I Tested Every Ipad Note Taking App So You Don T Have To

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 2, 2026, 2:29 PM

i tested every ipad note taking app so you don t have to

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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?

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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. Finding the best note-taking app for iPad can feel overwhelming with so many options available, each promising smooth handwriting, seamless syncing, and powerful organization tools. Whether you are a student taking lecture notes, a professional managing meetings, or a creative mind capturing ideas, the right app can completely change the way you use your iPad. In this guide, we tested the top apps hands-on to help you pick the one that matches your workflow and makes note-taking effortless. To determine the top 7 iPad note-taking apps, we followed a structured, real-world testing process.

We evaluated performance, usability, and features over a one-week period. Our methodology involved the following steps: GoodNotes 6 takes digital note-taking further with a redesigned interface and AI-powered tools that make writing, organizing, and studying easier. It combines smooth handwriting with smart features like spellcheck, math checking, and customizable templates. The app is popular among students, professionals, and anyone who prefers an all-in-one digital notebook. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Here’s how it works. We list the best note taking apps for iPad, to make it simple and easy to note-take grocery lists, creative ideas and personal journaling on your iPad. Although Apple provides its own Notes app with the iPad, that app only provides basic note-taking functionality. If you want to start managing files and folders and including multimedia options, you'll need to look for something different. Luckily, there are other note-taking applications developed specifically for use on the iPad Pro which provide more advanced options. This can be especially useful when the iPad Pro has long been promoted as a useful productivity tool.

Therefore look to the third-party software we feature below to extend its use and application for a range of business purposes, as well as provide value and purpose for general consumers. If you’re familiar with the world of note-taking, you will know it’s a serious business. Notes are not just for students, although they do make up a large proportion of the user base. Professors, journalists, and avid writers all use their iPads to jot down lesson outlines, story ideas, and to-do lists. To make the most of your notes, you need to consider a few factors. Some apps are better than others, and things like fonts, space, and graphics can transform a bland page into a stylish study session aid.

Then there’s the user interface, collaboration features, and visual appeal. Let’s explore our 11 best note-taking apps for iPads. Best note-taking app for iPads for: a realistic notebook experience Pricing: Free to download and use, but the cross-platform subscription costs $9.99 per year or a one-and-done purchase of $29.99 Picture this: You're sitting in your favorite coffee shop, Apple Pencil in hand, with the entire world of ideas at your fingertips. Your iPad transforms from a simple tablet into your most powerful productivity companion, ready to capture every brilliant thought, meeting note, and creative spark.

But here's the million-dollar question: which note-taking app will turn your iPad into the digital notebook of your dreams? After testing over 30 different note-taking applications (yes, my iPad survived the marathon), I've discovered that choosing the right app is like finding the perfect pen – it needs to feel natural, work reliably,... Whether you're a student cramming for finals, a business professional managing multiple projects, or someone who just loves the feel of digital ink on screen, this comprehensive guide will help you find your perfect... Don't get me wrong – Apple Notes is fine for grocery lists and quick reminders. But using it for serious note-taking is like trying to paint the Mona Lisa with crayons.

Apple Notes uses raster ink, which is low-resolution and makes writing appear smudgy. As a result, the writing doesn't look neat or readable, leading to an overall poor note-taking experience.The best iPad note-taking apps offer vector-based ink, superior organization, and features that would make even Leonardo da... Let's dive into the crème de la crème of digital note-taking. GoodNotes 6 is the AI note-taking app loved by millions around the world.Think of it as the iPhone of note-taking apps – it just works, and it works beautifully. 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. 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.

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