Inkflow vs Notability

Inkflow

• Brainstorming and planning by hand on an iPad
• Sketching layouts and wireframes that need rearranging
• Classrooms, where the vendor offers volume pricing

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

Inkflow

• It is available for iPad and iPhone only; the vendor lists no Android, Windows or web version.
• The free edition has black ink only, 5 fonts and a 20-page limit per book; color, extra tools and unlimited pages need Inkflow Plus.
• The user guide describes manual backup through iTunes File Sharing and does not mention syncing books between devices.
• The App Store listing notes that the free app contains advertising.

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.

Inkflow

Fountain-pen vector ink

Strokes are stored as vector ink modeled on a fountain pen, so writing stays sharp at any zoom level. It works with a finger or a stylus.

Select, move and resize

Anything on the page can be lassoed, dragged somewhere else or scaled up and down, so lists and sketches can be rearranged after they are written.

Text, photos and paper backgrounds

Text boxes and photos can be placed anywhere and resized along with the ink. Paper options are plain, grid, ruled lines and a music score.

Inkport

Part of Inkflow Plus: the device camera converts handwriting and sketches on paper into vector ink that can be moved and edited like anything drawn in the app.

Apple Pencil mode and palm rejection

With an Apple Pencil connected, a Pencil-only mode ignores marks from the palm and fingers while fingers still zoom and pan. Settings also offer palm rejection and a wrist guard.

Export and sharing

A book exports as a PDF and a page as a high-resolution JPEG, for email, printing or another app. Plus adds PNG export with a transparent background.

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.

Inkflow

• Inkflow$0

  The Basic edition: fountain pen in black ink, select, move and resize, full-resolution zoom, text, photos and paper backgrounds. Unlimited books, up to 20 pages each.

• Inkflow Plus$12.99

  one-time in-app purchase (US App Store)

  Adds Inkport, a full color palette, pencil and paint brush tools, cut, copy and paste for ink, page management, unlimited pages, all device fonts and custom paper.

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.

Inkflow

• Education

  50% off Inkflow Plus in packs of 20 or more

  Schools and businesses can buy Inkflow Plus at half price in packs of 20 or more through Apple's volume purchase program, using the standalone $12.99 Inkflow Plus app.

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.