Thinkblot vs Notability
Pick Notability if you record lectures or meetings and want transcripts and summaries beside your handwriting, or if you want your notes on the web as well as on Apple devices. It has a free Starter plan and paid plans that add handwriting recognition, math conversion and iCloud sync.
Pick Thinkblot if your notebook is where plans and to-dos start, and you want a tapped line to become a reminder, a message or time on your calendar. Thinkblot reads your handwriting on your device, with no account and no Thinkblot server.
Last checked: 27 October 2026
Thinkblot and Notability, row by row.
| Thinkblot | Notability | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone (including iPhone Duo), iPad with Apple Pencil, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro (the iPad app). iOS and iPadOS 27.1 or later. | iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro, and the web. Its site also lists Windows and Android apps. |
| Handwriting recognition | Read on your device. Fixing a misread word changes the text, never your ink. | Handwriting recognition and search, listed as subscription benefits. |
| What happens to a line you write | It stays ink. When Thinkblot can help, a small blot appears at the end of the line. Tap it, and the line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or time on your calendar. | It stays a handwritten note you can search. |
| Tasks and reminders | A box in front of a line makes it a task. Tick the box on paper and it's done in Reminders too. Unticked tasks carry forward. | — |
| Maths | Write a sum and an equals sign, and the answer is written for you. Write “total” under a column and it adds itself. | Math conversion, listed as a subscription benefit. |
| Privacy, account and where data lives | No account and no Thinkblot server. Notebooks live on your devices and in your own iCloud. Private Cloud Compute is optional and asks first. | — |
| Sync | Your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database, on the same Apple Account. | Auto-backup and iCloud sync, listed as subscription benefits. |
| Export | PDF or Markdown. | Share a PDF of a note. |
| Pricing model | Not out yet. Join the waitlist. | Free Starter plan (5 notes). Three yearly plans, Lite to Pro, from $11.99/year on its pricing page, which says prices may vary. |
On a phone, scroll the table sideways.
What Notability users write about.
We read 362 App Store reviews of Notability rated 1 to 3 stars, posted since January 2025, and sorted each by what it complained about. These were the most common. Quotes are paraphrased, and no reviewer is named.
- 80Notes lost
Restarted and months of notes were gone with no recovery, even with backups on.
- 73Crashes and new bugs after updates
Freezes within 30 seconds after the update; must restart several times per meeting.
- 57Accounts and being logged out
After years of local use, the app now blocks notes behind a mandatory account sign-in.
- 47Clutter and unwanted redesigns
Update added unremovable margins and removed text wrap; line spacing ballooned.
- 44Support that doesn't answer
Support is an AI bot that loops; human reply promised in 3-5 days during exams.
Where Thinkblot is built differently.
Notebooks live on your device and in your own iCloud. There's no Thinkblot server for them to be lost on, and a new device brings them back from iCloud.
There's no Thinkblot account to sign in to, so there's nothing to be logged out of.
Sync runs through your own iCloud, in Apple's private CloudKit database, the same system Apple's own apps use.
There's no Thinkblot cloud to move to. Notebooks sync through your own iCloud, in Apple's private CloudKit database.
Low-star reviews are a slice of any app's users, not a verdict. Notability also has many happy ones.
Where each one is better.
- Recording audio with live transcripts and summaries.
- Notes on the web, and apps beyond Apple devices.
- Asking questions of your notes for exam review.
- A large template library on every plan.
- A tapped line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or calendar time.
- Sums answer themselves after an equals sign.
- No account. Notebooks stay on your devices and your own iCloud.
- Voice notes are transcribed on the device, each errand on its own line.
Thinkblot vs Notability, asked.
- Is Thinkblot a Notability alternative?
- If you mostly write plans, lists and journal pages, yes. If you record lectures and want audio synced to your notes, Notability is built for that.
- Does Notability read handwriting?
- Yes. Notability lists handwriting recognition and search among its subscription benefits.
- Where does Thinkblot keep my notebooks?
- On your device and in your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database. There's no Thinkblot server, so Thinkblot can't see them.
- Does Thinkblot work offline?
- Yes. Writing, reading your handwriting, voice-note transcription, maths and the blots all work on the device with no connection. Sync catches up when you're back online.
How do
you think?
Thinkblot is coming soon to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. One email the day it's out. That's all.
Join the waitlistClaims about Notability come only from its own pages, as they read on 27 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and may change.
Thinkblot facts come from the Thinkblot support page. Last checked: 27 October 2026.