Notability
Notability, operated by Ginger Labs, Inc., is a digital note-taking platform serving individual students and professionals, educational institutions, and enterprise teams through tiered subscriptions. The product combines handwritten notes, document annotation, audio recording, and AI-powered study and productivity tools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Notability does
Notability is a digital note-taking application developed and operated by Ginger Labs, Inc., a privately-held company headquartered in San Francisco, USA. The platform serves three customer segments: individual students and professionals (consumer), educational institutions (free K-12 and higher-ed tier), and enterprise teams (Business and Business Pro subscriptions). Functional scope covers handwritten note capture via stylus, typed text, PDF and document annotation, audio recording with synchronized playback, and multimedia insertion; the application is distributed primarily through Apple's App Store and holds a 4.8/5 user rating. The underlying technology stack combines Google Cloud infrastructure, Cloudflare security, Stripe payments, and MyScript handwriting recognition, with deployment options through Apple Business Manager, Microsoft Intune MAM, and Google Workspace.
Monetization follows a tiered subscription model. Consumer tiers are Starter (free), Lite ($11.99/year), Plus ($15.99/year), and Pro ($79.99/year); business tiers are Business ($60/user/year) and Business Pro ($180/user/year). Educational institutions are served free of charge, and the company claims adoption by more than 1,500 schools and 20 million students and educators globally. Enterprise customers span diverse industries including pharmaceuticals (Novo Nordisk), professional services (PwC, Norton Rose Fulbright, Apollo), aerospace (SpaceX), professional sports (San Francisco 49ers, Sacramento Kings, USA Volleyball), energy and materials (NextEra Energy, Vulcan Materials), automotive (Suzuki), and consumer products (Yeti, Red Wing Shoes), indicating a horizontal enterprise go-to-market rather than vertical specialization.
In 2024, the company materially expanded its AI feature surface with AI Quizzes, Chat with Notes, Smart Notes, AI Action Items, YouTube Link-to-Note, and live transcription with smart summaries, and achieved SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and Data Privacy Framework certifications. No external funding rounds, leadership changes, M&A activity, or financial results are disclosed, limiting visibility into capital structure, headcount, and operating metrics.
Notability firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Notability
- Legal name
- Ginger Labs, Inc.
- Website
- https://notability.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Notability, operated by Ginger Labs, Inc., is a digital note-taking platform serving individual students and professionals, educational institutions, and enterprise teams through tiered subscriptions. The product combines handwritten notes, document annotation, audio recording, and AI-powered study and productivity tools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Notability industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Note-Taking & Productivity Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AT for Reading, Writing & Learning (Literacy/Executive Function) Tools & Training (EDAKAIAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Learning Device Ecosystems & 1:1 Program Solutions (Devices, MDM, Charging) (EDAJAMAL)
Keywords
Where Notability is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Notability business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Subscription (Starter, Lite, Plus, Pro): Tiered annual subscription model for individual consumers. Starter is free with limited features. Paid tiers (Lite $11.99/yr, Plus $15.99/yr, Pro $79.99/yr) offer increasing access to notes, AI features, transcription, and collaboration tools. Payments processed through Apple iTunes/App Store.
- Business & Business Pro Subscriptions: Annual per-user subscription for business teams. Business plan at $60/yr per user includes shared libraries, admin controls, AI summaries, and transcription. Business Pro at $180/yr per user adds unlimited AI features. Custom contract options available for larger organizations.
- Enterprise Subscription Agreements: Volume license agreements for enterprise customers through Apple Business Manager. Custom pricing, payment terms, and dedicated support available. Payments processed through Stripe for business customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Starter (Free) — For everyday note-takers who want reliability. |
| Subscription | Annual | Lite — Unlimited notes with reliable backups. |
| Subscription | Annual | Plus — Faster note-taking with AI help for students and individuals. |
| Subscription | Annual | Pro — Most advanced AI study & productivity tools. |
| Subscription | Annual | Business — For businesses that share notes and documents. |
| Subscription | Annual | Business Pro — For businesses that want to enhance work with AI. |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Custom Contract — For teams with unique needs. |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Notability product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Notability is a cross-platform digital note-taking application that combines handwritten notes, typed text, document annotation, audio recording with real-time transcription, and AI-powered study tools (flashcards, quizzes, summaries, chat-with-notes). It is offered as a freemium consumer app on iOS, Android, and web, with dedicated paid Business subscription plans for teams and free institutional deployment for K-12 and higher education via MDM. The platform serves individual students and professionals, schools, and enterprises with distinct feature sets, pricing tiers, and deployment models.
Product overview
Notability is a unified note-taking platform offered as a single core application with multiple subscription tiers. The Individual plans (Starter, Lite, Plus, Pro) serve personal note-taking, learning, and productivity with tiered AI capabilities. The Business plans (Business, Business Pro, Custom Contract) add team collaboration features including shared libraries, real-time collaboration, and enterprise admin controls. Notability for Education provides free access for schools via MDM deployment. All tiers share the same core app functionality (handwriting, document annotation, audio recording) with AI features (Smart Notes, quizzes, flashcards, chat) unlocking at higher tiers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Notability (Consumer App) Modern note-taking app combining handwritten notes, typed text, sketches, document annotation (PDF, docs, slides), and audio recording with live transcription. Designed for individual students, lifelong learners, and professionals, with tiered AI features unlocked at Plus and Pro levels.
- Notability Business Team-oriented subscription for organizations needing shared note libraries, real-time collaboration, PDF annotation, centralized user admin and billing, AI-powered summaries, audio recording and transcription, and handwriting search. Includes Intune MAM integration on the Business Pro tier for enterprise security.
- Notability for Education Free full-featured Notability for schools and educational institutions, deployed centrally through MDM (Jamf, Mosyle) with admin-configurable features, iCloud sync, and third-party backup support. Designed for classroom lecture capture and digital document annotation.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20M+ students and educators rely on Notability for learning and note-taking
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Notability
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Notability technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
AI capability8 records
Feature12 records
Notability partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- ApplecoreApple serves as a critical distribution and commerce partner for Notability. The iOS app is distributed through the Apple App Store, with in-app purchases processed through Apple iTunes services. Enterprise and education volume licensing is facilitated through Apple Business Manager. Notability is a member of Apple's Education Partner Program.
- Google Cloud PlatformcoreNotability's production services are hosted on Google Cloud Platform, providing infrastructure for data hosting, availability, and resilience. GCP data centers in the United States host customer data with redundant backup storage.
- CloudflarecoreCloudflare provides security and performance infrastructure for Notability's web properties, including DDoS protection, CDN services, and email protection.
- StripecoreStripe serves as the payment processor for Business and Enterprise subscription billing (distinct from consumer App Store payments which use Apple iTunes). Handles payment processing, billing accounts, and payment method management for business customers.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Notability competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GoodNotes: GoodNotes is a direct competitor in the digital handwriting and note-taking space, offering similar AI-powered features, document annotation, and multi-platform support (iOS, Android, web). It targets the same student and professional segments with comparable subscription tiers.
- Obsidian: Obsidian is a popular note-taking and knowledge management app targeting power users and professionals. It uses markdown-based notes and has a strong community, competing with Notability for serious note-taking users who want more customization.
- Evernote: Evernote is one of the most established note-taking apps, offering cross-platform note-taking, web clipping, and AI features. It targets similar consumer and business segments as Notability and has a long-standing brand presence.
- Notion: Notion is a widely-used productivity and note-taking platform with AI features, collaborative workspaces, and templates. While better known for documents and wikis, it increasingly competes with Notability for student and team note-taking workflows.
- Bear Notes: Bear is a markdown-based note-taking app for Apple platforms with strong design and organization features. It targets similar Apple-ecosystem users for personal note-taking and writing, competing directly with Notability's iOS-first design experience.
Broad incumbents
- Apple Notes: Apple Notes is a free, bundled note-taking app pre-installed on every iOS device, with growing handwriting, collaboration, and AI capabilities. While not a specialized paid product, it competes directly for casual note-takers and represents the biggest free alternative.
- Microsoft OneNote: Microsoft OneNote is a free, cross-platform note-taking app bundled with Microsoft 365. It offers handwriting, audio recording, and collaboration features, and competes across both consumer and enterprise segments like Notability.
- Google Keep: Google Keep is a free, lightweight note-taking app bundled with Google Workspace. It serves casual note-taking users across consumer and enterprise segments, competing on convenience and ecosystem integration rather than handwriting or AI features.
Emerging players
- Microsoft Loop: Microsoft Loop is an emerging collaborative workspace and note-taking component of Microsoft 365, with AI integration and component-based collaboration. It targets teams and overlaps with Notability's business collaboration use cases.
- Zoho Notebook: Zoho Notebook is a free note-taking app from Zoho with AI features, cross-platform support, and integration with the broader Zoho productivity suite. It targets both consumer and business users like Notability, with a focus on value and ecosystem integration.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Notability social profiles
Digital presenceNotability compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Notability financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Notability leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Notability funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Notability M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Notability
What does Notability do?
Notability is a cross-platform digital note-taking application that combines handwritten notes, typed text, document annotation, audio recording with real-time transcription, and AI-powered study tools (flashcards, quizzes, summaries, chat-with-notes). It is offered as a freemium consumer app on iOS, Android, and web, with dedicated paid Business subscription plans for teams and free institutional deployment for K-12 and higher education via MDM. The platform serves individual students and professionals, schools, and enterprises with distinct feature sets, pricing tiers, and deployment models.
Is Notability a public or private company?
Notability is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Notability founded?
Notability was founded in 2008. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Notability based?
Notability is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Notability make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual Subscription (Starter, Lite, Plus, Pro) is the primary driver. The others are business & Business Pro Subscriptions and enterprise Subscription Agreements.
Who are Notability's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GoodNotes, Obsidian, Evernote, Notion and Bear Notes. Broad incumbents are Apple Notes, Microsoft OneNote and Google Keep. Emerging players are Microsoft Loop and Zoho Notebook.
Does Notability have an API?
No public API is recorded for Notability.
What industry is Notability in?
Notability's product category is Note-Taking & Productivity Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAKAIAC, AT for Reading, Writing & Learning (Literacy/Executive Function) Tools & Training, with a secondary code of EDAJAMAL, Learning Device Ecosystems & 1:1 Program Solutions (Devices, MDM, Charging). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.