10 Best Note-taking Apps for iPad in 2024 [Free & Paid]

Note-taking apps for iPad make it easy to record your fleeting thoughts on the go. But with over 2 million apps on the App Store, how do you find the right one that best suits your needs? A simple search can return hundreds, if not thousands, of results.

In this article, we’ve shortlisted the 10 best note-taking apps for iPad, covering both free and paid options. We cover apps catering to different use cases, from basic typing needs to drawing, audio notes, PDF annotation, and more. 

So whether you’re a student, professor, business professional, or journalist, a top-rated note-taking app is listed here for your needs. Read on!

10 best note-taking apps for iPad

The 10 best note-taking apps for iPad available in 2024 are:

  1. Fireflies: AI notetaker
  2. Apple Notes
  3. Freeform
  4. Zoho Notebook
  5. Goodnotes 6
  6. Otter
  7. Milanote
  8. LiquidText
  9. MarginNote 3
  10. Nebo

Here’s a quick overview of these note-taking apps for iPad:

App name

Best use case

Price

Fireflies AI notetaker

Automated notes for online and offline meetings + audio/video recordings.

$10/user/month.

Apple Notes

Personal notes.

Free.

Freeform

Brainstorming.

Free.

Zoho Notebook

Notes in different formats—text notes, to-do lists, checklists, sketches, etc.

$1.99/month.

Goodnotes 6

Paper-like notebook for personal note-taking.

$8.99 one-time payment.

Otter

Meeting notes.

$12.99/month.

Milanote

Creative teams and project planning.

$12.50/month

LiquidText

Create notes from PDF documents and web pages. Suitable for writing reports, prepping meetings, or study materials.

$9.99/month

MarginNote 3

Annotate and create notes from PDFs.

$12.99

Nebo

Create notes by hand.

$8.99

Fireflies: AI notetaker

Best meeting note-taking apps for iPad - Fireflies.ai

Do you struggle to take notes and fully participate in meetings simultaneously?

Then Fireflies is for you. Fireflies is an AI note-taking app for iPad that automatically generates notes for any online meeting, in-person discussions, or audio/video recordings

Read:

How to Use Fireflies.ai: Easy Step-by-Step Guide 2022
Using Fireflies AI Notetaker for the first time? Check out this easy step-by-step guide to help you navigate the Fireflies platform like a pro in no time!

Fireflies is a platform-agnostic tool, meaning you can access these recordings and notes anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Top features

For more details on Fireflies’ security, read: How we think about security and the top 15 FAQs on Fireflies security.

Pricing

Fireflies offers free transcription and summaries for the first three recordings. Unlimited free transcriptions are also available under the Free plan; conditions apply.

To access advanced AI features and get unlimited meeting notes, subscribe to Fireflies paid plans that start at $10/user/month when billed annually.

Explore Fireflies for free. Start your 7-day free trial now!

Apple Notes

Source: Zapier

Apple Notes is one of the best free note-taking apps pre-installed on iPads and other iOS devices. 

It allows you to take handwritten notes or type text, insert photos and videos, links, and lists, and do basic formatting like checklists, bullet points, and headings.

Top features

  • Easy and intuitive user interface.
  • Supports handwritten text or sketches with Apple Pencil.
  • Allows handwriting and typing on the same page.
  • Native iCloud syncing across all iOS devices.
  • Allows you to create tables and interactive checklists.

Pricing

Free.

Freeform

If you’re a visual thinker or need to brainstorm ideas, try Freeform.

Launched in 2022, Freeform is Apple’s digital whiteboarding app. It allows you to type, handwrite, draw, and insert media on an infinite canvas to take notes, brainstorm ideas, and effortlessly collaborate on projects.

Top features

  • Infinite canvas with the ability to type, handwrite, or draw anywhere.
  • Insert images, videos, and files into boards.
  • Share web links and bookmarks directly into boards.
  • Real-time collaboration for teams.
  • Connect elements with auto-snapping arrows.
  • Syncs across Apple devices via iCloud.

Pricing

Free.

Zoho Notebook

Next on the list of best note-taking apps for iPad is Zoho Notebook, a cross-platform note-taking app that syncs across devices using its own cloud service. It allows you to take notes in digital notebooks and organize them into colorful cards that look like post-it notes.

Top features

  • Supports both handwritten and typed notes.
  • Lets you organize notes into folders.
  • Versatile card formats: text notes, to-do lists, checklists, and sketches.
  • Lets you password protect notes.
  • Allows Zapier integrations.
  • Syncs seamlessly across devices using Zoho's cloud.

Pricing

Offers a free version with only basic features and limited storage.  You can get more storage, powerful search, and other features for $1.99/month.

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Goodnotes 6

GoodNotes 6 is a note-taking app for iPad that lets you take handwritten or typed notes on digital pages, just like you take notes on a physical paper notebook.

Top features

  • Realistic, intuitive notebook interface and templates.
  • Allows you to insert text boxes within the notes.
  • Record audio synced with notes.
  • Outline and bookmarks to navigate long notebooks.
  • Split screen capability.
  • Import PDFs.
  • Reusable digital stickers.
  • Supports handwriting, drawing, and typing on the same page

Pricing

$8.99 one-time payment.

Otter

Like Fireflies, Otter is another note-taking app for iPad that offers automated notes for online meetings.

However, unlike Fireflies, Otter can only process and create notes for conversations in English.

Top features

  • Accurate transcript and meeting notes.
  • Easy share options.
  • Intuitive search options.
  • Adjustable playback speed for recordings.
  • Allows recording via in-built mic and Bluetooth devices.

Pricing

Otter’s paid plans start at $12.99/month.

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Milanote

Source: Milanote

Milanote is a collaborative note-taking app for iPad that allows you to take handwritten or typed notes and add images, links, and files onto an open canvas.

It includes templates, stock photos, and task features to organize projects, making it an ideal note-taking app for creative teams and project planning.

Top features

  • An oOpen canvas to type, write, and add media freely.
  • Auto-alignment of elements.
  • Color card formats with built-in HEX codes.
  • Project plan templates.
  • Stock photos and visual assets.
  • Built-in collaboration features—comment cards to tag users, thread replies, and real-time visibility of changes.

Pricing

Milanote is free for up to 100 notes/10 files. The unlimited Pro plan starts at $12.50/month.

LiquidText

LiquidText is a note-taking app for iPads that makes organizing information easy. 

It helps you review and gather data from documents and web pages quickly. You can pull out important facts, connect ideas, compare sections, and annotate multiple pages at once. It's great for writing reports, prepping meetings, or studying.

Top features

  • Import documents like PDFs, DOCXs, web pages, etc., to create notes.
  • Extract annotations and text snippets from documents.
  • Infinite workspace to organize excerpts.
  • Connect related details with lines and Grouping.
  • Add multiple documents to a single workspace.
  • Adjust document views by squeezing/expanding.
  • Export summaries, outlines, and flashcards of your notes.

Pricing

The free plan is available with limited features. Paid plans start at $9.99/month.

MarginNote 3

Similar to LiquidText, MarginNote also lets you import ebooks or PDF documents to analyze, annotate, and create notes from them.

Top features

  • Annotate PDF texts with highlights and comments.
  • Clip and excerpt key passages as movable notes.
  • Clean and organized mind maps to link ideas.
  • Create flashcards from excerpts.
  • Auto-generate mind maps based on table of contents.
  • Offers note compilation across multiple files/books.

Pricing

Offers a read-only free version. Charges $12.99 for full version.

Nebo

Nebo is another note-taking app for iPad that lets you create digital notes by hand. 

Just scribble notes using your finger or Apple Pencil in Nebo's digital notebooks, and the app will instantly convert them into digital text.

Top features

  • Combines handwriting and typed text in notes.
  • Supports 66 languages.
  • Accurate handwriting-to-text conversion.
  • Math expression recognition and conversion.
  • Offers free-form and lined pages.
  • Cross-platform compatible—works beyond iPad.

Pricing

Pricing starts at $4.99.

Which note-taking app is best for you?

Whether a note-taking app is best or not depends on your specific needs and preferences.

If you regularly have meetings, Fireflies is an excellent choice for automating transcriptions and organizing and sharing meeting notes and summaries. For quickly jotting down fleeting thoughts and personal notes, Apple Notes provides a free and intuitive canvas. 

Researchers and students can use LiquidText or MarginNote to create handy excerpts and flashcards from PDFs and ebooks.

Explore these top apps and find your ideal match to capture every brainwave, brainstorm, and brilliant idea.