Concepts vs Notability (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Notability grades higher than Concepts: 3.4 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Notability grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Concepts
Infinite-canvas sketching app with editable vector strokes
Notability
Handwritten notes with synced audio, transcripts and AI study tools
Which one is for you
Pick Concepts if
- Fits if you sketch or mark up PDFs with a stylus
- Works for designers and architects who need real-world scale and DXF export
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you work on a Mac or in a browser, as neither is listed
- Tight if you stay free: 5 layers, JPG export only and no selection tool
- Watch out: one-time purchases only apply to the platform where you bought them
- Not for you if you want typed notes, because it is a drawing app first
Pick Notability if
- Fits if you record lectures and want to hear what was said when you wrote a line
- Works for students who revise from flashcards and quizzes made from their own notes
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're never paying, because the Starter plan stops at 5 notes
- Pricey if you pay monthly, with Lite at $4.99 a month against $14.99 for the whole year
- Skip it if you want AI summaries and unlimited transcription for little money, as those sit on Pro at $99.99 a year
- Watch out: audio recording starts at Plus, and the only free trials are 30 days on the Business plans
- Watch out: handwriting recognition, math conversion and audio playback sync are iOS and Android only, and YouTube conversion is web only
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAConceptsGood | 3.4GPANotabilityVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro is $29.99 a year or $4.99 a month, which works out under the $5.99 category middle. One-time Essentials unlocks start at $1.99, but each one covers a single platform. | ALite is $14.99 a year and Plus $19.99, where notes apps here sit around $6 a month in the middle: a whole year for less than three months of the usual. Classic is $49.99 once if you hate subscriptions. Do pay yearly, though, since Lite month to month is $4.99, or $59.88 over a year. |
| Free plan and trial | CBasic is free with unlimited drawings, 5 layers and JPG export. Selection tools, more layers and PNG, PSD or SVG export are paid, and Pro has a 7-day trial. | CStarter is free with every editing tool, PDF import and 20,000+ templates, but it's 5 notes and that's your lot, which you'd pass in a week. The only free trials are 30 days on the Business plans. |
| Features | CInfinite canvas, editable vectors, grids and snap, and PDF markup. But custom brushes, objects and presentation mode are marked iOS only. | BHandwriting, typing and PDF markup on one page, with audio recorded and transcribed alongside and playback that follows the line you were writing. Plus makes up to 400 quiz questions a month, Pro adds live summaries. Handwriting recognition, math conversion and audio playback sync are iOS and Android only. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. You install it and start drawing, with nothing to set up. | A4.76 from about 457,000 App Store ratings, the top mark on our scale. The plan list is the one chore: six of them, with different features on each. |
| Platforms and integrations | BiOS, Android, ChromeOS and Windows, so phones and a computer are covered. No Mac or web app is listed, and a cross-platform release is marked as coming soon. | AiPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows, Android and the web, with iCloud, YouTube and school device managers like Jamf, Mosyle and Intune. That covers every device type, though YouTube conversion is web only and third-party backups are iOS only. |
| Best for | stylus sketching on an endless canvas | lecture notes with the audio attached |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Concepts and Notability. How we grade
Price against what you get
Concepts starts at $2.50 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Notability starts at $1.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.7.
Notability scores higher and starts $1.25 a month lower. Of the other note-taking apps on the chart, 8 score higher than Concepts for less, and 1 scores higher than Notability for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Notability can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Concepts also covers whiteboard and diagrams.
- Notability also covers transcription and templates.
At a glance
| Concepts | Notability | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29.99 per year, or $4.99 per month (Pro) | $14.99 per year, or $4.99 per month (Lite) |
| Free plan | Basic: handcrafted brushes, color wheels, five layers, the infinite canvas, unlimited drawings and basic JPG export. | Starter plan: 5 notes with all editing tools, PDF and document import, access to 20,000+ templates and 7-day version history. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Pro through the App Store, Play Store or Microsoft Store. | 30-day free trial on the Business and Business Pro plans. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | TopHatch, Inc. | Ginger Labs |
| Price read from | concepts.app | notability.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Concepts
- Several features, including custom brushes, objects and presentation mode, are marked iOS only; the vendor says other platforms are catching up.
- The pages list iOS, Android, ChromeOS and Windows; no Mac or web app is listed, and a cross-platform release is marked as coming soon.
- One-time purchases apply only to the platform where they were bought.
- The site says prices vary by region and points to each app store for the exact figure.
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.
Key features
Concepts
- Infinite canvas
- Sketch with zoom and movable artboards, and share just the part you choose.
- Editable vectors
- Strokes stay adjustable after drawing, with infinite layers on the paid tiers.
- Precision tools
- Grids, line smoothing, live snap and shape guides, with real-world scale and measurement.
- PDF and image markup
- Drag in images and PDFs, sign documents and mark up files before sending them back.
- Export formats
- PDF, PNG, PSD, SVG and DXF (AutoCAD); the page ties several formats to paid unlocks.
- Presentation mode
- Sketch live for a team or client. The page marks this as iOS only.
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.
Plans
Concepts
Basic$0
Infinite Sketchbook: five layers, unlimited drawings, paper and grid types, JPG export.
Pro$29.99
per year, or $4.99 per month
Over 200 libraries, services and features across iOS, Android, ChromeOS and Windows.
Essentials (one-time)$1.99
one-time, per platform; the page lists $1.99 to $39.99 each
Unlocks selection and editing tools, infinite layers, shape guides, custom grids and PNG, PSD, SVG and DXF export. Brush packs, objects and PDF are sold separately.
Teams$100
per license / year ($10 per license billed monthly)
Concepts Pro for a team with self-service billing, re-assignable licenses and multiple admins.
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.
Ways to pay less
Concepts
- Education
Free licenses for qualifying schools
The pricing section lists free Concepts licenses for the entire school at qualifying institutions.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Concepts or Notability?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Notability is cheaper to start with: $1.25 a month when paid by the year, against $2.50 a month when paid by the year for Concepts. Concepts starts at $29.99 per year, or $4.99 per month (Pro), and Notability starts at $14.99 per year, or $4.99 per month (Lite).
Which has a free plan, Concepts or Notability?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Concepts and Notability have a free plan.
Which platforms do Concepts and Notability run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Notability lists a web app and a macOS app. Both list Windows, iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.