Years after the release of both the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil, it’s pretty easy to find some good apps designed for Apple Pencil. Of course, with so many options, it can be a bit difficult to find those app that really meet your needs.

If you are interested in knowing which Apple Pencil apps to use and which ones are the best, we’ve put together a list of the best apps for Apple Pencil. With these apps installed on your iPad Pro and with an Apple Pencil, you will be able to work in a much more agile and flexible way; especially in everything that refers to design, annotations, photo editing, drawing, etc.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the best Apple Pencil apps available on the App Store.

Best Apps for Apple Pencil 2022

1. Apple Notes

Before you jump into the other awesome Apple Pencil apps, don’t forget all that Apple Notes, which is the built-in notes app comes with Apple Pencil support.

For making a new note, you can open the app and then start writing with your Apple Pencil. You can doodle, draw or do whatever you want.

Click the pen icon at the bottom to display the toolbar. From here you can switch to a pen or marker tip and choose the color you want.

Click on the lasso tool icon to create a partition. With it, simply drag a part of the note and you can pick it up and move it around.

The best reason to use Apple Notes as a quick note-taking app on iPad is its integration with iOS. Tap the lock screen with your Apple Pencil and the Notes app will immediately open with a blank note or the last note you previously accessed.

2. Notability

Notability is designed to be multipurpose note taking app especially for students. When you open a note, you can choose to write with Apple Pencil or write with the keyboard (and you can easily switch between them).

Also, you can record audio in the background. This makes Notability the best tool for taking notes during a conference. You can change the background to display graph paper and write anything you need thanks to the infinite scroll feature. Notability also includes page breaks, making it easy to export notes as PDFs or print them later.

3. GoodNotes 5

GoodNotes 5 is a quite capable note-taking app for your iPad that comes with full support for Apple Pencil, allowing you to take handwritten notes in class or annotate your study material on the go. The app features optical hand recognition (OCR), allowing you to easily search your handwritten notes, and even comes with full keyboard support if you’re not too sure about your handwriting.

With built-in document management, you can use GoodNotes to store all your files, including PDF, Word, and PowerPoint files. The app is also available for iPhone and Mac.

4. Nebo

Nebo is a full-featured note taking app that is optimized for use with the Apple Pencil. With it, you can edit and format text and perform tasks such as adding or removing content and space, as well as decorating and applying different styles.

One of its main features is handwriting converter. When you use Apple Pencil to text, you can edit it and add it to different notes. When the note is finished, it can be converted to Word, PDF, HTML, or TXT.

5. Bear

Bear is mostly used by teachers, students, lawyers, and writers. With the app, you encrypt individual notes and lock the app with Face Touch ID. You will be able to edit and add tags to your notes to organize them by categories. Choose custom icons to highlight important labels in the sidebar.

Bear has several export options, including HTML, PDF, DOCX, MD, JPG, EPUB, and TextBundle (some options require Bear Pro).

6. Penultimate

As soon as you see this app, you can already get an idea of what its main value is. It has a very simple and minimalist interface, and that is exactly what makes it stand out from the rest. Its goal is to combine natural writing and the art of drawing without distractions. With it, you can take notes from class, meetings, write down thoughts, or even use it to sketch out your next big idea.

7. Adobe Photoshop

Are you a user of the desktop version of Photoshop? Then this app is for you. Adobe Photoshop Sketch lets you bring many of the features of popular Adobe software to your iPad and use them conveniently with Apple Pencil and other styluses.

Layers, pencils, markers, erasers, brushes… All this and much more in this app.

8. Paper

Paper is another great option if you’re looking for a simple and immersive drawing or sketch app that allows you to quickly create anything on the go. The app has a fairly simple and straightforward interface, with no buttons or dials to get in your way, and its fluid gesture navigation ensures that the user can access all the controls without any hassle.

Paper has a wide selection of tools to assist you in your drawings, including a quite capable auto-correction tool that converts rough drawings into straight lines and shapes to help you draw more professional looking parts.

Whether you draw at a professional or amateur level, just grab your pencil and start drawing.

9. Procreate

Developed by Savage Interactive, Procreate has long been popular with professionals and hobbyists who want to draw masterpieces on their favorite tablets. The app features 136 unique brushes, an advanced layer system, support for ultra-high-definition canvases up to 16k, 250 levels of undo and redo, and a QuickShape feature that lets you create shapes instantly.

This app is not as easy to use as the other apps on this list, but there are tutorials available online that will teach you everything you need to know about it. This extra work that you are doing will be worth it, since this app has the necessary tools for the creation of any piece you can imagine.

10. Linea Sketch

If you’re looking for an iPad app that allows you to draw with much greater precision, Linea Sketch has to be your pick. Whether it’s drawing or storyboarding, or prototyping an app’s interface, it excels at most aspects.

One of the highlights of this app is the color customization, which is very useful when you want your art to stand out. And with the wide range of preset colors at your disposal, choose the one that can brighten the whole appearance of your creativity remains easy.

As an artist, you’ll also find their library of a variety of grids, professionally designed templates, and 3D isometric lines very appreciable.

11. Affinity Designer

Created by Serif Labs, Affinity Designer is primarily based on the Mac app of the same name. You can use it to create illustrations, icons, typography, website, concept art, and more.

The app is fast and clean. Start creating the points and paths, and you’ll be on your way to creating an illustration. The features you’d expect from a good vector graphics app (pen tool, node tool, fill tool, live shapes) are all here, and simplified for a touch screen.

To make your job easier, Affinity has created three different modes: Vector, Pixel, and Export. Vector mode is for drawing, while Pixel mode is like using a raster app like Photoshop. If you use Affinity Designer to design graphics or user interfaces, Export mode makes it easy to export individual assets.

12. Pixelmator

Pixelmator is a powerful image editing app for iPad that comes with full support for Apple Pencil, allowing you to edit your images with great precision.

The app has beautiful templates, photo enhancement tools, and a wide range of effects to enhance or completely change the appearance of an image. On top of that, Pixelmator also offers drawing tools that will not only allow you to create art from scratch, but also allow you to add your own take to the images you are editing.

13. Splash Color

This app allows you to selectively add color to your photos to make them look amazing, with a unique look. Like Pixelmator, this is another app that really makes us appreciate the exact precision we can achieve using the Apple Pencil.

Color Splash is not an advanced editing app, but it is very easy to use and allows for some really cool and unique editing. The bitten Apple Pencil will give you more control over the little things, which will definitely make a big difference.

14. Shapr 3D CAD Modeling

In case you are looking for an app that allows you to create stunning 3D models on your iPad, then you should check out Shapr. As an impressive mobile CAD app, Shapr is ideal for everyone from engineers to architects who often have to create models.

Regardless of your level of experience, Shapr is quite easy to use and once you get the hang of it, you will be able to create some impressive models with the app. All of the modeling tools in the app are available for free, but if you want to transfer your models to other software, you will have to pay a premium.

15. Concepts

Concepts is the award-winning advanced drawing and design app for professional creators.

With infinite canvas and organic brushes, a fluid and responsive vector drawing engine, and intuitive precision tools, your design experience has never felt so natural. Whether you’re an architect, product designer, illustrator, or visual thinker, you can explore, iterate, and share your designs wherever you go.

16. Pigment

Coloring is known to reduce stress and anxiety. You can take a moment from your busy life and focus on coloring where it is meditative. And you don’t need to buy an adult coloring book or colored pencils to get started. All you need is an iPad coloring app called Pigment.

Pigment has a collection of over 4,000 pages for you to color. You are sure to find something that catches your eye, from simple nature drawings to intricate mandalas that you can really spend time with. The app includes 24 different types of pencils, markers, and brushes with which you can color your drawings with an almost unlimited number of colors.

Pigment even lets you share your colored drawings with friends on social media, email, or text messages, and even allows you to print the drawings directly via AirPrint.

17. DocuSign

Tasks such as printing, signing, scanning and sending emails can take up a lot of time. Luckily, there are apps like DocuSign on the App Store that will let you do this and more in no time.

You will notice the comfort that this app brings in that you will no longer need to print a document, sign it, scan it and send it by email. You will not need to get up from your table. Simply open the PDF document and sign it using your Apple Pencil.

18. PDF Expert

PDF Expert, as the name suggests, is an expert-level tool for people who frequently read PDFs on their iPad and want to use Apple Pencil to highlight, sign, and fill in PDFs on the go.

The app lets you add simple annotations to PDF files, such as highlighting, underlining, inserting pre-designed stamps into the file, and creating diagrams and outlines using the myriad of tools available at your disposal.

PDF Expert is definitely a must-have for anyone who want to read PDF productively on their iPad.

19. LiquidText

LiquidText is another great app that you can use to annotate and review documents on the go. The app allows you to collect and organize information across all your documents and web pages and use it to write reports or create preparation notes.

LiquidText offers full compatibility with a variety of different file formats, including support for PDF, Word and PowerPoint files, and also allows you to import content from web pages.

To keep all your notes easily accessible, LiquidText also has a powerful search function that allows you to search for keywords in all LiquidText documents.

20. MyScript Calculator

Need help with some tough math problems but can’t really use your regular calculator to get the job done? Check out MyScript Calculator, an easy-to-use app that lets you write down your math problems and get real-time results.

The app features a great set of operations, from simple addition and subtraction to complex trigonometric and logarithmic calculations, making it an excellent tool for students.

Go Pro with Apple Pencil Apps

Well, that completes our list of some of the best Apple Pencil apps available on the App Store right now. The apps can be used for a wide variety of use cases and I’m sure you’ll find something to fit your needs.

Get some of the best Apple Pencil apps and see what you can create.