MyScript Notes vs Notability

MyScript Notes

• Stylus users who want handwriting turned into typed text
• Students revising with AI summaries and quizzes
• Handwritten math, diagrams and PDF annotation

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

MyScript Notes

• The free version limits notebooks to five pages each and leaves out cloud sync and AI features.
• It is sold only through the App Store and Google Play, and the vendor's own pricing page lists plan types without prices.
• On Windows the app is still Nebo: a separate Microsoft Store purchase that syncs with MyScript Notes but gets no new features.
• Family Sharing is not supported, because each user needs their own MyScript 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.

MyScript Notes

Handwriting recognition

Recognizes handwriting in 66 languages and converts it to typed text. Search covers handwritten content, text in diagrams and PDF annotations.

Pen gestures

Edit with the pen instead of menus: scratch out to erase, underline to emphasize, and add or remove space between lines.

Four note formats

Notebooks with fixed-size pages, documents that reflow with the screen, boards on an expandable canvas, and imported PDFs for annotation.

Math and diagrams

Solves simple handwritten calculations, copies math as LaTeX or an image, and turns hand-drawn diagrams into shapes that stay editable in PowerPoint.

Generative AI study tools

Summarize notes, explain a selected term, turn a note into a quiz or chat with an assistant. AI study sets are on iOS, with Android to follow.

Cloud sync and export

Paid plans sync through iCloud (iOS only), Google Drive or Dropbox with a free MyScript account. Notes export as PDF, PNG, SVG or Word.

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.

MyScript Notes

• Free$0

  A limited version with notebooks of up to five pages each and no cloud sync or AI features.

• Full Access$1.99 to $29.99

  monthly, yearly or lifetime; the listing does not say which is which

  The US App Store lists three Full Access purchases at $1.99, $7.99 and $29.99. Paid plans add AI features and cloud sync, on up to 10 devices.

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.

MyScript Notes

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime purchase instead of a subscription

  Next to the monthly and yearly subscriptions there is a one-time lifetime purchase with all future updates. One purchase covers up to 10 iOS and Android devices.

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.