If you’re a writer, then you probably have a lot of projects going on at the same time. You’re always looking for ways to be more productive and tools that allow you to produce the highest quality content possible.
The iPad is one of those tools. When you use it with the right apps, it can make your work easier, better and faster. Let’s look at some of the best writing apps for iPad that are available today.
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Writers Ipad
Google Docs (free)
This wouldn’t be much of a list without the Google Suite’s writing app. Google Docs may lack the crazy features of some of the other options on this list, but Docs has everything you need for most basic writing tasks, including full formatting, support for images, and spell checkers. But the real strength lies in its online nature. It’s completely free, but despite that, you’ll get instant syncing so you can work on your document at the same time as other people and see edits and additions in real time, and it can import from and export to pretty much every format you’ll possibly need. While it’s a bit bare if you’re writing a novel or a screenplay, this is the ultimate note-taking tool, and one of the best completely free options available.
IOS
Microsoft Word (subscription)
It’s the classic app we all know and love, and probably the program we all immediately think of when anyone says “word processor.” Word comes with a number of templates for different styles of document, handles images, and has a full formatting toolbar to boot. Word is effectively Microsoft’s answer for Google Docs — except you have to pay for it. Regardless of that, if you already have an Office subscription, Word is a strong option with support for importing from and exporting to many formats, cloud-based storage, and real-time editing with collaborators, plus the advantage of being the word-processing program of choice for many professional editors.
IOS
Ulysses (subscription)
The first app in this list to really push itself to “writers,” rather than people who just need to write, Ulysses is a strong contender for the app for serious writers. You can keep almost anything in Ulysses, including your screenplay, novel notes, a to-do or shopping list, or even your blog’s latest post. There is a strong spelling and grammar checker, it syncs up with the MacOS version of Ulysses, and it can even export as an e-book. Unfortunately, you won’t get this for free, and Ulysses requires a subscription to work. It’ll set you back $6 a month, with discounts for year-long plans — but if you’re serious about writing, Ulysses is a good investment.
IOS
Scrivener ($20)
Possibly the most powerful single tool for writing, Scrivener is one of our favorite writing apps. It costs an upfront $20, which is a lot of money for an iOS app, but for that price you get a solid writing platform, a place to keep all your research (including images), notes on characters or locations, and a useful “corkboard”-style view for your chapters, which allows you to view everything at a glance, or even move individual chapters around easily like you would on a real corkboard. It exports to e-book and other popular formats, and syncs up with the MacOS version — though you’ll need to buy that too. Still, even with those added costs, Scrivener is the real deal.
IOS
Jotterpad (free/subscription)
Jotterpad’s aim is to provide a writing app without the distractions of a traditional word processor, and it does this extremely well. The interface is simple and extremely streamlined, but even with that, it’s not lacking in features. You’ll find all the usual additions, including Markdown, Fountain, a spell checker, and more. There’s even a rhyming dictionary. You can start up your document as a novel, screenplay, blog, or editorial piece, and you can jump between Jotterpad on different devices, thanks to its syncing. However, you’ll need a subscription to access most of the features on offer, including cloud syncing. A year’s subscription will cost you $30 a year.
IOS
Werdsmith (free/subscription)
Writing should be addictive. At least, that’s what Werdsmith believes, and it has the tools to hopefully inspire you to make writing a part of your daily routine. It uses writing tracking and daily goals to push you into keeping up a streak and jotting words down every day. Heck, it even has an Apple Watch word-counting app. If you struggle to keep writing, this may be the iPad writing app for you. Other than that, it has a decent number of features, including novel or screenplay writing tools and cloud syncing to keep your work current. There is a subscription, but it’s purely to allow you to work on more than a set number of documents at once, for $5 a month.
IOS
Compo (free)
Compo is a brutally simple writing experience that aims to deliver a quick, easy way of writing down whatever’s on your mind. While some other apps may want you to set up a project and a template before you start, Compo just opens a blank page and lets you at it. Although it’s something more of a note-taking app, it’s certainly good enough for more heavy-duty writing tasks. You can share your writings on a number of different services and social media sites, and it syncs up with iCloud as well.
IOS
Shortly: A.I. Writing Assistant (free)
We’ve left the, well, weirdest until last. Shortly is a writing app with a difference — it has another tiny writer caged inside it, who learns from your writing and pens their own additions to your story when asked. All right, so it’s really an A.I., but Shortly’s writing assistant is actually pretty good, and it’s the perfect tool for getting over a small writer’s block. Using your past pennings as a template, it’ll take the reins and type away, adding new ideas and story turns you might not have thought of. While it’s unlikely to finish your story for you, it’s a great way to get the creative impulses firing up again. Worth a download and a try, even if you’re using another app.
best handwriting app for ipad
Do you love the tactile experience of taking notes on paper but prefer the organizational features of digital note-taking apps? We do, too.
And until recently, the best compromise we’d found was taking notes on paper and scanning them into an app like Evernote.
While this approach worked, it wasn’t as seamless as we wanted. So for a while now, we’ve been experimenting with ways of taking handwritten notes with an iPad. And we’re excited to share that we’ve finally found a method that combines the best parts of writing by hand with the best parts of digital note-taking.
The key is to use a quality stylus, a screen protector that mimics paper, and, most importantly, the right note-taking app.
In this post, we’ll show you six of the best note-taking apps for the iPad. With a bit of practice, these apps will give you all the benefits of writing by hand without sacrificing the convenience of digital organization (except for app #5, discussed below).
Note: All of the apps below work for both the iPad Pro and Classic, though the Pro’s larger screen size makes note-taking easier.
1. Notability
If we had to recommend just one iPad note-taking app, it would be Notability. The app offers a delightful writing experience, yet it also makes it easy to embed images, annotate PDFs, and even record voice memos.
Sketching and drawing in Notability is downright delightful. Being able to doodle and quickly sketch out illustrations is one of our favorite things about taking notes on paper. Notability does an excellent job of emulating this experience, while also allowing you to do things you can’t do on paper such as resizing and moving your drawings.
In addition, Notability includes a variety of flexible layout options. This allows you to, for instance, have a slide or reference material open on one side of the page while you take notes on the other.
And beyond the layout of individual pages, you can also organize your notes using digital “Dividers” (which is perfect if you’re used to taking notes in a physical binder).
Finally, Notability gives you plenty of options for exporting and sharing your notes, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and AirDrop.
Price: $11.99 / year
Check out the video below to see Notability in action:
2. Noteshelf
Noteshelf was our favorite note-taking app for the iPad before we discovered Notability, and it’s still a superb option.
It has many of the features we love in Notability, including the option to annotate PDFs and multitask with the iPad’s split screen. You can also record voice notes to go along with your handwritten notes, which is perfect for recapping a lecture or meeting at a later date.
If you speak/write multiple languages, you’ll also be pleased to know that Noteshelf can recognize handwriting in 65 different languages. This makes it a powerful tool whether you’re taking a language class or learning a language on your own.
Finally, Noteshelf lets you export your notes to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Evernote. The option to export to Evernote is noticeably missing from Notability, making Noteshelf our top pick for serious Evernote users.
Apple Watch users will also benefit from the app’s ability to record voice notes using the Noteshelf Apple Watch app.
Price: $9.99
3. GoodNotes
Up next, we have GoodNotes. This app has everything you want for taking notes, including the ability to switch between typing and writing. You can choose from several built-in note layouts and templates, as well as import your own.
Notably, GoodNotes lets you adjust the sensitivity and palm recognition of the pen to match your writing style. This is perfect if you’re like me and tend to press very hard when writing.
Finally, GoodNotes includes a “Presentation Mode” that lets you turn your iPad into a digital whiteboard.
Using either AirPlay or an HDMI cable, you can project what you’re writing onto a larger screen while still being able to see the GoodNotes interface on your iPad. This is handy whether you’re giving a class presentation or pitching a business idea.
Price: $7.99
Want to learn how to take better notes? Check out our guide to the best note-taking systems.
4. Apple Notes
We couldn’t discuss iPad note-taking apps without mentioning Apple Notes. The app comes free with macOS/iOS devices, and it does a great job of letting you type or take notes by hand. The app’s drawing features are also solid, making it easy to add sketches and illustrations to your notes.
Aside from being free, the biggest advantage of Apple Notes is its deep integration with iOS. If you use iCloud and other Apple devices, you can effortlessly switch between taking notes on your iPad, iPhone, and Mac.
Plus, everything you create is automatically backed up to iCloud, and you can even create voice notes with Siri while you’re on the go.
Price: Free
5. Notion
Unlike the other apps we discuss in this article, Notion isn’t meant to mimic the experience of handwriting. It is our favorite note-taking app overall, however, so we had to include it.
At its core, Notion is a graphical programming language that lets you build tools. These tools can be as simple as a to-do list or as complex as a project management system for an entire company.
Or, of course, a system for managing all of your notes across subjects.
As you can see in the screenshot above, Notion gives you many options for formatting and laying out your notes. You’ll find all the standard options from any word processing software.
But you’ll also find some features missing in other note-taking apps, including the ability to comment on specific lines of your text.
Where things get interesting, though, is how Notion lets you organize your notes. Any page you create within Notion can be nested inside of another page, allowing for large hierarchies of information. You can also embed and link to other notes within pages, making Notion ideal for building a personal knowledge database.
Price: FreeNotion – All-in-One Workspace
Notion is one of the most flexible and powerful apps I’ve ever used. It can be a note-taking app, but there’s also a database feature with multiple views (including Trello-style kanban boards and calendars) the ability to make anything into a template, and great collaboration features. At CIG, we use it for all of our team documentation, and I also manage every YouTube video I make with it.
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6. Microsoft OneNote
Odds are, you’ve used (or at least have access to) Microsoft OneNote at work or school. But did you know that the OneNote iPad app allows you to take handwritten notes?
OneNote lets you write notes either on a blank page or a layout that emulates a sheet of lined paper. The general setup of the app mimics a physical binder, allowing you to organize your notes by topic.
OneNote for iPad also offers a variety of multimedia features. You can type text, insert graphics, and even include voice recordings. You can also search notes for specific words and view your notes across devices. And everything you create in OneNote is automatically backed up to OneDrive.
If you’re already a serious Microsoft app user, then OneNote will integrate seamlessly into your workflow.
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