Goodnotes vs Notability
We give Goodnotes and Notability the same GPA: 3.8 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Goodnotes
Handwritten notes, PDF markup and whiteboards with an AI assistant
Notability
Handwritten notes with synced audio, transcripts and AI study tools
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAGoodnotesExcellent | 3.8GPANotabilityExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AEssential is $11.99 a year and Pro is $35.99 a year. That's about $1 and $3 a month, in a category where paid plans typically start at $5.99 a month. On Apple devices there's also a one-time Special Edition at $35.99. | ALite is $14.99 a year and Plus is $19.99 a year, in a category where paid plans typically start at $5.99 a month. Don't want a subscription? Classic is $49.99 once. Pay yearly, though: Lite by the month is $4.99, which is $59.88 over a year. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree forever, but tight: 3 files in total, 100 MB of storage, 20 minutes of audio recording and a watermark on exports. Enough to see if you like the pen feel, not enough for a term of lectures. Essential and Pro have a 7-day trial. | BStarter is free with every editing tool, PDF import and 20,000+ templates. But it's 5 notes and that's your lot. The only free trials are 30 days on the Business plans. |
| Features | AHandwritten notebooks you can search, PDF markup, an infinite whiteboard, typed documents and audio recorded in sync with what you write. An AI assistant answers from your handwriting and PDFs and cites the page. Several happy reviewers do call the typed text tool clunky. | AHandwriting, typing and PDF markup on one page, with audio recorded and transcribed alongside. Plus turns your notes into up to 400 quiz and flashcard questions a month, and Pro adds live summaries and a chat about your notes. Notes can be shared and edited together live. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 460,000 App Store ratings. Writing by hand and still being able to search it is the thing reviewers keep naming. | A4.8 from about 457,000 App Store ratings. The plan list takes some reading, mind: six of them, with different features on each. |
| Platforms and integrations | AiPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows and the web, with Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Calendar hooked in. Two catches: syncing one library between Apple and non-Apple devices needs Pro, and the non-iPad versions don't have every feature. | AiPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows, Android and the web, with iCloud, YouTube and school device managers like Jamf and Mosyle. Not everything travels: handwriting recognition and audio playback sync are marked iOS and Android only, and YouTube conversion is web only. |
| Best for | handwritten notes and PDF markup on an iPad | 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: Goodnotes and Notability. How we grade
Where they differ
- Goodnotes starts at $11.99 per year (Essential). Notability starts at $14.99 per year, or $4.99 per month (Lite).
- Goodnotes also covers whiteboard.
- Notability also covers templates.
At a glance
| Goodnotes | Notability | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $11.99 per year (Essential) | $14.99 per year, or $4.99 per month (Lite) |
| Free plan | Free forever: up to 3 files in total across notebooks, whiteboards and text documents, 100 MB of storage, a 5 MB import limit, 20 minutes of audio recording and watermarked exports. | 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 on Essential and Pro; 30-day free trial on Teams. | 30-day free trial on the Business and Business Pro plans. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Goodnotes Limited | Ginger Labs |
| Price read from | goodnotes.com | notability.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Goodnotes
- Handwritten notes on an iPad with Apple Pencil
- Marking up PDFs such as contracts, reports and lecture slides
- Students who want audio synced to their lecture notes
- K-12 schools using iPads, where Goodnotes Education is free
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
Worth knowing
Goodnotes
- The Free plan stops at 3 files in total, 100 MB of storage and 20 minutes of audio recording, and its exports carry a watermark.
- Keeping one library in sync between Apple and non-Apple devices needs Goodnotes Cloud, which is included only from Pro.
- Goodnotes says the Android, Windows and web versions do not offer the full range of features available on iPad.
- Essential, Pro and Teams are priced per year, and AI Pass is a separate $9.99 per month add-on for more AI credits.
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
Goodnotes
- Handwritten notebooks
- Notebooks mix handwriting, typed text, images and stickers on customizable paper templates. Handwriting stays searchable and can be converted to text.
- PDF annotation
- Imported PDFs are highlighted and marked up by hand, searched alongside notes, and keep their table of contents for navigating long documents.
- Whiteboards and text documents
- An infinite-canvas whiteboard for diagrams and mind maps and typed text documents with inline blocks sit in the same library as notebooks.
- Audio recording and meeting notes
- Audio is recorded in sync with what you write. On Pro, Goodnotes AI for Meetings transcribes and summarizes discussions and links notes to calendar events.
- Goodnotes AI
- An in-app assistant answers questions from handwriting, typed text and PDFs, with citations back to the source page. AI credits vary by plan; AI Pass adds about 12 times more.
- Sharing and real-time collaboration
- Every plan can share documents by link. Essential can join real-time collaborative documents, and Pro can host them and share by private link.
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
Goodnotes
Free$0
Up to 3 files, 100 MB of storage, 20 minutes of audio recording, limited sharing and limited Goodnotes AI usage.
Essential$11.99
per year
Unlimited files and audio recording, 5 GB of storage, exports without a watermark, basic Goodnotes AI and Google Calendar integration.
Pro$35.99
per year
Adds cross-platform library sync, private link sharing, hosting real-time collaboration, Drive integration and advanced AI including meeting notes.
Special Edition$35.99
one-time purchase, Apple devices only (US App Store)
Unlimited note-taking on Apple devices without a subscription. Limited Goodnotes AI and not eligible for Goodnotes Cloud.
Teams$120
per seat / year
Everything in Pro, plus SAML SSO, domain control, consolidated billing and user and admin management.
EnterpriseCustom
For 25 seats and above: AI permissions, the Microsoft Intune App SDK, dedicated account support and custom contracts.
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
Goodnotes
- Education
Goodnotes Education is free for K-12 schools
K-12 schools get Goodnotes Education at no cost, with no trial period, including its classroom tools for teachers and students. It currently works only on Apple devices.
- Lifetime license
Special Edition one-time purchase on Apple devices
Special Edition unlocks unlimited note-taking on Apple devices without a subscription and is listed at $35.99 on the US App Store. Availability varies by region.
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.
