We all take notes differently. Each one of us has our own way to put headers and sub-headers, use/no use of bullets for listing stuff, ways of indexing and tagging content. The makers of apps realize this and hence we are posed with the happy problem of countless options.
iPad shares the same story. Both iPad and iPad Pro are great devices which are integral to many of us in our everyday lives. The array of options available for the note-taking in-app store is unrivalled and is growing with each passing day.
To cut through the noise and get you scribbling right away, we bring you a list of top 12 paid and free note-taking apps. Is your iPad ready for the download?
Notability is the best note-taking app for iPad if the ability to annotate PDFs is important to you. Since it facilitates note-taking with the Apple Pencil or a stylus, Notability makes a great app for creating beautiful bullet journal spreads. Some of the app's most noteworthy features include: Convert handwritten notes into text.
- This Note-Taking app focuses primarily on handwriting. This is the best free note-taking app for iPad with apple pencil If you are using your iPad or iPad Pro for taking handwritten notes, this is the app to go for. Using this app, it becomes easier to enter all the complicated chemical and mathematical formulas that seem to be impossible to.
- Microsoft OneNote is one of the most popular note-taking apps from the beginning. It is simple to use and comes with a user-friendly interface. You will get the most from this app when using your iPad. You can instantly create notes for your daily works.
- 1Writer – Note taking, writing app ( iPhone + iPad ):- It is one of the best writing and note taking apps for iPhone and iPad. IWriter app has several advanced features such as iCloud drive support, sync your existing dropbox folders and documents, export, more than 20 different fonts, passcode lock or touch ID to protect the app, create & access your favorite websites, a dark theme for.
- With an amazing note taking app, you don’t have to do this. If you remember a random idea, you can search back through all of your notes to find it. Note taking apps make it simple to keep up with your information. Accessibility: Beyond the convenience in your pocket, most note taking apps also provide remarkable accessibility.
This question is as important as the answer.
- Jot down what’s important for you and seek that from your shortlisted choices. It is not necessary that all note-taking apps should support styluses or have speech-to-text conversion capabilities. The task of note-taking should be uncompromised with 4-5 additional features that really help your personal life or workspace.
- Cross-platform support and/or availability of notes across your synced devices is least of expectations
- If you are choosing a paid version of the app, it should be worth your money and not come with an outrageous price tag. For free versions, ensure you are getting features like sync for seamless note-taking
- Finally, the chosen app should be simple and easy to use for all basic functions like writing, editing, sorting and marking notes. You should be able to create a new note as fast as your thought or idea
Best Note-Taking Apps (Paid)
1. Notability
Editors’ Choice and top-selling paid app that is powerful, sleek and simple
You will like Sync option that ties your audio recording and pen strokes together. Also, the flexible layout that lets you refer material and take notes simultaneously
You will dislike: Not many fancy writing tools & pen sizes; the content organization is not intuitive
Platform Compatibility – iPad, iPhone, Mac
Cost – $8.99 one time cost with in-app purchases (Comes with 7 Day Trial)
Rating – 4.8/5 basis 113.6K ratings
What does it offer?
- Simple note-taking experience with a variety of note-taking, journaling, and drawing tools like ink, highlighter, text, and audio
- OCR support and handwriting recognition for easy search of notes
- Security of notes using Touch ID and Face ID
- Idea sharing in presentation mode with a laser pointer and full-screen mode
- Connection with i-cloud to automatically sync notes across devices
- Embedding of images, PDF annotation and voice memo recording
2. GoodNotes 5
One line selling summary – Arguably one of the best note-taking app for Apple Pencil and iPad
You will like: Folder organization is neat (different covers for different notebooks) and quick to retrieve. Plus the “Smart eraser tool” and “Erase Highlighter Only” tool that lets you erase selectively.
You will dislike: Not as intuitive as Notability and doesn’t record audio
Platform Compatibility – iPad, iPhone, Mac
Cost – $7.99 one time cost with in-app purchases (Comes with 7 Day Trial)
Rating – 4.8/5 basis 17.5K ratings
What does it offer?
- It lets you escape the limits of traditional paper with nifty tools for handwriting, colour, shapes, paper types and sizes
- Awesome PDF support – Navigation through imported PDFs with existing hyperlinks, adding pages to PDF and taking photos and exporting them as PDFs
- Connection with i-cloud to automatically sync notes across devices
- Unlimited sub-folders, drag and drop features, built-in layouts and templates
- Presentation mode that turns this app into a Digital whiteboard and allows projection using AirPlay or HDMI Cable. This makes it a perfect companion for business meetings and class presentations
3. Evernote (Premium Version)
One line selling summary – Note-taking veteran app that offers cross-platform support
You will like: That it syncs and works with iOS and Android devices; offers lots of features and is a long-standing credible player in the note-taking market
You will dislike: The free version limits uploads up to just 60 MB with limited features, making premium version imperative to buy; lack of customer support
Platform Compatibility – iOS, macOS, Android, Windows & Web
Cost – $7.99/month for Premium; $15/month for Business Version
Rating – 4.4/5 basis 28.7K ratings
What does it offer?
- It allows collecting multiple inputs, including images, recorded messages, text files, web clippings etc. all at one place for sharing and collaboration
- It also supports reading scanned handwritten notes, website content, emails, menus, business cards, PDF files and anything else that you dabble with
- Integration with other productivity tools like Slack, Salesforce, Google Drive
- Syncing of different unlimited devices, offline access to your notes, annotate PDFs and creating custom templates
- Multi-person collaboration and live chat support
- Great tagging feature that organizes data as you dump it
4. Noteshelf
One line selling summary – Digital note-taking made synonymous with handwritten notes with this app that enables fluid and natural writing
You will like: Amazing handwriting recognition, the versatility of tools and simple to use clutter-free layout
You will dislike: Bugs that hinder performance
Platform Compatibility – iOS 12.0 and later, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, iPod Touch & Android
Cost – $9.99
Rating – 4.2/5 basis 1.1K ratings
What does it offer?
- Noteshelf enables seamless connect with Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive
- Personalize your notes with beautiful covers and organize them the way you want
- Great choice of pens, pencils, highlighters, colours and also a fountain pen
- Handwriting recognition in 65 languages and conversion of handwriting to text through OCR technology
- Record audio notes and playback anytime- ideal for students attending lectures
- Multi-screen workflow for using 2 notes side-by-side, customized bookmarks, handsfree voice recording through Apple watch and auto-publish of notes into Evernote
- Access to Noteshelf Club to download 100s of beautiful covers and paper templates for student notes, journals, shopping lists, personal health trackers, meeting memos, to-do lists and many more
5. Notepad+ Pro
One line selling summary – Traditional Pen and Paper feel right on your iPad for you to take notes the way you like
You will like: The app’s ability to annotate different file formats including PDF, Excel, Keynote and numerical formats; Blur Tool – It lets you hide sensitive information with a single tap before sharing it with others
You will dislike: The price tag – which is higher than other note-taking apps, the app still needs to ace the feature of categorizing notes
Platform Compatibility – iOS 8.0 or later, Compatible with iPad
Cost – $19.99
Rating – 4.6/5 basis 5.6K ratings Visual studio 2010 mac download.
What does it offer?
- Comes with several highlighters, ink pens, colour tools etc. that replicate pen and paper approach to note-taking
- Tools for drawing, sketching, creating to-dos and memos apart from note-taking
- Annotate and edit files, password protect sensitive notes, use quick search to spot important notes instantly
- Works with maximum portability by enabling note-taking using Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro
- Add photos, smileys, icons and text to make your notes visually appealing
- Supports family sharing set up, up to 6 family members can use the app
6. ZoomNotes
One line selling summary – Only note-taking app for iPad with huge zoom range and infinite whiteboard space
You will like: Comprehensive layout for visual note-taking, huge whiteboards and multiple pen types
You will dislike: Inability to create or use custom fonts and has a bit of a learning curve owing to the surplus features
Platform Compatibility – iOS 9.0 or later, MacOS, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch
Cost – $7.99
Rating – 4.5/5 basis 426 ratings
What does it offer?
- There are 8 pen types to choose from including gel, nib, pencil, watercolour etc. with unlimited line thickness
- Supports handwriting recognition, split-screen view, zoom in – zoom out without arbitrary limits including rotated views
- Configurable and editable paper types & sizes, shapes and images
- Magnification window that allows writing into a zoomed-in view whilst still viewing the zoomed out view
- Write over PDF files, add links between pages or documents, record and playback voice notes
- Share documents as PDF files, images, videos or ZoomNotes documents via email, iTunes, clipboard, Dropbox, Twitter and Evernote, Airdrop, iCloud Drive and Open in
- VGA compatible for use with projectors, monitors and AirPlay.
Best Note-Taking Apps (Free)
1. Apple Notes
One line selling summary – Basic & fuss-free note-taking app that is free and native to iPad
You will like: Its native app so works perfectly on iPad and has a lot of cool features available post the iPadOS 13 update
You will dislike: Missing advanced functionalities like importing, infinite canvas for illustrations and customized organization tools
Platform Compatibility – iOS/macOS devices
Best Note Taking App For Ipad Free
Free
Rating – NA; Pre-installed on iOS devices
What does it offer?
- All basic note-taking features for users who don’t require power tools for note-taking
- 120 colours to choose from and ability to change pen strokes, pencil/highlighter weight etc.
- Pixel eraser, dark mode and awesome selection tool
- Spotlight bar to search for handwritten phrases in the notes document
- Connection with i-cloud to automatically sync notes across devices
- Full stylus compatibility for seamless writing experience for Apple Pencil users
- Allows to add sketches and illustrations to your notes
- The only app to open a blank page on tapping the locked iPad screen with Apple pencil
2. Microsoft OneNote
One line selling summary – Robust app best for cross-platform collaboration
You will like: Flexibility in the way you write and organize your notes; support for Apple Pencil
You will dislike: There are sometimes syncing issues between Microsoft and Apple OS systems
Platform Compatibility – iOS 13.0 or later, watchOS 5.0 later, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, Windows and Android
Free with in-app purchases
Rating – 4.7/5 basis 514.5K ratings
What does it offer?
- Variations in pen strokes, width and few extra colours to choose from as compared to Apple Notes
- Size of the canvas that zooms in and out to provide ample writing space
- Easy collaboration for note sharing and projects with friends and family who own a Microsoft account
- Export notes to PDF and invite others to view and edit notes for projects involving team efforts
- Allows for handwritten notes and multimedia features like rich text notes, graphics photos, calendars and voice recordings
- Automatic backup of notes created on OneDrive
- Enables maintaining notes topic wise with the general setup mimicking the physical binder look
3. MyScript Nebo
One line selling summary – Front runner in Handwriting to Text Conversion
You will like: Dual support for pen and keyboard, shortcuts and handwriting to text conversion
You will dislike: Spotty handwriting recognition for unique characters; For best results in translation – it requires you to write carefully and at a slower pace.
Platform Compatibility – iPad, Windows and Android
Cost – Free with in-app purchases for pro versions
Rating – 4.5/5 basis 7.9K ratings
What does it offer?
- Allows for an easy switch between keyboard and pen mindset of note-taking
- Non-destructive and easy translation of handwritten notes to text, permitting you to retain both the handwriting and the text, in almost 66 languages
- Collection of cool productivity tools like underline, strikethrough, scribble, etc. that help to highlight, categorize and
- Writes and solves math equations; handles rich content like diagrams, sketches, flow charts, etc.
- Export documents to a variety of formats like Word, PDF and even HTML
- Syncing is also available through MyScript’s own service, or you can choose iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more
4. Simplenote
One line selling summary – Clean, Straightforward and Simple – Just as the name!
You will like: Simple note-taking experience without overwhelming bells and whistles
You will dislike: No obvious keyboard shortcuts; lack of power features like support for styluses and PDF annotation
Platform Compatibility – iOS 12.0 or later, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch
Best Note Taking App For Ipad Air 2
Free
Rating – 4.8/5 basis 4K ratings
What does it offer?
- Allows tags and pins for quick organization of content
- Back up and sync everything as you take notes across different devices
- Collaborate and share content through links, web, publishing on WordPress and other third-party apps
- Create to-do lists, pin the notes that you use the most
- Protect your content with passcode lock
- “Saved History” feature lets you recover the notes deleted accidentally
5. PDF Expert
One line selling summary – Great app if your note-taking involves working with a lot of PDFs
You will like: Sticky notes, freehand drawing tools and highlighting options for scanned/PDF docs
You will dislike: Power features come at a cost and average flexibility owing to lack of split-screen view or blank page to write along with reading your PDFs
Platform Compatibility – iOS 11.0 or later, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch
Free with in-app purchases
Rating – 4.7/5 basis 90.1K ratings
What does it offer?
- Annotating and marking up PDFs that is better than Apple’s own built-in mark-up extension
- Create notes and insert pre-designed notes like Approved, Confidential and so on
- Loads of features to work with PDFs – like read, write, use shapes, draw, strikethrough, underline, highlight, fill forms and many more
- Use Text to Speech feature to hear the selected text read out loud
- Premium version allows you to edit original PDF text, add or edit images, sign documents, redact sensitive data and other power features
- Enables audio notes recording, allows to set favourites toolbar for quick access, full text search, scroll, zoom in and out
- Connect to other document storage providers like Dropbox, iCloud Drive, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive etc.
6. Notion
One line selling summary – Go-To-App if you want your notes, tasks, databases and wikis all at one place
Best Note Taking App For Ipad Mini 4
You will like: Cross-platform exchange of notes along with very useful reference wiki and task manager features
You will dislike: A bit of steep learning curve for one to get used to the concept of “blocks”, lack of integration with Apple Watch and inability to print some page sizes like A5 and Executive
Platform Compatibility – iOS 12.0 or later, macOS, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, Android, Windows, Web
Free for Personal users
Rating – 4.2/5 basis 528 ratings
What does it offer?
- Unlimited blocks of text, checklists, headers, images, videos, audio files, web bookmarks and code snippets
- Great collection of built-in templates for note-taking with drag and drop option for arranging/prioritizing content
- Multitasking sidebar that enables working in private (For your own note-taking) and Workspace (Where your pages and other links are available for sharing with others)
- Edit notes/pages together with the team at the same time with comments
- Nest pages within pages without creating extra unnecessary folders
- Notion syncs across devices with the availability of browser and desktop apps
Note-taking can benefit you if it’s made part of everyday life. The more you do it, the more you start to rely on it! We hope our article brought some stimulating options in note-taking for your iPad or iPad Pro.
Are you going for a free or a paid note-taking app as your next download?
Let us know in the comments section.
Is an iPad worth it for note-taking?
Yes, if your intention is to go paperless and you’re looking for a tablet to replace your notebook, we recommend iPad. If you’re purely buying the device for note-taking, we recommend getting iPad Air, instead of Pro. Of course, there are much cheaper options, but in our experience, Apple devices are slightly better for note-taking, but it’s more of a preference thing. There are multiple apps to choose from to be more productive and precise when you’re taking notes.
Is it better to take notes on paper or an iPad?
In our experience it’s better to take notes on an iPad, purely due to the fact that you can erase your notes with ease, if you make a mistake on your paper it’s ruined and it’s no longer perfect. You’re writing on a smooth surface with paper your real pen doesn’t slide the same way. There is a difference and writing on an electronic device is just more convenient. You can design your note the way you like it and move them around when studying, coloring your headlines, it just makes the note-taking process more fun. (we advise you to use Paperlikes screen protector in order to take your note-taking game to the next level)
Do Apple pencils work with all iPads?
No. Not all Apple Pencils are compatible with all iPad devices. Apple Pencil 2nd generation is only compatible with iPad Air 4th Gen (2020), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (starting from 3rd generation and later), and 11-inch (starting from 1st generation and later). And Apple Pencil 1st generation is compatible with more devices – iPad 8th gen, 7th gen, 6th gen, iPad mini 5th gen, iPad Air 3rd gen and iPad Pro 12.9-inch 1st and 2nd gen and iPad Pro 10.5-inch and 9.7-inch.
Why won’t my Apple pencil pair with my iPad?
If your Apple Pencil isn’t working, you need to pair it with your device. Go to Setting > Bluetooth >Turn on and Apple Pencil should show up, press on it and it should pair with your iPad. If the Apple Pencil doesn’t show up make sure it’s charged and try turning Bluetooth on and off again.
Why does Apple pencil not work on the iPhone?
Best Note Taking App For Ipad Air
Apple Pencil wasn’t designed to work with iPhone devices. Apple Pencil is compatible with certain iPad devices only. iPhone screens are made differently than the iPad screen. It’s also not practical to take notes on small devices like the iPhone. Although there are different third-party Stylus pens that would work on iPhone’s screen.
Best Apple Pencil Note Taking App
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