6 Best Note Taking Apps for iPad with Apple Pencil in 2026
Handwritten notes are lovely right up until you need to find one. Then they're a very pretty haystack.
The short answer
Jotter Best overallThe best note taking app for iPad with Apple Pencil is Jotter. You can handwrite on lined, grid or dotted paper, mix ink with typed text, scans and voice notes, and search your handwriting on the device, all free with no account. If you also use Windows or Android, choose OneNote. For typed, organized notes, choose Notion.
Which one is for you?
Best overallJotteriPad owners who want free, searchable handwriting and no sign-up
2
Best freeform canvasMicrosoft OneNoteStudents who handwrite on iPad but also use Windows or Android
3
Best for typed notesNotionTypists who want notes organized in databases and templates
4
Best for polished docsCraftWriters who turn rough notes into polished pages to share
5
Best for linked notesObsidianStudents building a linked set of notes for the long haul
6
Best for scanned pagesEvernotePeople with years of scans and PDFs already in Evernote
- Jotter is #1: free, searchable Apple Pencil handwriting, with scans and voice notes alongside.
- OneNote is the free pick when your notes also need to open on Windows or Android.
- Notion, Craft and Obsidian are typing-first; Evernote is best at searching old scans and PDFs.
Apple Pencil turns an iPad into a notebook, but only if the app takes ink seriously. The best note taking app for iPad with Apple Pencil should feel like paper, let you mix handwriting with typing and photos, and find your scribbles in search long after the lecture or meeting ends.
Keep reading
Plenty of popular note apps manage one of those things, maybe two. The ranking weighs ink, search, how each app copes with typed notes and images, and price. Several picks are typing-first, and each says plainly where the Pencil falls short.
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Best overall
1. Jotter
0Paper that keeps going, ink you can search, and a price tag of zero.
- Free
- iPhone
- No subscription
Some notes are mostly arrows, boxes and a word circled very hard. Jotter lets you just draw them: open the app and you're on a fresh note, pick plain, lined, grid or dotted paper, and the page extends as you write. Typed text, photos, scans and voice notes can share that same note.
More about Jotter
Search is where it beats most free options. Your handwriting and the text inside photos and scans are read on the device, and voice notes are transcribed there too. No account, iCloud sync and a full Markdown export. The catch: no Windows or Android app, and no backlinks, plugins or collaboration.
Great foriPad owners who want free, searchable handwriting and no sign-up
The catchiPhone and iPad only, with no linking or shared notebooks
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Best freeform canvas
2. Microsoft OneNote
0The free digital ring binder that follows your notes from iPad to a Windows PC.
- Free
- iPhone · Android · Mac +2
- No subscription
OneNote gives every page an open canvas. Write with Apple Pencil at the top, type a paragraph beside it, drop a diagram anywhere. Notebooks, sections and pages work like a ring binder with one subject per section, and it can turn handwriting into typed text on supported devices.
More about Microsoft OneNote
The big draw is reach: it's free on iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows, Android and the web, so class notes open on a library computer later. You sign in with a Microsoft account, and notebooks live in OneDrive. Expect a dated look, pages that sprawl over a term, and sync that sometimes lags or conflicts.
Great forStudents who handwrite on iPad but also use Windows or Android
The catchLooks dated, and sync can be slow or trip over itself
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Best for typed notes
3. Notion
0For the iPad that's secretly a laptop: typed notes in tidy, linked databases.
- Free + paid plans
- iPhone · Android · Mac +2
- No ads
Notion is for the iPad owner who types far more than they write. Lecture notes can live in a database tagged by course and week, meeting notes can link to their project, and templates hand you a structure for both. With a keyboard case attached, it gets close to laptop note taking.
More about Notion
Apple Pencil is the weak spot: Notion is built for typing, so sketches and equations need another app. Big pages can lag, offline use is partial and notes aren't encrypted end to end. The free plan suits one person well. Keep Jotter or OneNote for ink, and Notion for the organized side.
Great forTypists who want notes organized in databases and templates
The catchNo real handwriting, and offline use is patchy
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Best for polished docs
4. Craft
0Notes that already look finished, for when your notes are headed to someone else.
- Free + paid plans
- iPhone · Mac · Windows +1
- No ads
Craft is for notes that will eventually be shown to someone. Pages nest inside pages as cards, headings and images fall into place without fiddling, and any page can go out as a shareable link. It's a fast native app that keeps working offline, and daily notes catch the meetings and loose ideas.
More about Craft
Whiteboards give you a freer surface when a topic is easier to map than to list. Still, handwriting is not its focus, so heavy Pencil users will want a dedicated inking app alongside. The free plan has limits, and unlocking everything takes a paid plan.
Great forWriters who turn rough notes into polished pages to share
The catchHandwriting isn't the focus, and the best tools are paid
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Best for linked notes
5. Obsidian
1Plain Markdown files that link into a web of notes built to outlast your degree.
- Free + paid plans
- iPhone · Android · Mac +2
- No subscription
Obsidian is for notes that talk to each other. Every note is a Markdown file on your device, and linking two notes builds backlinks, so this week's lecture can point to a reading from months ago. Canvas arranges notes on a board, and the iPad app works fully offline, even in a library basement.
More about Obsidian
Handwriting isn't built in. Community plugins can add drawing, but they take setup, and Pencil support depends on the plugin. Syncing means paying for Obsidian Sync or pointing your vault at iCloud yourself. The app is free for personal and commercial use, but expect some tinkering first.
Great forStudents building a linked set of notes for the long haul
The catchNo built-in handwriting, and official sync costs extra
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Best for scanned pages
6. Evernote
0Still the place to dig one word out of a mountain of old scans and PDFs, at a price.
- Free + paid plans
- iPhone · Android · Mac +2
Evernote suits a different habit: writing on paper or hoarding handouts, then hunting for the words later. Its search reads text in photos, PDFs and scanned pages, AI-powered search helps with a big archive, and the web clipper saves articles for research. Apps run on every major platform.
More about Evernote
For writing directly on the iPad screen, Jotter and OneNote are stronger. Value is the bigger issue: the free plan is capped at a handful of notes and one notebook, and paid tiers cost more than most rivals. It makes sense mainly if years of your notes already live there.
Great forPeople with years of scans and PDFs already in Evernote
The catchA very tight free plan, and paid plans cost more than rivals
Side by side
How to choose
How do you pick the best note taking app for iPad with Apple Pencil?
Ink first. The pen should feel immediate, with paper styles like lined or grid and a page that keeps going. Then check search, because handwritten notes are only as useful as your ability to find them. Look for an app that reads your writing, ideally on the device, plus the text inside photos and scans.
Next, think about everything that isn't ink. Most notes mix handwriting with typing, photos of slides and the odd voice memo, so one note should hold all of them. Check where notes sync, whether you can export them in an open format, and which features hide behind a subscription.
Is Apple Pencil worth it for taking notes?
Yes, if your notes include things a keyboard handles badly: diagrams, equations, arrows between ideas or markup on a photo of a slide. It matters less if you mostly take text notes in meetings, where typing is usually quicker. Plenty of people do both, which is why one note that holds ink and text is so handy.
Install Jotter if you want free Apple Pencil notes you can actually search later. If those notes also have to open on a Windows PC or an Android phone, pick OneNote.
See why Jotter is #1Compare the top picks
Questions people ask
What is the best free note taking app for iPad with Apple Pencil?
Jotter is the best free choice, with Apple Pencil handwriting you can search, no account and no ads. OneNote is also free and is the better pick if you need the same notes on Windows or Android.
Jotter or OneNote: which is better on iPad?
Jotter is better for quick, private notes that mix handwriting, checklists, scans and voice, with search that runs on the device. OneNote is better for large freeform notebooks organized by section, and it runs on every major platform.
Can iPad note apps search handwriting?
Some can: Jotter reads your handwriting on the device so it shows up in search, and OneNote can search handwritten notes on supported devices. Typing-first apps such as Notion and Obsidian have no built-in handwriting to search.
Do you need Apple Pencil to take notes on an iPad?
No, every app here takes typed notes, and Jotter also accepts finger handwriting. A Pencil helps most with diagrams, equations and marking up photos of slides.
