Notability Revenue & Ads
A handwriting and PDF note app with audio recording, transcription and AI summaries, for students and lecture-goers.
Hyunjong Choi
Published Oct 19, 2026Updated Oct 19, 202612 min readPricing play
Est. monthly revenue
$6M
↑ 0.1% vs prev. period
Downloads / month
700K
↑ 0.1% vs prev. period
Rating
4.3
618.0K ratings · Productivity
Meta ads running
0
130 found · median 5
Notability revenue and downloads trend
Est. monthly revenue
$2.0M ↑ 42.0% in 90 days
Jan 15, 2026: $1.4MApr 12, 2026
Monthly downloads
300K ↑ 42.0% in 90 days
Jan 15, 2026: 211KApr 12, 2026
Daily estimates from AppKittie, 60 days ending Apr 12, 2026. Revenue changed +42% and downloads +42% over the period. Meta ads live went from 425 to 0 between Sep 6, 2026 and Oct 18, 2026.
Notability Meta ads: 0 active, longest running 77 days
Top 13 by days live out of 130 found (3 video and 10 image creatives). Tap any one to open the original in the Meta Ad Library.
#177 days liveWeb linkAd copy“Try Notability this semester. If it doesn't help you learn, we'll cover the cost. That's the Learn Guarantee.”Why it worksTry it this semester and if it doesn't help you learn we cover the cost; 77 days, web link.
#276 days liveWeb linkAd copy“Try Notability this semester. If it doesn't help you learn, we'll cover the cost. That's the Learn Guarantee.”Why it worksSame Learn Guarantee on a second image, 76 days live, also landing on the web.
#376 days liveWeb linkAd copy“Try Notability this semester. If it doesn't help you learn, we'll cover the cost. That's the Learn Guarantee.”Why it worksThird Learn Guarantee image, 76 days live; the risk reversal is the whole message.
10 more Meta ads are locked
Unlock freeAds from the Meta Ad Library via AppKittie, snapshot Oct 16, 2026. Store data from the App Store.
Three Tiers, Six Prices and a Learn Guarantee
Notability is a handwritten and typed note app from Ginger Labs, Inc. that annotates PDFs and textbooks, records audio synced to the notes and now adds transcription, AI summaries and flashcards. As of Oct 2026 it makes an estimated $6M a month from 700K downloads, 96.8x the Productivity median revenue of $62K on 23.3x the median downloads. Three tiers, Lite, Plus and Pro, carry annual plans from $14.99 to $99.99, a 6.7x spread, and a cheapest annual at 21% of 12 monthly payments.
Key takeaways
- Ten in-app purchases at 6 prices: monthly at $5.99, $7.99 and $19.99, annual at $14.99, $19.99 and $99.99, plus a $49.99 Notability Classic. The annual spread is 6.7x and the cheapest annual is 21% of 12 monthly payments.
- 0 active Meta ads today, but 130 were found and the count went from 425 to 0 in 30 days from Sep 6, 2026. 1,395 Apple Search Ads creatives carry paid search.
- Two copy lines cover all 13 top ads: a Learn Guarantee, if it doesn't help you learn we'll cover the cost, on 4 ads linking to the web, and bring your A game this year on 9 ads linking to the App Store. Ten are image, 3 video.
- Meta Ad Library spend estimates come to only $1K lifetime, 46.9% of it on ages 18-24 and 60.9% on women, with a modeled 60.2% going to the United States. The target looks like a student.
- The latest 200 reviews average 2.52 stars against a 4.3 store rating on 618.0K ratings, with 93 one-star. 62 (31.0%) mention price, trial or subscription and 47 of those are negative.
Full teardown
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Where Notability spends on Meta
Audience and spend estimates built on Meta Ad Library data (reported for ads shown in the EU, with other countries modeled), lifetime of the ads found. The biggest audience is 18-24, taking 46.9% of spend.
Est. spend
$1K
Reach
93.0K
Avg. CPM
$12.09
Ads delivered
130
Spend by age
Spend by gender
Top countries by reach
| Country | Reach | Spend | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States est. | 31.8K | $676.66 | 60.2% |
| Belgium | 9.1K | $77.43 | 6.89% |
| Italy | 7.0K | $49.69 | 4.42% |
| United Kingdom | 5.0K | $66.18 | 5.89% |
| Portugal | 4.5K | $27.48 | 2.44% |
Rows marked est. are modeled by AppKittie from Ad Library coverage, not reported by Meta.
What Notability does differently
Three tiers, a six-fold spread
6.7x
between the cheapest and dearest annual plan
Ads timed to the semester
425 to 0
active Meta ads in 30 days from Sep 6
Loyal buyers, angry reviews
31.0%
of latest reviews mention price or subscription
The measurement gap
1,395
Apple Search Ads creatives, 0 Meta ads live
1. Three tiers, a six-fold spread
Notability sells the same app at three altitudes. Lite, Plus and Pro each come monthly and annually, giving 6 prices across 10 in-app purchases: $5.99, $7.99 and $19.99 a month, $14.99, $19.99 and $99.99 a year. The annual spread is 6.7x, and the cheapest annual costs 21% of 12 months at the lowest monthly price, a discount steep enough to push any regular user onto a yearly plan. A $49.99 Notability Classic sits beside the tiers for people who bought the old one-time version. The Productivity median annual price is $49.99, so Lite undercuts the market hard while Pro charges double it for AI transcription and summaries. The result is $8.57 of estimated revenue per download. Notability pairs a cheap annual for the hesitant with a premium tier for the AI features that cost money to run.
2. Ads timed to the semester
Notability's Meta spend behaves like a school calendar. 130 ads have been found, and the active count fell from 425 on Sep 6, 2026 to 0 by Oct 18, a 100.0% drop in 30 days, so the burst ran for back-to-school and then stopped. The copy confirms the audience: 4 of the 13 top ads carry a Learn Guarantee, try Notability this semester and if it doesn't help you learn we'll cover the cost, linking to the web, and 9 say Notability helps you bring your A game this year, linking to the App Store. Ten of the 13 are images and 3 are video; the longest ran 77 days. Estimated Meta spend is tiny, $1K, but 46.9% went to 18-24 year olds and 60.9% to women. A seasonal app can concentrate its spend into the weeks the decision gets made.
3. Loyal buyers, angry reviews
The money is strong and the mood is not. Notability brings in an estimated $6M a month, 96.8x the Productivity median of $62K, and 700K downloads, 23.3x the median. Yet the latest 200 reviews average 2.52 stars, far below the 4.3 lifetime rating on 618.0K ratings, with 93 one-star against 48 five-star. 62 of the 200, 31.0%, mention price, trial or subscription, and 47 of those are negative. The quotes describe long-time users who paid for the old version, then met the subscription and feature changes, and support that does not answer. That is the cost of moving a one-time app to tiers, and the $49.99 Classic exists to soften it. A smaller app making the same switch should budget for the review hit and answer every migration complaint quickly, because the installed base is where the revenue sits.
4. The measurement gap
Notability now runs 0 Meta ads after a 425-ad back-to-school burst, leans on 1,395 Apple Search Ads creatives, and offers three tiers from $14.99 to $99.99 a year. Which channel, the semester ad or the search keyword, and which tier produces a student who is still paying in the spring, rather than one who takes the Learn Guarantee and leaves?
How much does Notability cost?
10 in-app purchases, 6 distinct prices, annual plans from $14.99 to $99.99. Prices as listed on the US App Store, Oct 16, 2026.
| Monthly | $5.99 · $7.99 · $19.99 |
|---|---|
| Annual | $14.99 · $19.99 · $99.99 |
| Other | $49.99 |
Notability vs the Productivity median
| Notability | Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Est. monthly revenue | $6M | $62K |
| Downloads / month | 700K | 30K |
| Meta ads running | 0 | 5 |
| Rating | 4.3 | 4.7 |
| Lowest annual price | $14.99 | $49.99 |
Median of 53 Productivity apps with active Meta ads in our set. See the Productivity hub ›
What Notability users say about paying
Of the latest 200 reviews, 62 (31.0%) mention price, trial or subscription and 47 of those are negative; the sample averages 2.52 stars with 93 one-star, driven by users who bought the old version and resent the subscription.
Latest 200 US reviews, Sep 3, 2026 to Oct 16, 2026
Mention price, trial or subscription
31%62 of 200 reviews, 47 of them 1 or 2 stars
Notability is a fantastic note taking software that is worth the optional buy-in for additional functionality. As a student who has used the app almost daily fo…
I have been trying to get through to someone from Notability for the past week and no one is answering my emails. I purchased notability prior to November 21, 2…
How to measure a playbook like Notability's
Notability's paid mix is 1,395 Apple Search Ads creatives and a Meta burst that fell from 425 ads to 0 in 30 days, so the job is to see which channel and which of three tiers keeps a student paying.
- 01
Connect RevenueCat to see revenue by channel
Every purchase and renewal joins the install it came from, so each channel shows real revenue, not only installs.
- 02
Compare markets, not only campaigns
With several price points, the same campaign earns different revenue per country. Break revenue down by country and channel together.
- 03
An annual buyer and a monthly buyer look the same at install. Retention by channel shows which source keeps paying.
Measure this on your own app with Airbridge Core
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How we built this teardown
- Revenue and downloads are third-party estimates from AppKittie, snapshot Oct 16, 2026. Store intelligence estimates for a single app can be off by 30% or more. Treat them as a range, not a figure from the developer. Daily revenue and download series cover 60 days ending Apr 12, 2026.
- Ads come from the public Meta Ad Library. "Days live" counts days since an ad first appeared. Spend and audience breakdowns start from Meta's EU transparency figures; country splits outside the EU are AppKittie models.
- Prices, ratings and ranks come from the App Store (US storefront) on the same date. Prices differ by country and by paywall offer. Review stats use the latest 200 US reviews from Apple's public review feed.
- Category medians are computed across 53 Productivity apps with active Meta ads in our set of 860 subscription apps.
- Written by Hyunjong Choi. Ads, prices and estimates are refreshed every 30 to 90 days. Updated Oct 19, 2026.
Top Productivity apps by estimated revenue
All 25 ›| # | App | Est. revenue / mo | Ads live |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  CamScannerINTSIG Information Co., Ltd | $8M | 0 |
| 2 | NotabilityGinger Labs, Inc. | $6M | 0 |
| 3 |  ChatOn AIAIBY Incorporated | $2M | 2 |
| 4 |  GrammarlySuperhuman Platform Inc | $2M | 338 |
| 5 |  CamScanner- scanner, PDF makerINTSIG PTE | $2M | 0 |
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NotionFrequently asked questions about Notability
How much does Notability make?
An estimated $6M a month as of Oct 2026, 96.8x the Productivity category median of $62K. These are AppKittie estimates, not figures reported by Ginger Labs, Inc.
How much does Notability cost?
Notability lists 10 in-app purchases at 6 prices on the US App Store. Lite, Plus and Pro run $5.99, $7.99 and $19.99 a month or $14.99, $19.99 and $99.99 a year, and Notability Classic is $49.99.
How many ads does Notability run?
0 active Meta ads as of Oct 18, 2026, down from 425 on Sep 6, with 130 found over time, plus 1,395 Apple Search Ads creatives. Of the 13 top ads, 10 are image and 3 are video.
How fast is Notability growing?
The trend series covers Jan 15 to Apr 12, 2026: estimated downloads rose 42.0%, from 211K to 300K a month, and estimated revenue rose 42.0%, from $1.4M to $2.0M, over 60 days.
Who makes Notability?
Ginger Labs, Inc. develops Notability. The app launched on Apr 1, 2010, making it 198 months old, and was last updated on Apr 6, 2026.
What is the Notability Learn Guarantee?
An offer in 4 of the 13 top Meta ads: try Notability this semester and, if it doesn't help you learn, the company covers the cost. Those 4 ads ran 76 to 77 days and link to the web.
Which Notability plan is the best value?
The cheapest annual, Lite at $14.99, is 21% of what 12 months at the lowest monthly price would cost. Pro at $99.99 a year is double the Productivity median annual price of $49.99.
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The install is visible, the subscriber is not. Airbridge Core closes that gap: connect Meta, TikTok, Google and Apple Ads, add one tracking link per creator, plug in RevenueCat, Superwall or Adapty, and each campaign shows revenue instead of installs. The Core plan is $40 a month after 30 free days. Start your free trial.
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Hyunjong Choi LinkedIn
Go-to-market, Airbridge Core
Works on go-to-market for Airbridge Core, the self-serve attribution plan for subscription apps. Writes these teardowns from public App Store data, the Meta Ad Library and AppKittie estimates.
About Airbridge
Airbridge is a mobile measurement partner for Meta, Google, TikTok and Apple Ads, with native RevenueCat, Superwall and Adapty integrations. Subscription teams like NOICE cut measurement setup time by 75% after switching.