University of Kwazulu-Natal

10 Best Note Taking Apps For Ipad In 2024 Free Paid

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
10 best note taking apps for ipad in 2024 free paid

The iPad is an excellent tablet for students, professionals, and everyone else. Thanks to the beautiful displays, and the Apple Pencil (and Apple Pencil Pro), the iPad also doubles up nicely as a note taking device, and it’s very handy both in lectures, and in office... So, if you’re wondering how to make the most out of your iPad’s note taking abilities, here are the 10 best note taking apps for iPad that you should check out. The latest verison of Goodnotes brings a lot of amazing features for note taking. For starters, you get support for notebooks to easily organise your notes, and you can fully customise these notebooks complete with multiple cover options, and page styles to suit your needs. Once you’ve set up your notebook, you can start taking notes with your Apple Pencil — there are three types of Pen tools in the app, and each one comes with its own settings...

There’s also a pencil tool which is great for sketching, and it supports the tilt functionality as well, so you can shade in your sketches too. You also get Sticky Notes, a ruler, and an audio recording functionality directly inside your notebook so you can record your lectures or meetings while taking notes. Plus, the app supports Math Notes, which means you can write equations within your notes and Goodnotes 6 can solve them for you. For students, the app also features Study Sets, which are basically flash cards, where you can write questions and answers and then practice them to learn and remember important information from your classes. Note-taking apps for iPad make it easy to record your fleeting thoughts on the go. But with over 2 million apps on the App Store, how do you find the right one that best suits your needs?

A simple search can return hundreds, if not thousands, of results. In this article, we’ve shortlisted the 10 best note-taking apps for iPad, covering both free and paid options. We cover apps catering to different use cases, from basic typing needs to drawing, audio notes, PDF annotation, and more. So whether you’re a student, professor, business professional, or journalist, a top-rated note-taking app is listed here for your needs. Read on! The 10 best note-taking apps for iPad available in 2024 are:

Here’s a quick overview of these note-taking apps for iPad: 'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions.

This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and... Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards.

If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. Summer is here, but it's always the right season to find the tool that makes your life easier. That's why we urge you to imagine your iPad as a powerful digital notebook. It can be the ideal tool for organizing your personal life, taking notes in class, and transcribing important meeting notes. Today's note-taking apps come with flexible features designed to match any workflow, whether that's improving your handwriting or recording audio.

The best note-taking apps for iPad are highly functional and easy to use. Whether you're in a meeting or solo brainstorming, you take notes—and immediately forget they exist. There's a better way: taking notes on your iPad to access them anytime, anywhere. iPad note-taking apps do more than replace the iconic duo of paper and pen. These apps store and organize your notes, import links and media files, record meetings, mark up PDFs, foster team collaboration, help with studying, and much more. It's like carrying around one magical notebook instead of 463 dog-eared, coffee-stained hot messes.

But which top iPad note-taking app is right for you? I tested them all so you don't have to. .css-19a5n3-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:var(--zds-text-link, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #2b2358);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:var(--zds-gray-warm-5, #a8a5a0);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);outline-color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']{color:var(--zds-text-link, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #2b2358);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:var(--zds-gray-warm-5, #a8a5a0);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);outline-color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;}Goodnotes for the best iPad note-taking app overall .css-19a5n3-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:var(--zds-text-link, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #2b2358);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:var(--zds-gray-warm-5, #a8a5a0);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);outline-color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']{color:var(--zds-text-link, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #2b2358);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);outline-color:var(--zds-text-link-hover, #3d4592);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:var(--zds-gray-warm-5, #a8a5a0);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);outline-color:var(--zds-brand-almost-white, #fffdf9);}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-19a5n3-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;}Apple Notes for text-based notes for Apple users NotePlan lets you combine your tasks, your notes, and your calendar in a single place. All linked and synced seamlessly between your devices.

Powered by Markdown and stored in plaintext, your data is easy to access, and available online and offline. © 2026 NotePlan LLC. All rights reserved. If you’re a serious notetaker, you know that just having an iPad and an Apple Pencil isn’t enough. The app you use for notetaking can have a huge impact on the quality of your notes. But there are hundreds of apps to choose from, and not all apps are created equal.

Today, we’re going to take a closer look at 13 of the best notetaking apps in the App Store. While there’s no “correct” way to write your notes, one of the things you’ll have to decide early on is whether you should handwrite or type them. Are you looking for the best note-taking app for iPad? Then your hunt is over! If you’re a dedicated notetaker, you already know that only an iPad plus an Apple Pencil aren’t enough. The software you use for taking notes can have a significant influence on the effectiveness of your thoughts and thus are the best ways to take notes on an iPad.

However, the choosing procedure becomes a maze of dizzying dimensions, the moment you visit the app store. Also, check– The 20 Most Famous Photo Editing Apps For iOS And Android To help you with that, we have dedicated some time to finding the best note apps for all kinds of purposes including both personal and professional needs. Transforming your iPad into an efficient productivity hub starts with choosing the right note-taking tool. Whether you’re a college student organizing lecture notes, a professional managing client projects, or a creative thinker capturing ideas on the go, finding the best note-taking apps for iPad can completely redefine how you... After extensively testing more than two dozen applications over several months, evaluating everything from writing responsiveness to organizational structures, we’ve assembled this definitive guide to iPad note-taking solutions that actually deliver results in 2026.

📔 List of 10 Outstanding Note-Taking Apps for iPad PlanWiz has revolutionized the note-taking space by seamlessly integrating comprehensive note organization with powerful task management features. Unlike most note-taking apps that only focus on capturing information, PlanWiz stands out as one of the best note taking apps for iPad, turning your notes into actionable tasks and structured projects. Turn your iPad into the ultimate notebook. Discover 10 top note-taking apps for iPad that offer handwriting, typing, and cloud sync to stay organized. Luckily for you, we deliver.

Subscribe to our blog today. A confirmation email is on it’s way to your inbox. Imagine: You’re halfway through an important training and taking diligent, handwritten notes to reference later. All the sudden your hand cramps up. Or later, you misplace the notebook. Or maybe you go to read what you wrote, and realize that you can’t read your own handwriting.

What we’re saying is: There are a lot of risks associated with taking handwritten notes, and yet diligent note-taking is important for a variety of verticals. Luckily, an iPad can function as a powerful tool in place of a notebook, and many note-taking apps can take the stress away from you having to keep track of your own, handwritten notes.

People Also Search

The IPad Is An Excellent Tablet For Students, Professionals, And

The iPad is an excellent tablet for students, professionals, and everyone else. Thanks to the beautiful displays, and the Apple Pencil (and Apple Pencil Pro), the iPad also doubles up nicely as a note taking device, and it’s very handy both in lectures, and in office... So, if you’re wondering how to make the most out of your iPad’s note taking abilities, here are the 10 best note taking apps for ...

There’s Also A Pencil Tool Which Is Great For Sketching,

There’s also a pencil tool which is great for sketching, and it supports the tilt functionality as well, so you can shade in your sketches too. You also get Sticky Notes, a ruler, and an audio recording functionality directly inside your notebook so you can record your lectures or meetings while taking notes. Plus, the app supports Math Notes, which means you can write equations within your notes ...

A Simple Search Can Return Hundreds, If Not Thousands, Of

A simple search can return hundreds, if not thousands, of results. In this article, we’ve shortlisted the 10 best note-taking apps for iPad, covering both free and paid options. We cover apps catering to different use cases, from basic typing needs to drawing, audio notes, PDF annotation, and more. So whether you’re a student, professor, business professional, or journalist, a top-rated note-takin...

Here’s A Quick Overview Of These Note-taking Apps For IPad:

Here’s a quick overview of these note-taking apps for iPad: 'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what mat...

This Helps Support Our Work, But Does Not Affect What

This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate info...