Best Note-taking Apps for iPads

best note-taking apps for iPad

Make quick journal entries using the best note-taking apps for iPads to access entries anytime you want!

Productivity

Updated on November 06, 2024

best note-taking apps for iPad

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Taking notes is something almost everyone does. Whether you are a student trying to memorize important stuff or a politician who has a speech to make, note-taking is supposed to be accessible at all times. That is where the best note-taking apps for iPads can assist read more...

Best Note taking Apps for iPads in 2024

Noteshelf 2

1. Noteshelf 2

Product Rating

4.7

Top Features

  • Record audio snippets
  • Pick pen styles to draw precisely
  • Draw perfect shapes using guides
  • Comes with a dark mode for eye protection

More about product

The second version of Noteshelf is designed to offer a fluid handwriting experience. It lets you annotate documents by either creating them or importing them to the app. Additionally, there are templates that you can use to create diary pages or customize them as per your requirements. 

Additionally, Noteshelf 2 is also counted among the best drawing apps for iPad due to its ability to offer a drawing-friendly interface. You can use Apple Pencil to draw smoothly on the app as if you are drawing on real paper. 

The only difference is that you get to access more tools and paper options without having to spend money on buying everything separately or carrying everything separately. 

Apart from being able to access Noteshelf 2 on iPhones and iPads, this supports Apple Watches too. So, you can access quick notes through seminars, speeches, or anywhere else directly on your watch.

On top of that, the dark mode adds an extra charm to using this one of the best note-taking apps for iPad. The app also includes an organizer. This organizer lets you manage your notes properly and find them easier anytime you want.

Beesy

2. Beesy

Product Rating

4.2

Top Features

  • Import photos from your library
  • Supports on-demand to-do filtering
  • Export CSV for external analysis
  • Supports hardware keyboards

More about product

Beesy is designed to help you through your projects and to-do lists. Additionally, you can use it to add minutes of meetings as well on the go so your important meetings and discussions remain documented. Beesy also lets you visualize all your activities and meeting reports. Additionally, there are Microsoft tools integrated into the platform, making its features additionally useful.

Beesy is great for creating notes, but it is also a good tool if you want to create a collaborative workspace. The tool, as mentioned earlier, lets you integrate Microsoft-based features so you can create and delegate tasks from the app itself. You can use Beesy to add audio recordings and bullets to notes as well along with photos. 

You can even export CSVs of saved data if you want to send the data for an external analysis. The process is easy. 

Lastly, Beesy makes sense for everyone who uses it, whether a student, lawyer, actor or even doctor. The app is equipped with brilliant features to upscale the quality of the overall productivity of its users.

Loose Leaf

3. Loose Leaf

Product Rating

5.0

Top Features

  • No hidden costs or subscription fees
  • Supports importing images and PDFs easily
  • You can export designs and share them on major social networks
  • Navigation supports two-finger gestures

More about product

Loose Leaf supports importing images and PDF documents to its interface easily. Once imported, you can explore templates on the app and prepare high-quality documents with ease. Additionally, the app lets you create handwritten diagrams and notes with ease. 

You can write, draw, and edit on the app using your fingers. Or, a stylus like Apple Pencil can enhance the accuracy of your inputs. Another fact that we love about the app is that it does not come with any hidden costs, subscription fees, or in-app purchases. Additionally, the scissors let you create movable scraps to help you enhance your designs. 

If you need some assistance in drawing shapes, you have the option to use a ruler or protractor tool. These tools help you draw flawless shapes, diagrams, and other such content.

On top of that, Loose Leaf also supports exporting documents to major social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and more. The app's simplicity is its strength, providing just the right amount of features without overwhelming the user. Whether you're annotating PDFs, sketching out a new design, or just doodling for fun, Loose Leaf offers a seamless experience that syncs well with the dynamic needs of its users.

Notes Plus X

4. Notes Plus X

Product Rating

3.2

Top Features

  • Edit images directly in the app
  • Customize pens, brushes, colors, etc.
  • Customizable texts, fonts, sizes, and more
  • Import and highlight PDFs easily

More about product

Notes Plus X is not available for free. However, its prices are worth it due to the amazing suite of features that you get to access using the app. This is one of the best note-taking apps for iPads and provides support for stylus like Apple Pencil for handwritten notes. You can also type texts to enter your data, though. You can use the app to doodle, draw, or write notes. 

We also liked its ability to customize pens and pencils elegantly. This customization lets you draw, write, create calligraphies, and more. Additionally, you can also change text fonts, colors, sizes, and more characteristics of your document. 

Another top reason for using this one of the top iPad note-taking apps is its ability to automatically detect shapes. This ability lets you create shapes and designs faster. You can also import and highlight important data on your PDFs using its highlighter and color abilities. 

In Notes Plus X, An image editor is included, too. It lets you crop, resize, and rotate your images so you can optimize them for your requirements. You can use the app to create a to-do list, task checklists, journal entries, daily planning, and more.

Note Taker HD

5. Note Taker HD

Product Rating

4.0

Top Features

  • Over 60 customizable shapes
  • Comes with free templates and clip arts
  • Folders are protected using passwords
  • Zoomed editing for precise control over content

More about product

The next name in this list of good note-taking apps for iPad, Note Take HD, is exclusively designed to make notekeeping easier. It comes with a customizable experience useful for writing notes, filling out forms, and drawing. Additionally, 60+ customizable shapes also make it easier to draw on the app or make diagrams without losing the original quality standard. 

Note Taker HD comes with a touch screen-optimized user interface to make it easier to use the app, even just by hand. However, you can also use a Stylus to draw or write on the app for higher accuracy. The app perfectly mimics handwriting to accurately scan handwritten notes, sketches, doodles, diagrams, etc.

Additionally, The app also offers a sophisticated and flexible experience for writing notes, filling out forms, and drawing. It comes with a customizable toolbar to help you annotate PDFs. Students, professionals, and anyone who makes notes can easily use the app to make notes.

There is a zoom feature as well. It lets you dive into precise details so you can make error-free notes and drawings on the go. Apart from that, using its toolbar helps you find quick fix tools faster, whether you want to erase something or highlight any part of the note.

Post-it

6. Post-it

Product Rating

4.7

Top Features

  • Use handwriting recognition to transcribe notes
  • The app comes with a home screen widget
  • Powerful editing tools let you erase, draw, and modify the colors of your notes
  • Supports sharing notes on Dropbox, Trello, Excel, etc.

More about product

This next name to our list comes with a handwriting detector. It lets you scan your handwritten notes to your Post-it account, making it easier for you to keep your data safe. You can use its camera to capture over 200 notes for faster safekeeping of your data.

As for the organizing ability, Post-it is equipped with the ability to categorize your data well. This lets you look for the data faster anytime you need to access it. On top of that, features like draw, erase, type, and modify the color give you proper control over the editing abilities of the app. 

Post-it also has a widget. This widget gives you access to your notes directly from the home screen. You can access documents like PDFs, Excel, PowerPoint, Trello, Miro, and more directly from the widget on your home screen.

You can even share your notes easily with whomever you want. The app supports sharing notes via third-party apps or cloud services like Dropbox. Even the text recognition ability of the app is great. A new enhanced OCR service improves the speed and accuracy of detecting texts from notes.

Standard Notes

7. Standard Notes

Product Rating

4.7

Top Features

  • Touch ID and Face ID unlock passwords
  • Sync your documents across multiple devices
  • Tags let you categorize documents
  • Paid subscription unlocks additional features

More about product

This one of the iPad apps for note taking offers a great level of encryption. This app comes with open-source and customizable themes along with editors. Additionally, the app allows you to create an account to sync documents so you can access them on any device. Additionally, end-to-end encryption lets you keep your documents safe for enhanced security and privacy. 

Some abilities that have boosted the popularity of Standard Notes include Personal Notes, Passwords and keys, Private Journals, Health and Fitness Logs, Cross-platform Scratchpad, Tasks and todos, and more.

Another great feature that makes the best note-taking app for iPad is Passcode Lock Protection. You can lock your passwords with Touch ID and Face ID to ensure your passwords remain accessible to you only.

Now, as for the organizing ability, there are tags to categorize the content saved on Standard Notes. These tags help you easily categorize your notes so you can look for them and read them instantly. Some examples of tags are #passwords, #ideas, #crypto, #work, etc.

Additionally, by subscribing to a paid plan, you unlock additional abilities like spreadsheets, a code editor, and Markdown among many others. You also unlock additional themes for this one of the top productivity apps, including Midnight, Focus, and Solarized Dark.

Notes Plus

8. Notes Plus

Product Rating

3.6

Top Features

  • Supports writing for left-handed users as well
  • Comes with a multi-level folder management system
  • Supports handwriting recognition for 52 languages
  • Converts handwritten notes into typed texts

More about product

The feature-rich notes app delivers some of the smartest features out there. It supports 52 languages to convert handwritten notes into typed texts. So you can write as if you were writing on a paper and still get your notes saved in the digital format. This way, you make your notes easier to read without having to type everything in your preferred language.

The app was released in 2010, and since its inception, it has received 30 version upgrades. That tells the story of the efforts developers put into keeping the app’s experience fresher than ever. At the time of writing this report, you can install one of the great note-taking apps for iPads for $12.99. 

Some other great abilities of Notes Plus justify its cost perfectly. For instance, automatic shape detection. This feature lets you scan and import entire texts to the database of the app. Additionally, the background audio recording feature lets you create transcriptions with enhanced accuracy.

Penultimate

9. Penultimate

Product Rating

4.0

Top Features

  • Connect your Evernote account to access notes on multiple devices
  • Comes with an easy-to-use organizer
  • Several ink and paper options are available
  • The drift feature moves the page along with the writing

More about product

Next, we have another free app that can make note-taking super convenient for you. The app comes with a zoom feature that lets you dive into precise details. The app lets you write handwritten notes and draw stuff as if you are drawing on an actual paper. Using the Apple Pencil enhances this experience effectively as it delivers a pen and paper-like experience.

There are several colors of inks available on this best note-taking application for iPad. Now, the best thing about the app is its ability to sync on multiple devices. You can sync the app on multiple devices using the same account, so all your notes remain accessible on all devices you are using it on.

Additionally, organizing notes is easier on the app as well. You can separate your notes by topic, project, and category. Regardless of how you are organizing your notes, finding them on Penultimate is easier than ever. 

The premium plan of the app costs $7.99 per month and $69.99 per year. Evernote Plus, however, costs $3.99 per month and $34.99 annually. Lastly, pairing up this app with a stylus named Jot Script Evernote Edition unlocks perfect precision and control over your writing. 

Note Taking - Email Me

10. Note Taking - Email Me

Product Rating

5.0

Top Features

  • Customizable icons and themes
  • Supports widgets and app extensions
  • Comes with a watch app
  • Can send emails to multiple recipients at once

More about product

If you need a note app that runs on several devices, including a smartwatch, smartphone, Mac systems, and more, Note Taking - Email Me is the app you need. Among the top note-taking Apps for Android and iOS, Note Taking - Email Me takes pride in serving iPad users. 

The app also cares about user privacy. To maintain the same, it keeps your notes encrypted. Additionally, you can customize the feel and experience of the app using several variations of themes. On top of that, if you want, you can save and share audio files along with their transcriptions, making it one of the top note-taking apps for iPads.

It also has a range of custom app icons for you to choose from, along with themes that are useful in modifying the look of your app. It is easier to use your own SMTP configuration as well, thanks to the app's amazing UI.

It also offers a standalone Watch App for Apple Watch users, a macOS app with menu bar integration, and accessibility features like VoiceOver labels and dynamic text sizing.  Additionally, for those seeking enhanced functionality, a premium subscription is available, offering unlimited emails and additional features. 

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Why should you use a note-taking app for iPads?

Note-taking apps for iPads are portable diaries that you can use to write down entries. These apps are great if you are often involved in the process of journaling entries, adding data to your diaries, etc. Additionally, note-taking apps let you categorize the data you are securing so you can easily access it at your fingertips. 

Now, here are a few advantages of the top  note-taking apps for iPad -

  • Handwriting recognition - These apps are well-known for their ability to recognize handwritten texts, scan them, and upload them to the server. This helps you upload your handwritten notes even if you have a plethora of these notes to safeguard.
  • Customizable writing experience - There are several customization options in the best note-taking apps for iPads. This helps you explore several types of pens, brushes, colors, and more without having to buy additional apps or equipment.
  • Eco-friendly - Digital notes eliminate the need to use paper. This saves trees, making them ultimately beneficial for the environment as well. Even if you make mistakes while making journal entries or drawing something, the best note-taking apps for iPads provide you abilities to erase and rewrite the data.
  • Backup and recovery - Digital notes are the best to keep your notes safe for the long term. You can store datasets on servers to ensure you have access to your data anytime and anywhere on digital devices.
  • Space-saving - Converting your journals into digital format saves you from utilizing too much physical space. Also, it makes it easier to organize documents.
  • Continuous Updates - Most developers of note-taking apps for iPad regularly release updates. This helps you keep your experience refreshed while providing you access to new tools to try now and then.

What are some of the popular features of note-taking apps?

Note-taking apps for iPad freely deliver some of the best abilities to mobilize the note-taking experience. These apps make it easier for users to secure their journals from anywhere. Some popular features that note-taking apps offer include -

  • Multimedia support - Note-taking apps are known for supporting entries of more than one type. Instead of only feeding texts, you can also enter images, videos, and other types of multimedia content into these apps.
  • Voice notes and dictation - Most note-taking apps allow making journal entries by dictating inputs. You can simply speak to write into apps for faster journals. Additionally, some note-taking apps also support transcribing voice into texts.
  • Cloud-syncing - Note-taking apps support keeping documents safe on cloud servers so you can easily access them on any device you like.
  • Tagging - Categorization of documents using tags is another great ability offered by note-taking apps. Tags make it easier to look for preferred documents as well.
  • Offline access - Note-taking apps support making journal entries even if the internet is not available. This helps users record journals without limits. 
  • Collaboration tools - Note-taking apps for iPad freely support collaborations. These collaborations allow users to invite people to edit documents together or manage remote teams.

How did we choose these note-taking apps?

Finding the best note-taking app for iPads is a stepwise procedure. You have to invest time and effort into comparing apps on the basis of several factors. These factors can be -

  • Features - Our first priority in filtering the best note-taking apps is their features. Features help us decide how useful an app will be for the user. Most note-taking apps are equipped with features like digital journals, cloud backups, etc.
  • Integration with Other Tools - We also picked note-taking apps based on their ability to sync with others. Integration with other tools means tools’ ability to import content from other apps, tools’ shareability, etc.
  • Price - Another critical factor in picking apps is pricing. It helps us figure out which apps will be more suitable for users. Most of the apps listed in the above blogs are available to download for free.
  • Reviews and recommendations - Reviews help find better apps. We have been through the experience of other users and shortlisted our options accordingly.
  • Customization - This helped us figure out what apps are supporting multiple variations of formatting. Note-taking apps with the ability to customize themes, texts, and more are preferred more than their alternatives.

Wrapping up

The market for the best note-taking apps for iPads is huge, with hundreds of options to pick from. However, the above-mentioned names are designed to make journaling easier and safer. If you are regularly using such apps, it is ideal that you pick one of the above-mentioned apps that our experts have reviewed to enlist in this report.

Or, if you are a developer and are interested in seeing your app on MobileAppDaily as well, you can list your product by submitting it for review. That will help your app expand its visibility across a huge number of potential users.

By MobileAppDaily Team

MobileAppDaily Desk

MobileAppDaily host a team of experienced technical writers, industry wizards, and app experts who have an exact knack of content that caters to the needs of the mobile app targeted audience. We strive to bring you the best of tech!


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