Let’s face it—the tech world can be a little intimidating. Especially when you’re just starting out with something as new and unfamiliar as the Apple Pencil.
We’ve been there, too. We know how hard it is to figure out what exactly you need to get started, or how to do things like take notes on your iPad. And we also know that this is important! You need to be able to take notes if you want to succeed in your classes or meetings, or even in everyday life.
So we thought we’d help you out by doing the research for you: here are some of our favorite apps for taking notes with your Apple Pencil!
Best Apps For Notes With Apple Pencil
No matter what app you are looking to add to your mobile device, the moment you enter the app store the selection process turns into a maze of overwhelming proportions. To prepare you for a quick and painless decision, let me devote some time to notes apps for private as well as for everyday work and business purposes. After painstakingly going through all the decision making steps you would incur upon entering the app store my product comparisons, ratings and analysis have narrowed down my list to the 15 best choices for a notes app. This blog gives you a comprehensive, researched list of the best iPad notes app, filtered by features and pros and cons. – You are welcome, have fun!
LIST OF BEST APPS FOR NOTE TAKING
- Notability Notes app with countless organization options Price $ 9.99 | In-App Purchases $ 1.99 – $ 3.99
Notes App No. Description Price in-app-purchases Apple Pencil
Notability 1 Notes app with countless organization options 9.99$ 1.99-3.99$ ✓
GoodNotes 4 2 Unlimited design- and organization possibilities 7.99$ – ✓
Google Note 3 Googles free product par excellence free – –
Evernote 4 Create multimedia notes and lists free 2,99-59,99$ ✓
MS OneNote 5 Create, categorize and transcribe in MS OneNote free – ✓
Wunderlist 6 Excellent everyday list planner free free 4.99-49.99$ –
My Script Memo 7 Multilingual talent and Apple Pencil fan in one free 1.99$ ✓
Beesy 8 Ideal for project management and business free 1.99-69.99$ ✓
Notes 9 Note app and word processor 7.99$ 9.99-19.99$ –
INKredible 10 A blank page free of distractions free je 0.99$ ✓
Snap Pen 11 Quick doodling 0.99$ – ✓
Skitch 12 Fast mark up, commenting and pixelating free 1.99-44.99$ ✓
Simplenote 13 Automatic syncing truly for free free – –
Paper von 53 14 Paint and draw app with note feature free free ✓
inClass 15 App especially designed for students free 0.99$ –
- NOTABILITY
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
NOTES APP WITH COUNTLESS ORGANIZATION OPTIONS
Notability is a top notch notes app, which has been perfected for use with Apple pencil and iPad Pro. In addition to a myriad of processing, organization and design options Notability even puts import and editing of PDFs at your fingertips. Even entire websites can be imported in PDF format just by using their “Share” Extension. You want to have your animated note play along your audio files? Go ahead. Notability makes it easy for you! This super-efficient I Pad note app syncs automatically so that you can pick up where you left off on any of your mobile devices.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Perfected for Apple Pencil and iPad Pro
Spotlight searches note entries on the iPad
accurate hand writing recognition even with your finger
Countless editing, organizing and design options
“Share” extension: Website to PDF
animated note plays with your audio files
automatic sync with other devices
DISADVANTGES
none
PRICE
$ 9.99 | In-App Purchases: $ 1.99 – $ 3.99
Übersicht | Website | App Store
- GOODNOTES 4
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
UNLIMITED DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION POSSIBILITIES
This outstanding notes app from Time Base Technology employs Digital-Ink-Technology to present your drawings and sketches in high definition. Even your handwritten notes can be searched with Goodnotes4. Or, just use it as a writing app, because it is perfectly suited to be used with your keyboard. There are no limits to the possibilities for design, customizing and editing of your notebook and there are countless “paper“ templates. Presumably, you will want to share some content with other people? Use the ingenious digital whiteboard. Back-up your data with third party providers such as Dropbox, Google Drive and many others with the userfriendly export feature.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
“Digital-Ink” technology enables high resolution reproductions
Goodnotes 4 can search even through handwritten notes
corrects geometric drawings
ideal for use with a keyboard for typing
Digital whiteboard facilitates sharing and publishing
Unlimited design- and organization possibilities
DISADVANTAGES
I could not find any real disadvantages
PRICE
7.99$
Summary |Website| App Store
- GOOGLE NOTE
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
GOOGLE’S FREE PRODUCT PAR EXCELLENCE
Google note works on your iPad, as well as your iPhone and Mac. It even syncs notes on all your devices without any additional expense. The Google notes app offers many options for organizing and it transcribes your audio recordings, when you are in a hurry. Adding audio and photo files is a breeze in this notes app.
ADVANTAGES
Google note transcribes audio
Full-fledged organization options
Automatic sync of all your devices
Top return on investment: the app is free!
DISADVANTAGES
none
PRICE
free
Summary |Website| App Store
- EVERNOTE
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
CREATES MULTIMEDIA NOTES AND LISTS
Evernote lets you create volumes of note books, task and check lists. As all the other note apps do, Evernote offers a myriad of options. Add illustration, texts, audio and video files, PDFs and many other elements to your notes! Evernote also transcribes your dictated note, which translates to significant time savings over the course of a regular work day. Scan documents and photos with your camera and digitize your analog media. Sync & Cloud keeps all your devices on the same page anywhere anytime. Evernote’s finishing touch to its stupendous array of features is a well-organized filing and search system.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Create notebooks, task and checklists
Add texts, illustrations, audio and video files, PDFs and many other elements
Transcribes your dictated notes, digitizes photos and documents
Scans your business card and digitizes it for you
Sync & Cloud keeps your notes updated on all your devices
Plenty of organization and editing options
DISADVANTGES
Relatively expensive In-app-purchases to enable all features of Evernote
PRICE
free | Premium: 2,99 – 59,99$
Summary |Website| App Store
- MICROSOFT ONENOTE
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
CREATE, CATEGORIZE AND TRANSCRIBE IN MS ONENOTE
Create, edit and share your notes. Regardless whether you work in PowerPoint or on a website, everything has its place in Onenote. Categorize and tag your notes to keep them well organized. Cloud synchronization enables access to your data from all your devices which is the key requirement for sharing and collaborating in a team. This notes app also transcribes your handwritten notes.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Categorize and tag your notes
PowerPoint and websites can be integrated into note
Transcribes handwritten notes
Sync & Cloud lets you work with your notes from all your devices
DISADVANTGES
Manageability of features within the notes app
PRICE
free
Summary |Website| App Store
- WUNDERLIST
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
LIST PLANNER FOR EVERYDAY USE
According to Verge magazine Wunderlist is one of the best, if not the best list planner for your iPad prompting me to take a closer look at this notes app. The auto sync feature allows access to the app from all your devices. Whether shopping, to-do or travel list, start with your reminders and expand on them with illustrations, notes or other files. Wunderlist provides a plethora of helpful features that ease the everyday demands of life – A perfect planner for you, your family and your work!
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Conceived to facilitate list planning of any kind
Auto synchronization among all your devices
Add your memories, illustrations, comments and many other file formats
Also an ideal companion at work
DISADVANTGES
I did not find direct disadvantages in this notes app
PRICE
free | Unlimited access: 4.99 – 49.99$
Summary |Website|App Store
- MY SCRIPT MEMO
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
MULTILINGUAL TALENT AND APPLE PENCIL FAN IN ONE
MyScript Memo is destined for use with the Apple Pencil, as this note app is primarily a drawing and writing app. In addition to a number of editing options the integrated handwriting recognition impresses with its support for 63 languages! The palm rejection mode prevents mistakes that are typically caused by the contact of your hand with the touchscreen. This app supports left handed writing in its handwriting recognition.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Ideal for use with the Apple Pencil
Writing and drawing program
Handwriting recognition supports 63 languages
Palm detection mode prevents contact errors when writing with the Apple Pencil
DISADVANTAGES
Export feature for written text has to be purchased
PRICE
free | text export feature: 1.99$
Summary |Website|App Store
- BEESY
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
IDEAL FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS
Beesy lends itself ideally for use in the world of business and work. The integrated To-Do-Manager turns existing commitments and notes into lists for you, saving you significant time in preparing and managing and documenting meetings and projects. Audio, photos and GPS-Data offer plenty of opportunity for this organizational genie, such as travel planning. The intelligent system learns from your entries and content and increasingly anticipates your needs with continued and consistent use. This feature rich notes app accommodates keyboard use with ease. If you ever happen to get stuck just access the included tutorials and assistance.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Ideal for project management in business
Intelligent and timesaving management system
Integrated To-Do-Manager
Works perfectly with iPad keyboards
Numerous support options within the app
DISADVANTAGES
Very complex
Several expensive in-app-purchases
PRICE
free | in-app-purchases: 1.99 – 69.99$
Summary |Website|App Store
- NOTES
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
NOTES APP AND WORD PROCESSING PROGRAM
You have found the ideal helper for all your coordinated planning in notes. Add your comments, photos, recordings and theme templates all at once! To top it all notes offers almost all the characteristics of a full-fledged word processor including language support. Notes also allows you to export your note to Dropbox.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Includes full-fledged word processing features
Recordings, photos and notes are simultaneously accessible
Export to Dropbox
DISADVANTAGES
Price higher than another notes app in this format
Not compatible with Apple Pencil
PRICE
7.99$ | Premium account: 9.99 – 19.99$
Summary |Website|App Store
- INKREDIBLE
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
A BLANK PAGE FREE OF DISTRACTIONS
INKredible is truly minimalistic in its design, with all its efforts focused on detail. The innovative recognition technology corrects any type of handwriting. The resolution remains optimized even during zooming and for printing. INKredible is perfectly suited for use with Apple Pencil.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Simply designed notes app for any kind of work
App is “a blank page“ – without distractions for the user
New resolution technology manipulates and corrects every handwriting style
DISADVANTAGES
Limited design and editing options
PRICE
free | in-app-purchases: 0.99$ each
Summary |Website|App Store
- SNAPPEN
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
JOT DOWN NOTES IN A HURRY
The SnapPen app is perfect for use with the Apple Pencil. It is built around the sharing of image notes, photos and text. The ease of use and its zoom in and zoom out feature support your commenting and decorating in the app. In short, SnapPen is a user-friendly note app for jotting down something on the fly.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Ideal for use with Apple Pencil
Hinged on sharing image notes, photos, texts and many more.
User-friendly interface
DISADVANTAGES
Only available in English
PRICE
0.99$
Summary |App Store
- SKITCH
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
QUICK MARKING, COMMENTING AND PIXELATING
Add your personal comments and notes to photos and PDFs. Skitch from the makers of Evernote is a user-friendly notes app for student or private use. Skitch enables sharing your collection of notes through a number of different channels.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Quick commenting and tagging of photos, texts, cards, websites, etc.
Allows pixelating of selected areas
Places can be chosen from a map and saved as a picture for future editing
Offers PDF editing
Share on Twitter, Evernote, Email, Message, Facebook etc.
DISADVANTAGES
PDF-feature incurs cost
PRICE
free | PDF-Feature: 1.99$
Summary |Website| App Store
- SIMPLENOTE
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
AUTOMATIC SYNC ENTIRELY FREE
Simple note is an straightforward note app for creating and organizing notes and lists. It syncs automatically with your other devices after you open an account on the app’s website. Signing into your account enables file sharing and editing of the content.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Sync is automatic
User-friendly interface for notes
DISADVANTAGES
Requires opening an account on their website
PRICE
free
Summary |Website|App Store
- PAPER VON FIFTY THREE
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
PAINTING AND DRAWING APP WITH NOTE FEATURES
Create your note and link to images and stunning drawings. You can also use the spotlight tool to enhance areas in your pictures. The bonus: You can convert your note to PDF and even PowerPoint! Alltogether, Paper offers an esthetically pleasing overview of your notes and sketches.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
Free app with PDF-Feature
Convert to PowerPoint
Completely free – even the in-app-purchases
DISADVANTAGES
Notes and drawing app provides only standard options
PRICE
free | in-app-purchases: free
Summary |Website|App Store
- INCLASS
iPad Pro Apple Pencil Tayasui zeichen app
APP DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR STUDENTS
InClass is a note app for the forgetful student and is primarily designed for use at school. Download this app to help your kids manage their daily schedule and possibly projects. InClass combines notes with videos, audio recordings and texts. A variety of memory and selection options and video tutorial on their own YouTube channel complete the offerings of this app.
ADVANTAGES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
YouTube channel with tutorials
Note can be complemented with a plethora of data
Perfect for today’s student
DISADVANTAGES
No apparent disadvantages
PRICE
free | in-app-purchases: 0.99$
Summary |App Store
apple pencil note taking app free
The iPad, whether you have the latest regular iPad, Air, mini, or Pro model, is great for taking notes at work or school. That’s because all of these iPads have support for the Apple Pencil (version depends on your iPad model), allowing you to take handwritten notes and even sketch things out when necessary with ease. But to do that, you also need the best note apps for Apple Pencil. Here are some of our favorites.
Best note-taking apps:
Notes GoodNotes Notability Microsoft OneNote PDF Expert Nebo Noteshelf Whink Zoomnotes
Apple Notes
Apple Notes Screen
Source: Apple
Believe it or not, the built-in Notes app on your iPhone and iPad can do more than just type notes and dictation. You can also add handwritten notes, sketches, and drawings in the Notes app. Just start a new note and select the drawing tool, and write or sketch away! Apple has native text recognition search and in-line scanning and annotation support too. It’s definitely limited compared with third-party apps since it primarily uses iCloud, but it’s better than nothing and it should already be on your iPad (and iPhone).
Apple Notes Icon
Notes
The built-in Notes app has built-in handwriting and sketching features that work nicely with Apple Pencil.
Free at App Store
GoodNotes
Goodnotes 5 Screens
Source: Time Base Technology Limited
If you’re a power user when it comes to note-taking, GoodNotes is one of the best note-taking apps for iPad and Apple Pencil. GoodNotes is packed with plenty of robust features, including handwriting and sketching with Apple Pencil. You can choose from a massive selection of digital paper types to suit any need you have: lined, graph, design, music notation, and more. If that’s not enough, you can also upload your own custom template too, and there are different cover styles for digital notebooks that you can write or sketch on for further personalization.
When it comes to actual handwriting, GoodNotes also excels. It supports writing and drawing with your Apple Pencil or even a third-party stylus option. There is built-in handwriting search recognition, text conversion, and more. This is a powerful and comprehensive note-taking app that works great on iPad with Apple Pencil.
Goodnotes 5 Icon
GoodNotes
GoodNotes is a powerful and robust note-taking app that works great with Apple Pencil.
$8 at App Store
Notability
Notability Screens
Source: Ginger Labs
Another great option for best note-taking apps for iPad and Apple Pencil, which most of us use here at iMore, is Notability. Like GoodNotes, it is a powerful app but it is a tad easier to use for most people. It has tools for handwriting, drawing, annotating PDFs, making shapes, highlighting, moving objects around the page, adding audio notes, integration with photos and web clips, and so much more. For handwritten notes and sketches, there are plenty of paper styles, like grids. You can share your digital notebooks with third-party syncing services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box, and even print them out with ease.
It may seem a little overwhelming at first but Notability does have a friendly tutorial to help guide you through the basics of using the app on the first launch.
Notability Icon
Notability
Notability is a robust and feature-rich note-taking app for pretty much everything, including handwritten notes and sketches.
Free with IAP at App Store
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft Onenote Screens
Source: Microsoft
If you’re vested in the Microsoft Office ecosystem, then OneNote is a good option. And even if you aren’t, it still works nicely by letting you view and edit notes. With OneNote, you get a fully-featured note-taking app, complete with handwriting and sketching tools that work perfectly with Apple Pencil. This means you can handwrite important notes, sketch diagrams and ideas, and even annotate existing documents that you already have in OneNote. Other features include rich text notes, photos and audio, calendars, and more. If you need to share your notes, you can do so by sharing a link to your entire digital notebook, making it a great study tool.
Microsoft Onenote Icon
Microsoft OneNote for iPad
Microsoft OneNote is a capable note-taking app that can handle anything you throw at it, including handwritten notes.
Free with IAP at App Store
PDF Expert
Pdf Expert Screens
Source: Readdle
If your note-taking is more about annotating and marking up PDFs, then PDF Expert is a great contender, since it does so much more than Apple’s own built-in Markup extension. With PDF Expert, you can open up PDFs from iCloud or any other third-party syncing service with ease. From there, you can fill out forms, sign documents, and use tools like a digital pen, shape tool, underline, strikethrough, and highlighter to do as you please. You can even make stamps out of frequently used wording, edit the structure of the PDF document itself, and so much more.
The free version of PDF Expert allows you to read, annotate and highlight, draw, fill forms, and more. You’ll need the Pro subscription features to do things like edit original PDF text, add or edit images, sign documents, protect with a password, redact sensitive data, and more.
Pdf Expert Icon
PDF Expert
View, edit, fill out PDFs, and more with the impressive PDF Expert.
Free with IAP at App Store
MyScript Nebo
Nebo Screen
Source: MyScript
Do you enjoy handwriting notes but want it converted into regular text just to make life easier, especially if your writing is a little hard to read? Then MyScript Nebo is one to consider for handwriting conversion. With the Nebo app, you can use your Apple Pencil on your iPad to write out, by hand, anything you want. Nebo will convert on-the-fly and the conversion is also non-destructive — this means you can preserve both the handwriting and the text if it is not a perfect translation.
There are multiple digital pen tools offered in Nebo, so you can choose whatever you like best, and you can add photos and videos, diagrams, and even equations alongside your text. With Nebo, you can convert handwritten text a paragraph at a time, or as an entire notebook. You can also export as text, HTML, PDF, or Word documents. Syncing is also available through MyScript’s own service, or you can choose iCloud, Dropbox, and more.
Myscript Nebo Icon
MyScript Nebo
Convert your handwriting to text on the fly.
Free with IAP at App Store
Noteshelf
Noteshelf Screens
Source: Fluid Touch Pte. Ltd.
Noteshelf is an excellent alternative to GoodNotes and Notability, making it one of the best note apps for Apple Pencil and iPad. With Noteshelf, your notes can consist of your handwriting, as well as PDF annotation, and even recorded audio. Noteshelf claims that the experience with the app is just like writing on a notepad — smooth and fluid. There are different pen styles to work within Noteshelf, including a fountain pen that replicates the elegant experience.
You also get handwritten note conversion, allowing you to search through your notes, even if they were handwritten. And if you don’t like plain old digital paper, Noteshelf has hundreds of different paper styles and templates to choose from. This is a premium app packed with a ton of useful features and it’s easy to use.
Noteshelf Icon
Noteshelf
Replicate the feeling of writing on a notepad with Noteshelf.
$10 at App Store
Whink
Whink Screens
Source: Rama Krishna
Looking for a simple note-taking app for Apple Pencil with a sleek interface? Then Whink could help you out. With Whink, you get natural handwriting tools, just as if you are writing with a pen and paper. Whink features a gel-pen tool with natural ink colors, so it’s definitely geared towards professionalism and simplicity. You can zoom in on your notes for high precision, which is great if you want to sketch or draw.
Typing is just a tap away and Whink also has PDF and photo annotation features, shape tools, and audio recording capabilities. Sharing notes with others is easy, and you can sync everything with iCloud or other services like Dropbox. Plus, the price is a little lower than some of the other options we’ve mentioned here.
Whink Icon
Whink
Whink offers natural yet professional handwritten note tools, and the price is right.
$5 at App Store
ZoomNotes
Zoomnotes Screens
Source: Deliverance Software Ltd.
Are you the type of person who loves to sketch out ideas and thoughts on a whiteboard? Then ZoomNotes is the ideal app for you. ZoomNotes is one of the few apps out there that provides a huge zoom range so that you can handwrite notes, sketch diagrams, and ideas on a near-infinite whiteboard, right on your iPad with Apple Pencil. The range in ZoomNotes is pretty much endless when compared with the other note-taking apps, so if that’s what you’ve been looking for, then ZoomNotes is for you.
It provides eight different pen types, from gel to nib to pencil, and it has handwriting recognition so you can search all of your handwritten notes. There is also support for layers, split-screen (two views of the same document), internal linking, unlimited paper sizes and styles, and so much more. ZoomNotes is an infinite digital whiteboard, right on your iPad (and even in your pocket with iPhone).
The standout feature in ZoomNotes is definitely the zooming capabilities, which is why ZoomNotes is one of the best note apps for Apple Pencil and iPad.
Zoomnotes Icon
ZoomNotes
Handwrite notes, sketch and diagram, plus more; all on an infinite whiteboard space.
$8 at App Store
It’s like writing on paper with pen
Sometimes you just can’t beat the old paper-and-pen experience, but life is easier with digital notes. These are a few of our favorite options when you want the best note apps for Apple Pencil and iPad.
Drawing on iPad: The ultimate guide
Apple Pencil 2 Review
Apple Pencil: The Ultimate Guide
Apple Pencil Hand-Drawn Review
How to learn to draw and write with Apple Pencil
Best drawing apps
Best handwriting apps
Best Apple Pencil accessories
Best cases for Apple Pencil 2
Conclusion
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