GoodNotes vs Notability

by Gralio Feb 27, 2025

GoodNotes and Notability are both excellent note-taking apps for Apple users. GoodNotes excels in individual note-taking scenarios with its advanced features and polished interface. Notability shines in collaborative settings and audio recording integration, making it a strong choice for students and professionals who frequently work together.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 187 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 hour, 32 minutes of reading.

Logo of GoodNotes
Logo of Notability

About

GoodNotes is a versatile note-taking app that aims to replace physical notebooks. It allows you to combine handwritten notes, typed text, images, and even audio recordings. The app organizes your notes into customizable digital notebooks and offers features like handwriting recognition, shape correction, and searchable text. GoodNotes also boasts AI-powered features for tasks such as summarizing text and creating flashcards. You can sync your notes across your Apple devices, share them with others, and even present them directly from the app.
Notability is a note-taking app designed for Apple devices. It allows you to combine handwritten notes, typed text, drawings, audio recordings, and images in one place. You can annotate PDFs, making it useful for reviewing documents or collaborating. Notability is popular with students and professionals for its versatility and ease of use.

Summary

Main difference
GoodNotes is a better choice for users who prioritize a polished note-taking experience with advanced features like handwriting recognition, shape correction, and AI-powered summarization. Notability stands out with its real-time co-editing capabilities and seamless integration with audio recording, making it ideal for collaborative work and lectures.

Relative strengths of GoodNotes (compared to Notability)

  • Superior handwriting recognition and shape correction.

  • AI-powered features for summarizing text and flashcards.

  • Wider cross-platform compatibility (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Android).

Relative weaknesses of GoodNotes (compared to Notability)

  • Lacks real-time collaboration features.

  • Limited built-in audio recording and playback synchronization.

  • More expensive subscription model.

Who should use GoodNotes VS. Notability

GoodNotes is a popular digital note-taking app designed to replace traditional notebooks. Users praise its intuitive interface, seamless syncing across Apple devices, and excellent handwriting experience with the Apple Pencil. It's ideal for students and professionals who want to combine handwritten notes, typed text, images, and PDF annotations. While some users mention limited paper options and occasional performance issues, the positive feedback highlights its value as a versatile note-taking tool.

Notability is a popular note-taking app for Apple users, loved for its handwriting, PDF annotation, and audio recording features. Users praise its intuitive interface and seamless syncing across devices. However, some dislike the iOS/macOS-only compatibility and occasional syncing issues. Best for students and professionals needing versatile note-taking.

  • Ideal for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, seeking a versatile note-taking solution.

  • A great fit for various sectors, including education, legal, healthcare, and more, where detailed note-taking and document annotation are essential.

  • Best for small businesses (1-100 employees), good fit for medium businesses (101-1000), moderate fit for large enterprises (1000+).

  • Ideal for Education and Professional Services.

GoodNotes and Notability features

Supported
Partially supported
Not supported
Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

  • Pressure Sensitivity
    Supported

    GoodNotes supports pressure sensitivity, especially with Apple Pencil.

    Supported

    Notability supports pressure sensitivity for more expressive strokes with compatible devices like Apple Pencil.

  • Create and Annotate
    Supported

    GoodNotes allows creating digital notebooks and annotating PDFs.

    Supported

    Notability allows creating digital notebooks and annotating PDFs.

  • Highlight Text
    Supported

    GoodNotes allows highlighting text with various colors and thicknesses.

    Supported

    Notability allows highlighting text with various colors and thicknesses.

  • Global Search and OCR
    Supported

    GoodNotes supports searching handwritten and typed notes, PDF text, and document titles.

    Supported

    Notability supports searching handwritten and typed text, and PDFs.

  • Note organization
    Supported

    GoodNotes supports organizing notes into notebooks, custom outlines (sections), and pages.

    Supported

    Notability supports organizing notes into subjects and dividers, similar to notebooks and sections.

  • Cross-platform support
    Partially supported

    GoodNotes supports Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, but syncing between Apple and non-Apple devices requires sharing.

    Not supported

    Notability supports iOS and macOS only.

Qualities

  • Value and Pricing Transparency
    -0.2
    Neutral sentiment
    No data
  • Customer Service
    +0.5
    Rather positive sentiment
    No data
  • Ease of Use
    +1
    Strongly positive sentiment
    No data
  • Reliability and Performance
    +0.43
    Rather positive sentiment
    No data
  • Scalability
    +0.5
    Rather positive sentiment
    No data

GoodNotes and Notability Pricing

GoodNotes 6 is free to download and try. Paid plans offer additional features and cross-platform compatibility.
Plans

See full Pricing page

No data
We couldn't find a pricing page for Notability.

GoodNotes and Notability review insights

Users love

  • Replaces physical notebooks and planners.
  • Excellent handwriting experience with Apple Pencil.
  • Useful for annotating PDFs.
  • Seamless syncing across Apple devices.
  • Easy to use and intuitive interface.
  • Excellent note-taking features with handwriting, typing, and drawing capabilities
  • Seamless syncing across Apple devices
  • Audio recording and playback synced with notes
  • PDF annotation and highlighting
  • User-friendly interface

Users dislike

  • Limited paper and cover options in the built-in store.
  • Difficult license activation with MDM.
  • Occasional freezing and performance lags.
  • Lack of advanced features like architectural drawing scaling and shared folders.
  • No built-in audio recording.
  • Limited device compatibility (iOS and macOS only)
  • Lack of real-time collaboration features
  • Occasional syncing issues or glitches
  • Limited free version functionality
  • Subscription model for full access

GoodNotes and Notability Ratings

  • G2
    4.8/5
    (60)
  • Capterra
    4.6/5
    (55)
  • Glassdoor
    5.0/5
    (33)
  • G2
    4.6/5
    (41)
  • Capterra
    4.7/5
    (42)

Company health

Employee growth

42% increase in the last year
26% increase in the last year

Web traffic

5% decrease in the last quarter
3% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

February 2020 - $6M
No data

How do GoodNotes' AI features compare to Notability's audio recording sync?

GoodNotes leverages AI for features like text summarization and flashcard creation, while Notability's strength lies in its audio recording sync feature, which links audio recordings with handwritten notes, allowing users to easily review and listen to what was being discussed at a specific point in their notes. GoodNotes does not offer built-in audio recording.

Which app provides a better PDF annotation experience, GoodNotes or Notability?

Both GoodNotes and Notability offer robust PDF annotation features. However, user reviews suggest that GoodNotes provides a slightly better experience, particularly with the Apple Pencil, due to its superior handwriting recognition and pressure sensitivity. While both apps allow highlighting, note-taking, and PDF markup, GoodNotes' focus on replicating the feel of pen and paper may give it an edge for those who prefer a more traditional writing experience.

What are the advantages of GoodNotes?

GoodNotes offers AI-powered features like text summarization and flashcard creation, which Notability lacks. GoodNotes also provides a one-time purchase option for lifetime access on Apple devices, while Notability only offers a subscription model. Finally, user reviews mention GoodNotes having a superior handwriting experience, particularly with the Apple Pencil.

What are the disadvantages of GoodNotes?

GoodNotes users have reported limited paper and cover options within the in-app store. Some users have experienced difficulties with license activation, particularly when using Mobile Device Management (MDM). Occasional freezing and performance lags have also been reported. The software lacks some advanced features found in other note-taking apps, such as architectural drawing scaling and shared folders. Finally, GoodNotes does not have a built-in audio recording feature.

Alternatives to GoodNotes and Notability

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Page co-authored by
MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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