Leave the pen and paper at home with one of the best note-taking app choices around
The best note-taking apps for the iPad Pro allow you to create and manage documents with ease.
OneNote
A flexible note-taking app
REASONS TO BUY
+Multi-platform support+Works with Microsoft Office formats+Free
REASONS TO AVOID
-Not hugely advanced
For decades, Microsoft has dominated the software scene, and things haven’t changed today. Offered as part of the Office family of productivity apps, OneNote is one of the most popular and capable note-taking apps you can get. This app is capable of a great deal, whether you want to capture information from emails or embed Excel tables.
This app is a multi-platform affair which is hooked up to the cloud, meaning that if you’ve written some notes on your laptop, you can pull these up in a meeting via your smartphone. OneNote works across Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices.
The Android app is easy to use and works as a flexible canvas, letting you type, handwrite, draw and clip things you find on the web. What’s more, you can even scan notes made on paper and make them searchable through OneNote. To organize your notes, you can create tags, labels, to-do lists and follow-up items. It’s also possible to categorize notes based on their importance.
Bear
The best note-taking app for Apple devices
SPECIFICATIONS
Developer: Shiny FrogAvailable for: iPad, iPhone, MacFree version: YesFree trial for paid version: One week (monthly subscription) or one month (annual subscription)
REASONS TO BUY
+Minimalist and elegant+Syncs across iCloud+Capable free version
REASONS TO AVOID
-Sync requires subscription
Apple products are about beautiful, intuitive simplicity, and Bear fits that philosophy perfectly. As the best note-taking app for Macs and the iPad, it lets you create notes and sync them across all your Apple devices via iCloud. There’s no fussing about with folders and notebooks; you just create notes and then store them. You can attach tags, images and other files, as well as drawings created on your iPad or iPhone. There are apps for macOS, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, plus a browser extension.
There’s a free version of Bear if you just want to take notes on your iPad, but you’ll need to pay for the Pro subscription to sync them across devices. That also gives you extra export options, plus the ability to encrypt your notes, password-protect them, and unlock them using Face or Touch ID.
Just be aware that even the Pro version is a purposely stripped down app. For example, there’s no formatting panel, just support for Markdown. If you want more features, look to Evernote or OneNote, but if you want a simple, minimalist app for iOS that gets the job done, there’s no better option.
Google Keep
A comprehensive offering for note-taking
REASONS TO BUY
+Backed by Google+Allows for scanning documents+Free
Google offers a highly capable note-taking app in the form of Keep, which allows you to create as many notes and lists as you want. And you don’t need to stick to mere text – you can also add images and audio to your notes.
In fact, there’s even the ability to record memos for the app to automatically transcribe. That’s particularly handy if you’ve had a light bulb moment and want to get it noted down somewhere quickly. Similarly to OneNote, you can scan handwritten notes, receipts, invoices and other documents through your camera.
Google Keep is a pretty decent productivity app for teams, too. You can easily share notes and collaborate with others. Other features include color-coded labels, reminders and the benefit of multi-platform support. The app is free to download from the Play Store.
Material Notes
The best note-taking app for Android.
SPECIFICATIONS
Developer: Prasad ShirvandkarAvailable for: AndroidFree version: YesFree trial for paid version: No
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy interface+Useful features+Free version
REASONS TO AVOID
-Only for Android
Note-taking apps shouldn’t be complicated, but it’s surprising how often you can open one and not know where to start. The Android app Material Notes doesn’t have that problem. Its opening screen proclaims simply, ‘Click the + button to add notes’, and it couldn’t be easier to use.
The user-friendly approach continues through the whole interface, allowing you to create notes, to-do lists and reminders without effort. You can colour-code them, organise them into categories, archive them, assign favourites, and more. There are also some handy unique features, such as the ability to create quick notes from notifications, back up your notes to Google Drive, print directly from the app, and tell your device to read notes out loud.
The app is free to download, while a Pro version – available for a cheap one-off payment – adds extra features including a calendar view, backend encryption, extra fonts, and reminder notifications. There’s no sync functionality, but for many, that’s a feature rather than a gripe, since not everyone wants sensitive information floating about on the web. If you just want to keep your notes on a single device, this is the best note-taking app available for Android. If you do want to sync notes across devices, however, we’d point you to Evernote at number one on our list.
GoodNotes
The best note-taking app for iPad Pro.
SPECIFICATIONS
Developer: Time Base Technology LimitedAvailable for: iPad, iPhone, MacFree version: NoFree trial for paid version: No
REASONS TO BUY
+Optimised for Apple Pencil+Good handwriting conversion+Affordable price
REASONS TO AVOID
-No free version
If you’ve invested in the iPad Pro, we expect you’re using it for more than checking Facebook and watching cat videos. If you’re looking to take advantage of its powerful functionality to be more productive, make sure you’re using it to jot down creative ideas in the moment. To do that, we’d like to point you in the direction of GoodNotes, our next pick from the best note-taking apps.
This iOS app turns your iPad into digital paper, allowing you to make searchable handwritten notes quickly and easily wherever you find yourself. You can use the Apple Pencil (or one of the best Apple Pencil alternatives), or just your finger. It’s the most similar experience to writing on paper that we’ve found. And we’re not talking about a few scrawled words here; this clever app can recognise everything from equations to mind maps, and it does a great job of converting handwriting into text.
Everything gets auto-synced to the iCloud, and you can access your notes from your iPad, iPhone and Mac (there’s also a macOS version). GoodNotes also allows you to mark up PDFs manually. Available at a relatively cheap, one-off price, GoodNotes is the perfect app for iPad Pro users who want to make notes when inspiration strikes.
Simplenote
A simple notepad application
REASONS TO BUY
+Highly streamlined note-taking+Solid organizational capabilities+Free
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when an app is weighed down with tons of features, many of which you might never use. Simplenote is designed for people who just want a quick, easy-to-use piece of software to jot down spontaneous ideas.
Just open up the app, and right away you can create notes and lists. As you continue to use the software and amass more notes, you’re able to organize them with tags and pins. Every time you create a new note, it’s stored in the cloud and can be accessed through other devices. The app is completely free to download and use.
Evernote
The best note-taking app overall.
SPECIFICATIONS
Developer: Evernote CorporationAvailable for: iOS, Mac, Windows, AndroidFree version: YesFree trial for paid version: 14 days
REASONS TO BUY
+Cross-platform+Range of features+Granular search options
REASONS TO AVOID
-Paid plans expensive
A pioneer in the field, founded in 2000, Evernote remains the cream of the best note-taking apps today. Working across all major platforms, this is the app we’d recommend for anyone looking to get started. Why? Because it’s got a good, capable free version, you can access your notes practically anywhere (laptop, desktop computer, tablet, or phone), and the app’s packed with useful features.
We particularly like using the Web Clipper browser extension to save web pages; the ability to set reminders, and the integration with Siri for taking voice notes. You can search your notes not only by text, but also by tags, the date they were created, the type of media they contain, the location where you created them, and even more.
There are two paid-for versions: Evernote Premium for individuals, and Evernote Teams for, well, it speaks for itself. The former includes sync across unlimited devices (you only get two in the free plan), a 200MB maximum note size, 10GB monthly upload limit, access to notes offline and the ability to annotate PDFs. The Teams plan, aimed at businesses, offers even larger uploads and some great team collaboration tools. Admittedly, neither of these comes cheap, but if you want the Rolls Royce of note-taking apps, this is it.
Conclusion
The best note-taking apps can help you ensure you never forget a flash of creative inspiration. Writing things down on paper is all well and good, but we find it’s very easy to lose our notes that way. But storing your thoughts, ideas and concepts electronically keeps them safe, secure and, best of all, searchable so that you can find them quickly when you need to.