Kilonotes vs Notability

Kilonotes

• Students taking handwritten lecture notes on an iPad or Android tablet
• Annotating lecture slides and PDFs with a stylus
• People who want AI summaries and practice questions built from their 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

Kilonotes

• The free version stops at 5 notebooks, and AI use beyond the trial allowance requires buying AI credits.
• The website names Free, Premium and AI Member plans without prices; prices appear only as in-app purchases in the app stores.
• No Windows or web app is offered. On a Mac it runs as the iPad app, which the App Store marks as not verified for macOS.
• Google Play's US listing shows only a range of $0.49 to $24.99 per item, so Android prices may differ from the App Store's.

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.

Kilonotes

Stylus handwriting

Pressure sensitivity, palm rejection and low-latency ink with Apple Pencil, Samsung S Pen and other styluses, on pages that scroll continuously or use set page sizes.

Handwriting to text and search

Handwriting converts to editable text in a chosen font, with math equations recognized, and handwritten content is indexed so it can be searched across notebooks.

PDF annotation

PDF, PowerPoint, Word and image files import for handwriting, highlights and typed text, with PDF search, outline navigation and translation while reading.

Audio recording and AI recap

Lectures can be recorded in the app. AI transcribes them and produces summaries, outlines and mind maps from recordings, handwriting and PDFs.

AI chat and practice questions

AI answers questions about a selected section of notes and generates practice questions, flashcards and quizzes. Free users get trial uses; after that AI credits are bought.

Custom fonts and templates

Notebooks can use custom fonts, covers, stickers and paper templates such as dot grid, square grid and Cornell. The site lists custom fonts under the paid version.

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.

Kilonotes

• Free$0

  5 notebooks and basic AI, according to the site. The App Store listing notes that the app contains advertising.

• Monthly Subscription$1.99

  per month, as labelled on the US App Store

  The listing says subscribing unlocks advanced content. It does not say whether this is the site's Premium or AI Member plan.

• Quarterly Plan$4.99

  per quarter, as labelled on the US App Store

  Three-month in-app subscription, listed without a description of what it includes.

• Annual Plan$9.99

  per year, as labelled on the US App Store

  Yearly in-app subscription, listed without a description of what it includes.

• Lifetime Access$19.99

  one-time in-app purchase on the US App Store

  One-time purchase listed beside the subscriptions. The site says the paid version unlocks unlimited notebooks, custom fonts and exclusive page styles.

• AI and cloud add-ons$0.99 - $9.99

  per item on the US App Store; AI items show no period

  AIChat $5.99 and AI Points Products $1.99; cloud space $0.99 monthly or $9.99 annually; paid notebooks $0.99 and $2.99.

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.

Kilonotes

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime Access as a one-time purchase

  The US App Store lists a Lifetime Access in-app purchase at $19.99 next to the monthly, quarterly and annual subscriptions.

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.