Today there are 118 different writing apps for iPad. We spent 57 hours comparing the top 50 to find the seven best you can use to write on the world’s best tablet.
What is the Best Writing App for iPad?
- Scrivener — best of the best
- QuillBot — best AI writing assistant
- Ulysses — best minimalist app
- iA Writer — best distraction-free interface
- Pages — best from Apple
- Google Docs — best for cloud storage
- Microsoft Word — best feature-rich app
1. Scrivener
Our Verdict — Best Of The Best
Price: $23.99
Scrivener offers a real premium writing experience. We think it’s the best because of how easy and smooth it makes to manage your writing projects.
The Best Part:
- Powerful outlining functionality. Scrivener's Outliner feature helps you effortlessly plan, organize, and rearrange your projects.
The Worst Part:
- Steep learning curve. It might take some time for newcomers to get acquainted with all of Scrivener’s features.
Get it if you want a feature-rich app that allows you to write, edit, and manage your book projects from the comfort of your iPad.
I recommend you buy Scrivener from the App Store for $23.99.
(download now)
Best For
Scrivener is best for aspiring authors who want an all-in-one app to help them write, edit, and manage their book writing projects.
Top Features
- Visualize your plan. Organize your ideas with digital notecards on a customizable corkboard — perfect for visual thinkers.
- Write now, organize later. Piece together bits of text you've penned spontaneously and easily rearrange them with Scrivener's scrivenings mode.
- Make it feel like home. Tweak settings, toolbars, and layouts to create the perfect writing environment on your iPad.
- Write without distractions. Focus all of your attention on your words with Scrivener's full-screen composition mode, to block out all distractions.
- Keep up with your writing goals. Set word count goals for your project or individual sections to stay on track.
Pricing
Scrivener offers a single pricing plan:
- Scrivener for iOS: $23.99 one-time payment, for aspiring authors and dedicated writers who want a powerful, all-in-one writing tool on their iPads.
Try Scrivener today.
2. QuillBot
Our Verdict — Best AI Writing Assistant
Price: Starts at $8.33/month
QuillBot is an AI writing assistant that works alongside whatever app you draft in. We think it’s the best AI writing assistant because it rewrites, tightens, and proofreads your draft on the iPad itself, instead of sending you back to a laptop to clean things up.
The Best Part:
- Rewriting on tap. QuillBot hands you several versions of the same sentence, so you can pick the one that actually sounds like you instead of staring at the one you already wrote.
The Worst Part:
- The free plan runs out fast. You get two rewriting modes and 125 words per paraphrase before you hit the paywall, which is tight if you’re working through a full chapter.
Get it if you want a second pair of eyes on your writing while you draft on the iPad, rather than one more place to write.
I recommend you get started with the free plan, then upgrade to Premium for $8.33/month, billed annually.
(free plan)
Best For
QuillBot is best for writers who draft on their iPad and want AI help rewriting and proofreading without leaving the page they’re on.
Top Features
- Rewrite inside any app. Install the QuillBot keyboard and the Safari extension on your iPad and fix a sentence wherever you happen to be typing it.
- Pick the tone you meant. Cycle through the writing modes until the sentence lands somewhere between too stiff and too casual.
- Protect your key terms. Freeze the words you don’t want touched and let QuillBot rework everything around them.
- Catch it before you publish. Run the same draft through the grammar checker and the plagiarism checker without opening another tool.
- Write in more than English. Rewrite and proofread across 30+ languages, which matters if you draft in one and publish in another.
Pricing
QuillBot offers three pricing plans:
- Free: Free forever, for writers who want basic grammar fixes and up to 125 words per paraphrase.
- Premium: $8.33/month billed annually, for writers who want unlimited paraphrasing, advanced grammar suggestions, and the plagiarism checker.
- Team Plan: Custom pricing, for organizations that want centralized billing, team usage metrics, and a user management dashboard.
Annual subscriptions provide a 58% discount.
Try QuillBot today with the free plan.
3. Ulysses
Our Verdict — Best Minimalist App
Price: Starts at $5.99/month
Ulysses is a sleek, straightforward writing app made for iPad users. We think it’s the best minimalist app because of its clutter-free interface, which lets you keep your content tidy and clean.
The Best Part:
- Organization made easy. Ulysses lets you keep your content structured and tidy with its intuitive sheet grouping and library sorting options.
The Worst Part:
- Limited formatting options. Ulysses doesn’t have many of the fancy formatting options other writing apps offer, which could be a letdown for some users.
Get it if you want an intuitive writing app that covers the basics and keeps things simple for the minimalist in you.
I recommend you get started with the free trial, then go for the Yearly Plan for $39.99/year.
(free plan)
Best For
Ulysses is best for writers who want a minimalist writing environment that keeps them focused on their work.
Top Features
- Sync it up. Use iCloud integration to keep your work up to date at all times across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.
- It helps you keep your pace. Set word count or time-based goals and track your progress effortlessly.
- Your own space. Customize Ulysses with a variety of themes that suit your style, while keeping that minimalistic feel.
- Export in a snap. Ulysses makes it easy for you to convert and export your books to various formats, including PDF, HTML, and ePub.
- Search and find. Use the advanced search function to locate specific content within your library.
Pricing
Ulysses offers three pricing plans:
- Monthly Plan: $5.99/month for writers who prefer a flexible, short-term subscription for writing a book or two.
- Yearly Plan: $39.99/year for dedicated writers who are in it for the long haul and want the best bang for their buck.
- Student Offer: $10.99/six months for students.
The annual plan provides a 44% discount.
Try Ulysses today with the free trial.
4. iA Writer
Our Verdict — Best Distraction-Free Interface
Price: $19.99
iA Writer is the perfect iPad app for writers who want the digital version of a "pen and paper" experience. We think it’s the best distraction-free interface because it offers an immersive, distraction-free writing experience.
The Best Part:
- It’s all about focus. iA Writer’s full-screen mode allows you to completely immerse yourself in your writing without a single distraction.
The Worst Part:
- No free trial on iPad. iA Writer’s 7-day trial only covers the Mac and Windows versions — on iPad you pay the $19.99 up front.
Get it if you want a completely distraction-free writing environment that allows you to put all of your focus on your words and ideas.
I recommend you get iA Writer from the App Store for $19.99.
(download now)
Best For
iA Writer is best for writers who want a clean, distraction-free writing environment.
Top Features
- Swift cloud storage access. Access all of your docs within iA Writer’s intuitive Library, whether they’re stored in iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox.
- Favorites FTW. Mark your most-used files and folders as favorites to always keep ‘em handy.
- Stay organized. Set up custom rules for Smart Folders and watch your documents automatically get organized.
- Categorization made easy. Group your work using hashtags to categorize key chapters, themes, and ideas to easily locate while writing your book.
- Sort files your way. Personalize how you view your File List by sorting documents according to Name, Date, or Extension.
Pricing
iA Writer offers a single pricing plan:
iOS & iPadOS: $19.99 one-time payment, for writers who want lifetime access to a full-screen, distraction-free writing app.
Try iA Writer today via the App Store.
Our Top Three Picks
Here’s a quick summary of our top three picks:
Here’s a quick comparison of our top seven picks:
Tool | Entry Offer | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
Scrivener | None | $23.99 |
QuillBot | Free plan | Starts at $8.33/mo |
Ulysses | Free trial | Starts at $5.99/mo |
iA Writer | None | $19.99 |
Pages | None | Free forever |
Google Docs | None | Free forever |
Microsoft Word | None | Free forever |
Here are the top 50 best writing apps for iPad we considered in this review:
- Scrivener
- QuillBot
- Ulysses
- iA Writer
- Pages
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Word
- Bear
- Byword
- JotterPad
- Obsidian
- Storyist
- Fade In Mobile
- ProWritingAid
- Grammarly Keyboard
- Notion
- Evernote
- Simplenote
- Zoho Writer
- Celtx Script
- Quip: Docs, Chat, Spreadsheets
- FocusWriter
- Writemator
- Markdown & Rich Text Editor
- Textilus Pro
- Manuscript Writer
- WriteMapper
- Aeon Timeline
- Writer's Studio
- Day One Journal
- Drafts
- Penultimate
- GoodNotes
- Notability
- Nebo
- MindNode
- XMind: Mind Map
- iThoughts
- Scapple
- Mindly
- Editorial
- Story Planner for Writers
- yWriter
- Novlr
- Plottr
- Scrivo Pro
- Flowstate
- Hemingway Editor
- Readable
- Joplin
What to look for when buying writing apps for iPad?
- A comprehensive user manual and video tutorials for in-depth help
- Compatibility with Apple Pencil for a better writing experience
- Handwritten notes conversion and app for handwriting recognition
- A simple interface with tons of built-in AI tools
- Collaboration features with fellow writers
- Integration with calendar tasks, for the ultimate task management
- Tools for a better notetaking experience and daily to-do lists
- A clean approach to organization
- Version history capabilities
Frequently Asked Questions About Writing Apps for iPad
What is the best writing app for iPad?
Scrivener is our top pick for iPad writing. It leads a shortlist of seven we drew from a wider pool.
Are there free writing apps for iPad?
Yes. Three run free: Pages, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word. Pages is our pick from Apple, Google Docs for cloud storage, and Microsoft Word for a feature-rich option.
What makes Scrivener the best writing app for iPad?
You get a single-purchase app built for long-form, structured projects rather than a subscription. That is why it is our top pick.
Which iPad writing app is best for distraction-free writing?
iA Writer is the one to reach for when you want a distraction-free interface. It sits among our seven top iPad picks.
What is the best minimalist writing app for iPad?
Ulysses is our pick for a minimalist app. It sits alongside Scrivener and iA Writer on our recommended shortlist.
Which iPad writing app is best for markdown?
iA Writer is the one to reach for when you write in markdown. It keeps the syntax visible while you type, without turning your draft into a preview pane.
What should I look for when choosing a writing app for iPad?
Evaluate apps on available manuals and video tutorials, Apple Pencil compatibility, and handwriting recognition. Also weigh a simple interface with AI tools, collaboration, version history, and clear organization.
Which iPad writing apps are worth trying first?
Start with the seven we recommend: Scrivener, QuillBot, Ulysses, iA Writer, Pages, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word. We considered a wide field before narrowing to these.
Is Microsoft Word good for writing on iPad?
Yes. Microsoft Word is our pick for a feature-rich iPad app, and it is free. It is one of three free options, alongside Pages and Google Docs.
The Bottom Line
To recap, here are the best writing apps for iPad to try this year: