6 Best Handwriting Note Apps for iPad in 2025

By using a note-taking app on your iPad that supports handwriting with devices like the Apple Pencil, you can take notes anywhere as easily as you would on paper. Unlike traditional notebooks, these apps offer a wide range of pen tools, search features, and sharing options, making it easy to organize multiple notes efficiently. They are also eco-friendly and can help improve both learning and work productivity.

Table of Contents

1. Benefits of Using a Handwriting Note-Taking App on iPad
2. How to Choose a Handwriting Note-Taking App for iPad
3. Recommended Handwriting Note-Taking Apps for iPad
   1. Goodnotes
   2. Notability
   3. Noteshelf
   4. MyScript Notes (formerly Nebo)
   5. Noteful
   6. CollaNote
4. Other Handwriting Note-Taking Apps for iPad
   1. Apple Notes
   2. Microsoft OneNote
   3. Freenotes
5. Conclusion

Benefits of Using a Handwriting Note-Taking App on iPad

There are many advantages to using a handwriting note-taking app on your iPad. Here are some of the key benefits:

Just Like Using a Paper Notebook

With the Apple Pencil or other stylus devices, you can write and draw on your iPad as if you were using a traditional notebook. This makes it especially convenient for those who aren’t comfortable typing on a keyboard.

Take Notes Anywhere

As long as you have your iPad and Apple Pencil, you can take notes anywhere—whether during classes, in meetings, or while traveling.

Easy to Organize

Since your notes are saved digitally, you don’t have to worry about stacks of notebooks. You can use folders and tags to organize multiple notes efficiently.

Search Function

Unlike paper notebooks, you can quickly search for past notes or specific information within your notes. Some apps even analyze your handwriting so you can search handwritten text.

Rich Features

Beyond handwriting, you can also type text, insert images, and record audio. Some apps even support advanced features like math input, shape drawing, and PDF editing.

Easy Sharing

Notes can be easily shared via email or social media. With collaboration features, multiple people can edit a note together.

Boosts Learning Efficiency

Certain apps come with study-friendly tools such as flashcards, making them great for students.

Improves Work Productivity

They can help streamline tasks such as taking meeting minutes or creating presentation materials.

Eco-Friendly

By reducing paper usage, you also contribute to environmental conservation.

With the portability of the iPad and the wide range of features offered by handwriting note-taking apps, the iPad becomes a powerful tool for learning, work, and personal use.

Find the handwriting note-taking app that suits you best and enjoy a new note-taking experience with your iPad.

How to Choose a Handwriting Note-Taking App for iPad

When selecting a handwriting-enabled note-taking app for your iPad, consider the following points:

Define Your Purpose

Clarify your main use case—whether it’s for studying, business, journaling, or planning—and look for an app with features that best fit your needs.

Check Handwriting Features

Review the handwriting options such as pen types, writing feel, handwriting recognition, and shape-drawing tools.

Review PDF Features

If you often work with PDFs, check whether the app supports importing PDFs, adding annotations, or creating outlines.

Explore Additional Features

Different apps offer various features like note organization, voice recording, templates, and collaborative editing. Make sure the app has the functions you prefer.

OS Compatibility and Cross-Device Sync

If you use devices other than your iPad, check whether your notes can sync and be accessed across multiple platforms.

Pricing

Most handwriting note-taking apps offer free plans. These often come with limitations such as restricted numbers of notes/pages or limited features, but many are still usable in their free version. Paid plans unlock more advanced functionality.

It’s best to start with a free plan, and if you like the app, consider upgrading to a paid plan for additional features.

Recommended Handwriting Note-Taking Apps for iPad

Now, let’s take a look at some handwriting note-taking apps available for iPad.

Goodnotes

https://www.goodnotes.com

Goodnotes is a popular app that lets you create and manage handwritten notes. It was first released in 2011.

With tools such as pens, pencils, and highlighters, you can take notes just like writing on paper. You can also combine typed text with handwritten notes and drawings on the same page. The app comes packed with convenient features such as the following:

• AI Features
  Goodnotes offers AI-powered handwriting recognition, spell check, autocomplete, and text/equation conversion.
  With the Ask Goodnotes feature, you can quickly search and summarize notes to find the information you need, improving learning and work efficiency.
  The Math Assistant feature recognizes handwritten equations and performs quick calculations (available only when the note language is set to English).

• Pen Customization
  You can customize pen settings such as type, sharpness, pressure sensitivity, and tip roundness to your liking.
• PDF Import and Editing
  You can import PDF files and annotate them with handwritten notes, or add text boxes, shapes, highlights, and stamps. It also allows you to search for specific keywords within the PDF, rearrange pages, or delete unnecessary ones.
• Reusing Elements
  Frequently used objects—such as text, shapes, and equations—can be saved as Elements for quick insertion. This eliminates the need to search for and copy & paste the same items repeatedly.
• Pen Gestures
  You can erase by simply scribbling with your pen or select content using the lasso tool. This reduces the need to switch tools and helps you take notes more smoothly.
• Ruler
  Use the ruler to measure sizes or draw straight lines.
• Audio Recording
  Record audio while taking notes—perfect for capturing lectures or meeting discussions.
• Timekeeper
  Manage your note-taking time with a built-in timer or stopwatch.
• Zoom View
  Easily zoom in on any part of the page, which is helpful for detailed work.
• Dual-Note View
  On iPad, the Split View feature allows you to display two Goodnotes windows side by side. This lets you view and work on two different notes at once.
• QuickNote
  Create a new blank note instantly, without having to choose a template, title, or page color.

• Organizing Notes
  You can organize multiple notebooks using folders. Folders can be nested without any hierarchy limits, and you can also customize their colors and icons. Frequently used notes can be added to Favorites for quick access.
• Sharing Notes
  Share your notes with other users and collaborate on them in real time.
• Password Protection
  Set passwords to protect important notes.
• Presentation Mode
  Mirror your notes to an external display. You can also hide the user interface for a cleaner presentation.
• Pointer
  A red dot can be used to highlight specific areas on the screen—useful for presentations and online classes. In addition to the red dot mode, there is a trail mode that displays a line tracing your finger or pen movement until it is lifted from the screen.
• Study Sets
  Study Sets work like digital flashcards. You can create questions and answers in a flashcard format to support efficient memorization. Handwriting and images can also be used.
• Marketplace
  A wide variety of templates, stickers, and planners are available, which you can purchase and add according to your preferences.

Free and Paid Plans

With the free plan, you can create up to three notebooks. There are also limitations such as a maximum file import size of 5MB, audio recordings limited to 20 minutes, and watermarks on exported files.

The paid plans come in three types. Subscribing to any of them removes the above restrictions.

• All Platforms Yearly: $9.99/year
• Apple One-time Payment: $29.99
• Android & Windows Yearly: $6.99/year

Compare plans

It’s a bit disappointing that the free plan limits you to just three notebooks, but among handwriting note-taking apps for iPad, it still offers a rich set of features. The ability to save and reuse created elements, as well as organize notes with folders without hierarchy limits, is especially convenient.

If you only plan to use it on Apple devices, a one-time purchase option is also available, making the paid plan highly recommended.

Notability

https://notability.com

Notability is one of the most popular note-taking apps alongside Goodnotes. It is developed by Ginger Labs and was first released in 2010.

Like Goodnotes, Notability also allows pen customization, PDF import, and the use of planners and templates.

Multi-Note

In Notability, you can display two different notes side by side or stacked vertically within the app itself—without relying on iPad’s Split View.

Subjects and Dividers

Notability organizes multiple notebooks using Subjects and Dividers.

• Subjects: Used to group notes together.
• Dividers: Used to group Subjects. Dividers can also be nested, with no apparent limit to hierarchy depth.

Free and Paid Plans

With the free plan, Notability allows you to create an unlimited number of notes and use its basic features.

However, there is a weekly limit on the number of edits you can make. Once you exceed the limit, you won’t be able to edit notes until the count resets the following week. In addition, iCloud-based cross-device syncing and automatic backups are not available on the free plan.

The paid plans come in two types. Subscribing removes the editing limit and enables iCloud syncing and automatic backups. You’ll also gain access to advanced features such as automatic audio transcription, handwriting recognition and search, equation conversion, and AI-powered study tools like Learn.

• Notability PLUS：$7.99/month, $20/year
• Notability PRO：$20/month, $99/year

Compare plans

While Goodnotes offers a broader range of features, Notability is also a highly capable app.

With Notability, the number of notes you can create is unlimited even on the free plan. Although there is a weekly limit on the number of edits, Notability is a great choice if you want a powerful note-taking app at no cost.

If the editing limit feels restrictive, consider upgrading to a paid plan.

Noteshelf

https://www.noteshelf.net

Noteshelf is a handwriting note-taking app for iPad developed by Fluid Touch.

Compared to other iPad note-taking apps, its user interface is more colorful, and it offers a wide variety of templates, planners, and stickers. In addition to pen customization, PDF import, and audio recording, Noteshelf also includes the following features:

• Notebook Organization
  A variety of tools are available to keep your notebooks organized, including folders, favorites, bookmarks, and tags.
• Focus Mode
  With a single tap, you can hide menus and focus entirely on your note-taking.
• Clips
  Save handwritten text or drawings as Clips for easy reuse.
• Zoom Box
  While many other note-taking apps offer a zoom function, Noteshelf makes it easier by displaying pen tools within the zoomed-in view, allowing smooth tool switching—perfect for detailed work.
• Access to Stock Images
  You can access popular stock image services like Unsplash and Pixabay directly from within the app, making it easy to add beautiful photos and illustrations to your notes.
• AI Features
  By using AI credits, you can ask questions to AI, generate notes, create summaries, translate content, and more.

Free and Paid Plans

With the free plan, you can create up to three notebooks and receive 30 AI credits.

With the paid plan, Noteshelf Premium, you can access the following features:

• Unlimited notebook creation
• 100 AI credits per month
• Premium templates, stickers, and notebook covers
• Automatic backup to cloud services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and WebDAV
• Handwriting recognition and search

Compared to other handwriting note-taking apps for iPad, Noteshelf offers more advanced options for organizing notebooks, such as folders.

In many other apps, the toolbox can get in the way while taking notes, so I especially like Focus Mode, which allows you to hide the menus with a single tap.

The free plan only lets you create up to three notebooks, which is rather limited, so you may need to subscribe to the paid plan if you want to use it long-term. While it’s slightly more expensive than MyScript Notes, Noteshelf’s paid plan is also a one-time purchase. If you try it out and like it, it’s definitely worth considering.

MyScript Notes (formerly Nebo)

https://www.nebo.app

MyScript Notes is a note-taking app developed by MyScript. Originally released in 2016 under the name Nebo, it was rebranded as MyScript Notes in September 2025. With features like AI integration and pen gestures, it is one of the most user-friendly note-taking apps for iPad.

In MyScript Notes, you can create not only Notebooks, but also Boards and Documents.

• Notebook
  A traditional notebook composed of multiple fixed-size pages. You can customize the cover, paper color, size, orientation, and pattern.
• Board
  An expandable digital whiteboard that lets you freely arrange shapes, text, images, and more to visually organize ideas.
• Document
  A structured format for arranging text, images, and diagrams into polished documents. Handwritten text is recognized in real time, and once converted, it aligns neatly with the notebook’s ruling. With its fixed page layout, this format is well-suited for reports, research papers, and meeting minutes.

Multiple notes can be organized using Folders and grouped further into Collections.

Unlike other note-taking apps, MyScript Notes does allow you to choose a page pattern when creating a new note, but it does not offer templates, planners, or stickers.

Free and Paid Plans

With the free plan, there are no functional restrictions, but cross-device syncing is not available.

Although the official website states that “5 pages are free,” in practice, when attempting to create a sixth page within a notebook—or when trying to create a sixth notebook, board, or document—a purchase prompt appears.
This suggests that the free plan is limited to 5 pages per notebook and a maximum of 5 notebooks/boards/documents in total.

With the paid plan, these restrictions are removed, and cross-device syncing becomes available.

Compared to Goodnotes and Notability, MyScript Notes is simpler in terms of functionality. Because of this, the toolbar and interface are more streamlined, which may help you stay focused by allowing you to take notes with more intuitive operations.

If you often need to convert handwriting into text, the Document feature in MyScript Notes is a powerful tool worth trying.

Since the free plan comes with limitations on the number of pages, it may not be ideal for long-term use. However, aside from page and sync restrictions, there are no other functional limitations. This makes it a good idea to try the free plan first, and if you like it, consider upgrading to the paid plan.

Noteful

https://www.getnoteful.com

Noteful is another powerful handwriting note-taking app for iPad.

Although not officially stated on its website, information online suggests that it was released in 2021, making it relatively new compared to Goodnotes and Notability.

In addition to basic features, Noteful offers the following unique functions:

• Toolbox
  Unlike most other handwriting note-taking apps where the toolbox (pen, eraser, etc.) appears at the top of the screen, in Noteful it is displayed on the left side by default.
• Layers
  Noteful includes a layer feature, which is uncommon in other note-taking apps. Similar to paint tools, you can separate handwriting, shapes, or annotations into different layers and toggle their visibility. For example, you can keep notes or annotations on a separate layer and hide them when focusing on the main content.
• Tags
  You can add tags anywhere in a notebook, and even nest them (e.g., #Tag1/Tag2).
• Bookmarks
  Bookmarks let you label specific pages within a note, making it easy to jump back to them later.
• Pins
  Pins work similarly to bookmarks, but with one key difference: while bookmarks require you to open the notebook first, pins can be accessed directly from the main screen, allowing you to jump to a specific page without opening the notebook.
• Outline
  Noteful provides a visual representation of a PDF’s structure, making navigation easier.

Compared to other note-taking apps, Noteful offers fewer templates and lacks features like pen gestures or handwriting-to-text conversion.

Free and Paid Plans

With the free plan, you can create up to 10 notebooks. There are also limits such as a maximum of 2 layers, bookmarks, or outlines per notebook. iCloud syncing is not available.

The paid plan, Noteful Pro, is a one-time purchase of $5.99. It removes the above restrictions and adds features such as syncing, automatic backups, and image cropping.

One of Noteful’s biggest strengths is its flexible notebook management through tags.

In terms of pure handwriting features, it may be less powerful than some other apps. However, if you often import PDFs into your note-taking app, the layer feature is especially useful when adding annotations.

The paid plan is also quite affordable at a one-time purchase of $5.99, making it well worth trying out.

CollaNote

https://apps.apple.com/app/id1540956268

CollaNote was originally created by students at the University of Hamburg and is now developed by Zauberberg Lab.

Compared to other handwriting note-taking apps for iPad, its user interface is more colorful and playful. It comes with a wide range of features such as pen customization, lasso selection, and bookmarks, along with the following:

• Open Source
  CollaNote is developed as an open-source project, continuously evolving based on user feedback. This allows it to offer unique functions and usability not found in other note-taking apps.
• Collaboration
  Notes can be shared and edited in real time. You can also chat with other users, making it a powerful tool for group projects and collaborative learning.
• Extensive Pen Tools
  There are 25 different pens and brushes available, enabling precise and detailed writing or drawing.
• PDF Outline View
  PDF outlines are displayed in a tree structure, making it easy to navigate between pages.
• Calculator
  CollaNote can recognize handwritten equations and display the results. A scientific calculator is also included.
• Curve Tool
  Allows you to easily draw smooth curves.
• Flashcards
  You can create flashcards with questions on the front and answers on the back for study purposes. Options include random display and spaced repetition to reinforce memory. Since it supports handwriting recognition as well as the insertion of diagrams and illustrations, it’s also highly effective for visual learning.

Free and Paid Plans

With the free plan, there are no limits on the number of notebooks or pages you can create, but you are limited to 5 pens and brushes.

The paid plan is a one-time purchase of $13.90, and unlocks the following features:

• 25 pens and brushes
• A stabilizer for smoother handwriting
• ASMR sounds while writing
• Password protection for your notes

With CollaNote, even the free plan offers unlimited notebooks and pages. Since there are very few functional limitations, it’s definitely worth trying if you’re looking for a free handwriting note-taking app.

Other Handwriting Note-Taking Apps for iPad

In addition to the apps mentioned above, there are other note-taking apps for iPad that support handwriting. If any of them catch your interest, be sure to give them a try.

Apple Notes

https://apps.apple.com/app/id1110145109

Apple Notes is a free note-taking app pre-installed on iPad, iPhone, and Mac devices. It was first introduced in 2010 with iOS 4.

Since it comes pre-installed on Apple devices, you can start using it right away without the need to download anything. Notes sync seamlessly across iPad, iPhone, Mac, and other Apple devices. It also works well with the Apple Pencil, making handwriting and sketching smooth and convenient.

Compared to competing apps, Apple Notes is quite simple in terms of functionality. However, its ease of use as a built-in app and its excellent integration with other Apple apps and services are major strengths.

Microsoft OneNote

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onenote/digital-note-taking-app

OneNote is a multifunctional digital note-taking app provided by Microsoft, first released in 2003.

On iPad, you can use pen devices such as the Apple Pencil, but in terms of pen tools and writing feel, apps like Goodnotes tend to offer a better experience.

Because OneNote integrates smoothly with other Microsoft products, it’s worth trying if you mainly use the Microsoft ecosystem.

Free and Paid Plans

OneNote is free to use. All data created in OneNote is stored in Microsoft’s cloud service, OneDrive. The free plan of OneDrive includes up to 5 GB of storage, and the amount of data you can store in OneNote depends on this OneDrive capacity.

By subscribing to a Microsoft 365 paid plan, you can increase your OneDrive storage, allowing you to create and store more data in OneNote.

Freenotes

https://www.freenotetech.com

Freenotes is a note-taking app for iPad that also supports handwriting.

It comes with a rich set of note-taking features, including a layer system and even chat with an AI assistant. In addition to templates and stickers, you can also download fonts and color palettes.

Free and Paid Plans

With the free plan, ads are displayed. These ads can be removed with a one-time purchase of $9.99.

Freenotes is feature-rich, but its official website provides limited information, which may raise some concerns when it comes to storing important data. Still, if you’re looking for a free option, it may be worth giving it a try.

Conclusion

Using a handwriting note-taking app on iPad offers many advantages compared to traditional paper notebooks.

Goodnotes and Notability are highly functional and often featured in articles. Personally, I use Noteshelf 3 because I really like its Focus Mode.

There are also plenty of other handwriting note-taking apps available, so I hope this article helps you find the one that best fits your needs.