With its larger screen (than smartphone), iPad is the best device when it comes to handwriting. With additional help of Apple Pencil, handwriting has gone to another level with iPad. But, before getting started with your handwriting process, you need to pick an app that is best suited for your need.

There are a number of handwriting apps available in the Apple’s App Store that are developed specifically for iPad and iPad Pro. Some are available for free some require you to pay some dollars.

iPad is basically has a default app, Note, which enable to write by hand to pour your creative idea into a beautiful scratch. But, you may find this app comes with lacks of feature or simply it doesn’t suit you.

Here are the list of top handwriting apps for iPad that you can try.

1. Penultimate

Let’s start with the free ones. By the way, are you an Evernote user? If so then Penultimate will be a perfect completion. Yes right, you can create handwritten notes directly from Evernote app. But, if you need a specific app for taking some handwritten notes, Penultimate is probably something you need. Penultimate is a part of Evernote so it’s also integrated with its parent. Penultimate gives you only one pen but, you can pick from five different nib sizes. And you can quickly change the colour and highlight documents.

2. Paper

If you have been an iPad user for a long enough period, chance that you have experienced a moment where you need a tool like stylus. FiftyThree Pencil is one of the famous names in this terms and the company has its own application to enable get the most out of FiftyThree Pencil. It’s called Paper.

Paper comes with nicer selection of drawing tools, including a stylus that is much slicker to write with than the regular pen. The app also lets you picking any color based on your flavor. It’s also possible for you to apply some scratches over an image using this app. FiftyThree Pencil is available for free.

3. Notability

Whether you are a student, professional or teacher who is looking for a paid app to write by hand on the iPad device, Notability is a nice choice you can consider. Priced $9.99, Notability comes with a simple interface similar to Apple’s Note. The app also lets you to customize the paper style so you don’t have to stick with a monotonous style. With this app you can draw figures in a large, separate window and add them to graphics.

Apart from blank paper, you can also add some creative scratches to PDFs or images. Notability also supports auto sync to iCloud. Not enough? You can also effortlessly back up your notes to Dropbox, Google Drive and Box.

4. MetaMoJi Note

MetaMoJi Note is a great app to handle multiple notes at the same time. This app comes with a tabbed interface to enable easily jump from the current note to another. Just tap the note you want to switch to and you will be brought there. MetaMoJi Note has a basic toolset, but you can quickly access different coloured strokes and a highlighter. You can also use this tool to annotate a PDF file. MetaMoJi is a freemium app. While you can use this app for free you can also upgrade to the pro version if you need more features from the app.

5. Smart Writing Tool

Another premium app that you may want to try. Just like other apps on this list, Smart Writing Tool also helps you to create handwritten notes or adding scratch to PDFs or images. Those who get bored seeing regular digital text, but want to going paperless, can use this app to create handwritten notes and keep them whether on the local storage or online. If you have an Evernote or Dropbox account you can use them to store your handwritten notes and access them anytime you want. The app is priced $10.99.

6. Noteshelf

Last but not least. Noteshelf is another handwriting app that is designed for iPad device. Combined with Apple Pencil or your favorite stylus brand, you can create remarkable handwritten notes or scratches using this app. Apart from notes, you can also draw beautiful shapes, annotate PDFs, sketch ideas and more things that involve your hand. This app is priced $10.99. It also supports integration with other services including Evernote, Google Drive, Dropbox and Box.