Today, the mobile phone is not just a device; it became more of a companion. It is pretty challenging to imagine life without a cell phone.
In this digital world, carrying a pen and paper at the same time is almost impossible.
In everyday life, we come across many little details or thoughts that can pop out of our ideas in an instant if they are not written down somewhere. So why not use your partner for this?
Besides calling, texting, playing games, and browsing social media, your mobile phone can also be used for writing notes.
Each smartphone comes with a native noting app. Still, several other apps can give you extended functionality, such as syncing across different devices, stacking notes in easy search, attaching videos and images, and create a checklist.
If you are an iOS user, the Apple App Store offers you a wide range of noting apps on your iPhone and iPad.
Choosing a noting app from the options available is a bit like finding a pair of shoes to match the dress. Once you get it, you have a long way to go before you start storing your essential ideas and information in it.
Considering the multitude of options available, choosing the best note apps for iOS that best suit your needs cannot be apparent.
We’ve picked out a list of the top 10 best note apps for iOS, along with their features.
Let’s take a look at them:
The Best Note Apps for iOS
1. Evernote: the best cross-platform note-taking app
Evernote, one of the oldest and most sophisticated note-taking apps for iOS, launched in 2013 when such apps were scarce. One of the most outstanding features of Evernote is its cross-platform support.
The app offers perfect noting on iPhone, whether you want to jot down random ideas, create a checklist and to-do list. With the creation of the laptop, the developers successfully tried to bring it closer to reality.
You can save in various formats, such as text, videos, images, audio, web clips, PDFs, hand-drawn sketches, etc.
The iOS app comes with a built-in business card and document scanner so you can scan your documents and store them neatly.
Ease of synchronization
In terms of syncing notes across different operating systems and devices, there’s no comparison for Evernote.
If you have devices running other operating systems, you can use this app to run a note on one device and continue it on another device.
Your notes will automatically sync across various platforms, including Android, iOS, Mac, Blackberry, and Windows.
Additional features
- The Evernote app lets you sort and searches for notes using bookmarks.
- You can quickly switch from a personal account to a premium account without logging out of the app.
- The desktop function allows you to share your notes with your colleagues and friends.
- You have the option to add a reminder to your notes, and when the time comes, your saved note will be pinned to the top.
Pricing
Evernote has a free version and a premium version. Although the free version gives you the option to sync between two devices and 60MB of downloads in a month.
In the premium version of the app, you can sync with an unlimited number of devices and get 10 GB of download space per month.
You will be charged $7.99 for your monthly subscription and $69.99 for your annual subscription to Evernote Premium.
2. Bear: the best note-taking app with an intelligent interface
Bear is the only noting app on the iOS platform that seriously competes with Evernote and the original iOS noting app.
It was launched in 2016, and in no time, the app has been heavily featured on the list of best-noting apps for iOS devices.
Marked as the best Apple iOS app for 2016, the app performs all the functions, such as capturing notes as text, images, videos, and sketches that you would expect from a shooting app. of decent notes.
The portable bear app for iOS has amazed most users with its tri-panel design, allowing users to perform various tasks efficiently.
This combination of intuitive design and ease of performing USP tasks is an application. Plus, Markdown’s support makes it a favorite among regular writers and a perfect alternative to Evernote.
Ease of synchronization
Bear is currently only available for the iOS platform. If you want your notes to sync between your iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, you need to purchase an app for it. The synchronization function is not available in the free version of the app.
Additional features
- Easily but efficiently set up hashtags to create categories and search for notes.
- Bear Notes can be exported in various formats, including Text, MD, PDF, HTML, RTF, DOCX, and JPEG.
- The note-taking app supports Apple Workflow, where workflows can be created according to your needs.
- The latest app update brings an archive feature that lets you hide notes you no longer need; however, deleting them is not an option.
Pricing
The pro version of the Bear Notes iPhone app offers three main features, including syncing between devices, a choice of customizable themes, and advanced export options.
A monthly subscription to the Bear app costs around $1.49, and you can purchase an annual subscription for $14.99.
3. Notes – the default note app for iOS
Apple’s original noting app has come a long way to compete with third-party noting apps in the App Store. With iOS 11, Apple made the Notes app efficient for adding text, image, video, audio, and checklist formats.
You can now use the app’s camera to scan documents and save them in a note. Scanned documents can as well be saved in PDF format and marked.
This feature is handy for professionals. Improved formatting with multiple text formatting options makes it a decent noting app, perfect for everyday use.
Ease of synchronization
All notes created in Notes are automatically synced with your iCloud devices, including iPhone, MacBook, and iPad.
You can also use the Notes app for notes on the iPad, and it also supports Apple Pencil.
Additional features
- You can lock the notes by simply clicking on the padlock icon in the additional menu. Each note can be closed, which is a rare feature in generally available noting apps, as most apps offer the option to lock the entire app. It wouldn’t hurt to rate Notes as one of the best password-protected note-taking apps for iPhone.
- Notes can be organized into folders, making them easy to manage according to your preferences.
- The app gives you the option to add tables to notes which can sometimes be a helpful feature.
- You can share the notes with other users, and they will see the changes in real-time.
Pricing
Notes is an application built into the iPhone, and its use is entirely free.
4. OneNote – the best app for general notes
Owned by Microsoft, OneNote is the perfect noting app for iPhone desktop visitors as it integrates tightly with OneDrive and the Microsoft Office suite.
A Microsoft account is required to sign in to OneNote. The app’s organizational tools are commendable.
Notes are organized in a hierarchical structure that contains pages, sections, and notebooks.
Microsoft’s iPhone Notes app lets you save text, audio, video, and link notes.
On the other hand, you can’t draw with your fingers in the app, which is a bummer for people who want to add handwritten notes.
Overall, OneNote is probably one of the best note-taking apps for the iPhone that combines ease of use with organizational settings.
Ease of synchronization
All notes are synced with the cloud on OneDrive, OneDrive Business, & Sharepoint. You can get through your notes on your mobile phone, iPhone, MacBook, & other devices, as the OneNote app is available on all platforms.
The collaboration function allows your colleagues to access and edit notes and modify them in real-time.
Additional features
- OneNote has a built-in feature that lets you take a board picture and automatically cut the content.
- The built-in sound noting function eliminates the need to use a third-party sound noting application.
Pricing
OneNote is a free app with a maximum file transfer limit set at 100MB. Users also get 5GB of cloud note storage space. You can as well purchase an Office 365 subscription to get 1TB of storage in all Office Online apps.
5. Google Keep: a lightweight note-taking app
Google Keep The digital notepad app from Google can be the perfect companion if you like to jot down plans that come to mind too often.
The lightweight note-taking app is designed to store notes and checklists on the go.
Google Keep is a cleverly designed combination of noting and reminder apps without any fancy functionality. In-app inputs are supported as text, images, videos, audio, and a checklist.
You can play with the colors to set an animated wallpaper for the notes. Google Keep also supports a location-based reminder feature.
Ease of synchronization
All of your notes are synced with Google Drive, so you can access your notes on all your devices and access your notes on the go.
Additional features
- You can search for notes based on the type of note, labels, and assigned color.
- By checking the checklist items, they are removed from the list and added to the list of completed tasks. This can be a satisfactory feature for regular checklist users.
- The “Contributors” option allows you to share notes with other users.
Pricing
Google Keep is a free notes app that does not charge for any functionality.
6. Zoho Notepad – the best notes app for visual thinkers
Notebook by Zoho app is for iPhone card-based notes, very similar to Google Keep.
With much more visual access to notes, Zoho Notebook is perfect for capturing and organizing text, images, videos, sound, and hand-drawn sketches.
You can sign in to your app with your Google accounts. Notes can be personalized using the options available with the keyboard.
This app is especially appealing to those who are visual thinkers.
Ease of Synchronization
Notes can be synced across devices and in the cloud so you can access them on the go. All changes are reflected in real-time.
Additional features
- A person’s note can be locked with a password and Touch ID.
- The app is free from annoying ads.
- Gesture controls for grouping notes.
- The first minute of the audio-note is transcribed using Apple speech recognition technology.
Pricing
Notebook by Zoho is a free noting app. You can create a limitless number of notes and notebooks without spending a dime.
7. Dropbox Paper – the best note-taking app for official notes
Dropbox Paper isn’t just a noting app. It is a valuable document-sharing service for those used to the Dropbox interface and stores their files there.
The app is designed to share notes with colleagues and other users.
Dropbox Paper offers the ability to create notes in text, image, video, audio, and link formats.
This can be an excellent note-taking app on your iOS device if you want a system where you can share your notes with different people or groups.
Ease of synchronization
The Dropbox Paper app is available on all iOS and Android devices. Your notes are synced across all devices, as well as Dropbox.
You can also access your notes without the internet, and all changes will sync once you reconnect to the internet.
Additional features
- The innovative task feature allows you to assign a task and add a due date.
- Events can be linked from your calendar (Outlook or Google Calendar) to your Dropbox Paper account.
Pricing
The Dropbox Paper app is available for free.
8. Quip: an efficient app for notes
Quip is a not-so-popular but very effective note-taking app for the iPhone that is designed for our focus on embellishing your notes.
You can add images, videos, text, to-do lists, etc. You can include spreadsheets in your notes, which is another helpful feature for businesses.
The app is designed as a one-stop solution for storing documents & communicating with your team members.
Using Quip, you can export your documents in PDF format and Microsoft Office. Spreadsheets can be exported to Microsoft Excel.
There are plenty of font designs to showcase your content.
Ease of synchronization
All your documents, spreadsheets, and conversations are available on iPad, MacBook, iPhone, and desktop.
Additional features
- You can import notes from Google, Evernote, and Dropbox.
- You can assign tasks to someone by mentioning their name with the prefix “@.”
- Talk to your colleagues using the chat room.
Pricing
The main version of Quip is free. If you’re a large organization, you can contact Quip Enterprise, which costs $25 per month per person.
9. Pages: Apple’s alternative to Microsoft Word
Those who own a Macbook should be familiar with the versatile Pages application, Apple’s alternative to Microsoft Word.
Instead of just being a note writer, Pages is a full-text editor. Apple offers pre-built templates for creating reports, resumes, reports, eBooks, and instant notes.
You can add images and audio files to notes.
Apple Pages is fully compatible with Microsoft Word so that you can export documents to PDF, Word, RT, and EPUB formats right from the app.
The page writing is also compatible with the Apple stylus. Built-in iCloud integration, the iPhone Notes app, makes it fast for those used to working between various Apple devices, including a Macbook, iPad, and iPhone.
Ease of synchronization
Notes created in the Pages app are accessible on all Apple devices through iCloud, and you can share notes with other users by simply exporting them to a variety of formats.
The iOS Notes app also offers a real-time collaboration that lets you see who is editing / viewing a document with you.
Additional features
- Choose from 70 Apple-designed templates for a quick start.
- The Track Changes feature allows you to tag a document as you edit it.
- Interactive EPUBs can be created and can be hacked and read in the original Apple Books app.
Pricing
Apple Pages is a free note-taking app for iPhones and iPad. You don’t have to buy the professional version. Apple provides all the main application functionality, which can be downloaded directly from the Apple App Store.
10. Simplenote: a minimalist and straightforward noting application
Automattic, the company behind WordPress, developed Simplenote. As the name suggests, Simplenote is simply a note-taking app for iPhone and nothing more.
You need to create/open an account to access Notes on various platforms. The app does not enable you to format text or add files to notes.
This can be a downside for many, but for those looking for a simple app for taking notes or making lists, Simplenote might be the app they would prefer.
Additional features
- Supports markup language for editing text and inserting images.
- Marks and pins to sort notes.
- Ease of synchronization
- Notes were created using Simplenote Sync on different platforms and downloaded Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux apps.
Pricing
Simplenote is a free note app for iOS and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store.
Note-taking Apps for iPad
The iPad, with its larger screen, is a more comfortable noting device. Many students and office visitors use an omnipotent noting device on the go.
All of the apps we mentioned above are compatible with iPad, and some even offer Apple Pencil support. You can choose between any of the above apps while taking notes on the iPad.
Final Words on the Best Note Apps for iOS
The list of the best note apps for iOS suggests that taking notes can vary from user to user.
Some users may want to take notes for personal use, while others may wish to notes for official purposes.
You can choose the best noting app based on your usage. From a neutral standpoint, if I had to pick one, I would go with Microsoft OneNote because it combines the functionality of transparent storage, organization, and note search.
Google Keep would be my second best note apps for iOS, followed by Evernote.
