For years, Notability was the gold standard for paid note-taking apps on the iPad. That changed in 2021 when the developers (Ginger Labs) controversially shifted to a subscription model. After significant user backlash, they landed on a hybrid model: a free tier with a robust set of tools and a paid "Plus" tier for power users.
| Feature | Notability (Free) | Apple Notes (Free) | OneNote (Free) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | ✅ (No transcription) | ❌ | ✅ (Desktop only) | | Edit Limit | ⚠️ 250/month | ❌ Unlimited | ❌ Unlimited | | PDF Import | ✅ | ✅ (Limited) | ✅ | | Cross-Platform | ❌ (iOS/Mac only) | ❌ (Apple only) | ✅ (Win/Android/Web) | | OCR Search | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | notability free version features
The core technology—the ink engine, the audio recording, the PDF handling—is world-class and fully unlocked. But the 250-edit monthly cap is a hard stop that makes the free version unusable for anyone who takes notes more than twice a week. For years, Notability was the gold standard for