Best iPad note-taking apps with Apple Pencil support for handwriting

The Apple Pencil is a flexible accessory for iPad owners, and with the appropriate note-taking app, it can become an intellectual powerhouse! If you would prefer doodle with a stylus and take handwritten notes than tap on your iPad's screen keyboard, there are a number of excellent apps that enable drawing and writing with a stylus. In 2022, the iPad app store contains a vast selection of note-taking apps, many of which claim to be the finest.

onenote and notedex are the best ipad note-taking applications.

OneNote and NoteDex are, according to our research, the two finest note-taking applications for iPad that allow handwriting in 2022. Only NoteDex provides cross-platform ink support for handwritten notes and note categorization to help you manage your project-related thoughts, notes, and data.

microsoft onenote is an outstanding note-taking app

On iPad, OneNote is one of the most downloaded note-taking apps. Not only does it allow users to take notes individually, but it also enables cross-device and cross-platform collaboration via sync. Drawings are supported, and you can use the apple pencil to take both short and lengthy notes with support for rich text. Additionally, OneNote allows you to enter audio recordings, import PDFs, annotate PDFs, and export your notes to OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Additionally, OneNote offers outstanding equation support and a renowned multi-color highlighter! Since OneNote is supported by Microsoft, it is also free!

like writing on paper index cards - notedex

NoteDex is a new entrant that offers a unique 'index card' type note-taking interface that supports text, images, and ink on all platforms and enables you to write amazing handwritten notes using the iPad Apple Pencil. This makes it one of the very few apps that supports ink on all devices including the web. You can add images, and it has a drawing mode, so you can use your digital pen to create diagrams. Rich text support is also extensive. Both students and professionals can benefit from NoteDex. There is a 7-day free trial version available.

Unlike other programs in the Apple App Store, you may edit your notes on any device and share them with anyone, regardless of their device. It is properly-formatted for iPads and Mac, and the cross-platform cloud sync enables you to share with Windows and Web users as well as Android!

NoteDex also offers a robust card organizer tool that enables you to examine cards in a storyboard or swim lane perspective, which is ideal for authors, planners, and project managers. The Kanban organizational features are robust and not present in any other software reviewed here. NoteDex supports Stack/Group/Tag (similar to folders and subfolders) and a choice of pen styles for the ink function. Unlike many others, it is not a new note-taking app; rather, it builds on the popularity of the original app called Index Cards.

apple's notes

Apple Notes is essential to any discussion of note-taking applications on the iPad. It is one of the most popular iPad apps for taking notes.

MacOS and iOS now contain the Notes app so that you can rapidly take notes on your iPad, and it's rather good. It allows you to type or take handwritten notes on your device; the program makes it simple to use a stylus to take notes and permits you to write with a pen. Using the Apple Pencil and the App's sketching features, for instance, it is simple to sketch out ideas whilst writing. It syncs well with Apple devices, but does not support cross-platform synchronization. Additionally, the app supports rich text. Apple's ability to combine numerous iOS functions, such as Quick Note, inside the app itself enables it to create one of the greatest note-taking apps. Currently, the software does not appear to support the importation of PDF files. But the app is gratis!

Notion Notion is a popular software, and although it does not support Apple Pencil's drawing mode, it is an outstanding keyboard-based note-taking tool with significant markdown and rich text support. Notion is a more complicated note-taking app, but it offers a great deal of flexibility and is a popular choice among users.

google keep

Google Keep is a wonderful choice for Android users because it is one of the few free apps that can store both text and handwriting. As evidenced by the comments area of the application, Google does not provide sufficient help. Instead of saving anything and everything, the app's primary purpose is to produce quick and actionable notes. It supports inking with an iPad Apple pencil and some rich text formatting. In comparison to other applications, I believe it is best to abandon this one.

notability

Notability is a good app with some of the best features, such as the ability to convert handwriting to text, multi-note support so you can work on two notes side-by-side on an iPad screen, PDF annotation, rich text support, and the ability to sketch diagrams with custom colors and shapes using a digital pen such as the iPad Apple Pencil.

As with the other apps on our page, it is compatible with iCloud, so you can sync your notes across all of your other devices, such as an iPad. However, it is not truly cross-platform, unlike other cloud storage services such as NoteDex and OneNote. Notability has the ability to record audio and is arguably one of the best note-taking applications for long-term use.

zoho notebook

Zoho is a cross-platform alternative to other notetaking applications.

There are Zoho Notebook apps for the Android, Mac, and Windows operating systems. Users who do not belong in the Apple ecosystem and utilize Zoho online storage have an excellent choice.

However, it does not appear to allow cross-platform inking on an iPad Pro with a pencil at this time, although there is a free plan available.

evernote

Evernote has been around for a very long time, and it is one of those applications that has become somewhat "outdated" in the eyes of its users. Nonetheless, to their credit, they are overhauling their offering and have included tasks management. Comparing Evernote's site to NoteDex's homepage, for example, reveals that the home page interface is still somewhat cluttered. Evernote's ink feature is likewise limited in that you can add ink notes, but you cannot superimpose ink over a picture - they are different ink regions. Compare this to NoteDex and OneNote, which allow you to write ink over an image.

goodnotes

Goodnotes 5 is a useful application, however it is only accessible for Mac and iOS. Comparable to Nebo and OneNote, it receives excellent evaluations for ink and note taking. It does not function on Windows, the Web, or Android. You can convert handwriting to text using the built-in scribble feature of Apple iOS. You can annotate PDFs with apps like Goodnotes, OneNote, and Notability, and you may like to download and test one of these programs.

summary

Choosing the best note-taking applications for your iPad in order to take notes might be a difficult chore, but it helps to be aware of your demands. We hope that this post has aided you in navigating the plethora of options and locating a suitable app. Obviously, there are a great number of apps that we did not cover, such as various notepad apps, Microsoft Office, Google Office, and others. Please let us know if you believe we've omitted any.

Based on our requirements, we recommend that you check out OneNote and NoteDex as true cross-platform note-taking applications with ink compatibility that will allow you to create excellent notes on an iPad Pro using an Apple pencil. NoteDex is a versatile application with excellent organizational features, such as card-tagging support.

Since OneNote is better suited for 'long form' notes and NoteDex is meant for index card-style / atomic notes and allows you to share your notes online and on multiple machines, the two programs perform well together.

In the end, these apps will enable you to take digital notes and abandon pen and paper, facilitating your transition from writing on paper to digital writing, and allowing you to become an expert note-taker!