwriting recognition, live collaboration and Notability Cloud sync and no subscription.

• Education

  Free for schools that manage devices

  Schools managing devices through an MDM such as Jamf or Mosyle can use Notability for Education at no cost. It is similar to the Plus subscription and configurable by administrators.

• Other savings

  Back-to-school sale: up to 20% off all plans

  At the time of checking, the pricing page showed sale prices of $11.99 (Lite), $15.99 (Plus) and $79.99 (Pro) per year and $39.99 for Classic. No end date is stated.