# Goodnotes vs Notability

Goodnotes records 3,227,341 monthly visits with +10.8% month-over-month growth and Freemium, Free Trial pricing. Notability records 0 monthly visits with 0% growth and Freemium pricing.

| Metric | [Goodnotes](https://openaitools.app/tool/goodnotes) | [Notability](https://openaitools.app/tool/notability) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Website URL | https://goodnotes.com | https://notability.com |
| Categories | AI Note Taker, AI Spell Check, AI Writing Assistants | AI Knowledge Management, AI Assistant, AI Productivity Tools |
| Pricing Model | Freemium, Free Trial | Freemium |
| Monthly Visits | 3,227,341 | 0 |
| MoM Growth Rate | +10.8% | 0% |
| Primary Market | United States | Global |
| Direct Visits | 1,638,916 | 0 |
| Review Score | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Saved Count | 2 | 1 |
| Supported Platforms | Website | Website |

## Goodnotes

Goodnotes is a digital note-taking app designed around the feel of writing on paper, then extended with everything a paper notebook cannot do. The core notebook experience uses a low-latency ink engine so handwriting feels natural on a tablet with a stylus. You can rest your hand on the screen, cross out to erase, and convert handwritten text into typed characters when you need something searchable or exportable.

Around that core sits a flexible document workspace. The app handles PDF annotation, typed documents, infinite whiteboards, imported images, and recorded audio in the same environment, so a meeting, lecture, or project space can mix formats without switching tools. Notes and documents sync across iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows, and the web, letting you start a page on a tablet and finish it at a desk.

Goodnotes also layers in AI and collaboration. AI-powered search looks across typed text, handwriting, and sketches at once, and can turn a page of notes into a mind map, a summary, or a project plan with action items. Real-time collaboration, shared notebooks, and education-focused deployments make it a practical fit for students, teachers, and knowledge-heavy teams in fields like architecture, engineering, legal, and consulting.

**Pricing & Plans:** Freemium with a free tier and paid subscription plans, plus separate offerings for education and business. A free trial is available; exact regional prices are listed on the official pricing page.

- **Natural handwriting engine:** Low-latency ink with palm rejection, cross-out to erase, and handwriting-to-text conversion keeps writing close to pen on paper.
- **PDF annotation and markup:** Import contracts, papers, or textbooks and mark them up by hand, with searchable annotations and clean exports.
- **AI search and transformation:** Search across typed text, handwriting, and sketches, and turn notes into summaries, mind maps, or structured plans.
- **Real-time collaboration:** Work together in shared notebooks, documents, and whiteboards simultaneously, without version conflicts or file ping-pong.
- **Cross-device sync:** Continue the same notebook on tablet, phone, desktop, or web so notes follow you between work and study settings.

**Strengths:** Best-in-class handwriting feel makes the transition from paper notebooks easy; Combines notebooks, PDFs, whiteboards, and audio in a single app; AI search reads handwriting and sketches, not just typed text; Broad device support with reliable cross-platform syncing

**Limitations:** The best features sit behind the paid subscription or one-time purchase; Advanced AI and collaboration features require an account and internet connection; Heavy notebooks with large PDFs can be slow on older devices

[Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/goodnotes.md)

## Notability

Notability is a long-established note-taking app from Ginger Labs that has grown from a handwriting-and-PDF-annotation tool into a study and knowledge-management workspace. Its defining pitch is that notes should not just be captured — they should be usable. To that end, Notability layers an AI study toolkit over the familiar note canvas, generating summaries, quizzes, flashcards, and action items from whatever you write, record, or import.

The app runs across the platforms people actually work on: Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhone, Android, and the web, with notes syncing between them. Handwritten ink, live audio transcription, and typed text all coexist in the same document, so a recorded lecture can carry your margin notes and its own transcript side by side. AI features include instant summaries in real time, chat-with-your-notes for on-demand explanations, action-item checklists generated from meeting notes, and a YouTube link-to-note converter that produces a transcript-backed summary of a video.

Notability is aimed first at students — the website frames it around lectures, late nights, and study sessions, and even offers a guarantee if it does not help you learn. But the same summarisation and action-item features translate well to knowledge workers who sit in a lot of meetings. It is free to download with paid plans for more functionality, and Ginger Labs frequently runs promotions on those plans.

**Pricing & Plans:** Notability is free to download on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and the web. Additional functionality is available through paid plans, and the vendor regularly runs promotions (for example a discount on all plans). Because prices change, check the official Notability site or app store listing for current tiers.

- **Instant AI summaries:** Take notes, import documents, or record audio and have Notability generate comprehensive written summaries of the content in real time.
- **Quizzes and flashcards from your notes:** Notability automatically builds practice questions, quizzes, and flashcards straight from your notes, turning study material into active recall practice.
- **Chat with your notes:** Ask Notability questions about a specific note and get instant explanations, so you can clarify a concept without leaving the page.
- **Handwriting, audio, and text in one place:** Handwriting, audio transcription, and typed text live side by side in one canvas, which makes Notability useful for both lectures and meetings.
- **YouTube link-to-note and action items:** Turn a YouTube link into a full note with transcript and summary, and pull action items out of meeting notes or recordings automatically.

**Strengths:** Available across Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhone, Android, and the web; Combines handwriting, audio transcription, and typing in one canvas; AI study tools generate summaries, quizzes, and flashcards automatically; Free to download with a low barrier to trying it

[Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/notability.md)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do Goodnotes and Notability compare in monthly traffic?

Goodnotes has 3,227,341 monthly visits, while Notability has 0. Traffic estimates describe audience size, not product quality.

### How do their growth rates compare?

Goodnotes has a month-over-month growth rate of +10.8%; Notability has 0%.

### How does pricing compare?

Goodnotes: Freemium, Free Trial. Freemium with a free tier and paid subscription plans, plus separate offerings for education and business. A free trial is available; exact regional prices are listed on the official pricing page. Notability: Freemium. Notability is free to download on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and the web. Additional functionality is available through paid plans, and the vendor regularly runs promotions (for example a discount on all plans). Because prices change, check the official Notability site or app store listing for current tiers.

## Alternatives

| # | Tool Name | Monthly Visits | MoM Growth Rate | Pricing Model | Summary | Profile (Markdown) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1 | [Studocu](https://openaitools.app/tool/studocu-global) | 39,297,122 | +1.1% | Freemium | Share and access study materials worldwide — with AI study tools built in | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/studocu-global.md) |
| 2 | [Gizmo](https://openaitools.app/tool/gizmo-ai) | 9,273,984 | +18.2% | Freemium | AI flashcards that turn note dumps and PDFs into addictive quiz sessions | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/gizmo-ai.md) |
| 3 | [Otter AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/otter-ai) | 7,360,981 | +9.6% | Freemium | AI meeting agent that transcribes, summarises, and turns every conversation into searchable knowledge | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/otter-ai.md) |
| 4 | [NoteGPT](https://openaitools.app/tool/notegpt) | 6,166,674 | -10.6% | Freemium | An AI agent that summarizes, transcribes, and turns your ideas into slides, docs, and media | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/notegpt.md) |
| 5 | [Knowt](https://openaitools.app/tool/knowt-com) | 4,183,953 | +5.4% | Free | Free AI flashcard and study tools for students | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/knowt-com.md) |
| 6 | [StudyFetch](https://openaitools.app/tool/study-fetch) | 1,750,520 | +1.7% | Freemium | Turns course materials into interactive AI study tools, but focuses less on handwritten digital notebooks. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/study-fetch.md) |
| 7 | [LightPDF](https://openaitools.app/tool/lightpdf-com) | 1,742,568 | -15.3% | Freemium | Stronger online PDF editing and AI chat capabilities, but lacks tablet-optimized handwritten note-taking workflows. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/lightpdf-com.md) |
| 8 | [Studley AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/studley-ai) | 1,031,545 | -19.5% | Freemium | Converts notes and PDFs into quizzes and flashcards, but lacks stylus-based handwriting and sketching tools. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/studley-ai.md) |
| 9 | [Craft](https://openaitools.app/tool/craft-do) | 703,417 | +8.9% | Freemium | A polished space for notes, tasks, and documents that follows you across every device. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/craft-do.md) |
| 10 | [Mindgrasp](https://openaitools.app/tool/mindgrasp) | 672,288 | -0.5% | Freemium, Free Trial | Turn any lecture, PDF, or video into notes, flashcards, and quizzes in minutes | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/mindgrasp.md) |

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Source: https://openaitools.app/compare/goodnotes-vs-notability

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