9 Best Writing Apps for iPad, Tested on My Own iPad

I have written and published a lot of work from an iPad: articles, blog posts, edits on other writers’ drafts, and sections of my own books. It is a genuinely good writing machine once you set it up properly.

These are the nine apps I actually use on it, with pricing verified in August 2026. I have left out the apps I do not use, because a roundup of things I have never opened is not much use to you.

First, buy a keyboard

This matters more than which app you pick.

An iPad without a keyboard is a reading device. With one it becomes a laptop that does not tempt you into checking twelve browser tabs. I have used Logitech keyboards, which work well with an iPad Pro, and Apple’s own keyboard, which cost me a little over two hundred dollars and is more enjoyable to type on.

Either is a better investment than upgrading from a free writing app to a paid one. If you are shopping, see the best keyboards for writers.

1. Ulysses

Price: $5.99 per month or $39.99 per year, covering Mac, iPad and iPhone. Verified on ulysses.app/pricing on 21 August 2026.

This is the app I use most on the iPad. It supports markdown, it is a minimalist writing app that clears everything off the screen, and it syncs seamlessly with the Mac version, so I can start an article at my desk and finish it on the iPad.

On the far left you get your library: everything from the last seven days, your iCloud inbox, and anything tagged. Select an article and you can hide the library, hide the sidebar, and write full screen. The export button publishes to your site or saves as PDF or Word.

Split-screen view lets you keep two documents side by side, which is how I review notes while editing. You need a larger iPad for that to be worth much.

The one downside is the price. $39.99 a year, every year, will put off writers on a budget.

Read the full Ulysses review.

2. iA Writer

Price: One-time per platform. iPhone and iPad $49.99, Mac $49.99, Windows $29.99. 7-day free trial. Verified on ia.net/writer/pricing on 21 August 2026.

The other minimalist markdown app I keep on the iPad. It works much like Ulysses: sync through iCloud, format in markdown, hit play to preview, share to export as a Word file, text file, or straight to your site.

It hides its interface completely for full-screen writing and it has a pleasing design and typeface that stays out of the way.

A more recent addition is interlinking. Type two square brackets and the title of another note and iA Writer pulls in the link, so you can navigate a library of hundreds of notes.

When I first recorded this, that was a genuine edge over Ulysses. It no longer is: Ulysses has since added internal links and an incoming-links panel of its own, so treat this as parity rather than a reason to choose between them.

The economics changed since I first recommended it. At $49.99 per platform it is no longer cheaper than Ulysses in year one, but you buy it once and keep it, so over three or four years it comes out ahead.

Read the full iA Writer review.

3. Obsidian

Price: The app is free. Optional Sync is $4 per user per month billed annually. Verified on obsidian.md/pricing on 21 August 2026.

I use Obsidian for a personal knowledge base of notes, research and ideas, and I add to it on the iPad constantly. It is where I outline articles and capture ideas for books.

It sits on top of a folder of markdown files, syncing through iCloud or Obsidian’s own paid sync, which I have found reliable. Because it does not own your files, you are not locked in: I can open any note I have taken in Obsidian with iA Writer or Ulysses instead.

The feature I use most is linking between notes. A reading list note links across to my creativity notes and I follow the link rather than searching. On an iPad with a keyboard, command-shift-N opens two notes side by side, so I can have my notes from a book on the left and what I am writing about it on the right.

There is a learning curve. It is free, so trying it costs nothing.

4. Apple Notes

Price: Free, built into iPadOS.

I would be leaving something out if I did not mention Apple Notes. It is free, the sync across iPad, iPhone and Mac is rock solid, there is no learning curve, and Apple has improved it steadily for years.

I use it for quick capture: checklists, a link I want to watch later, a thought I want on my Mac in five seconds. Recently that included a kit checklist for a triathlon.

What I do not do is write long-form in it, because it is a rich text editor and rich text carries formatting quirks into WordPress. That is a preference about how I publish, not a fault in the app. If you want a free writing app on an iPad and you are not publishing to the web, it is hard to go wrong here.

5. Scrivener

Price: US$23.99 for iOS and iPadOS, verified on the Literature and Latte store on 21 August 2026. The Mac app is a separate $59.99 purchase, verified on its Mac App Store listing the same day, with a 30-day free trial of the desktop version.

When I am writing a book, I use Scrivener, because it is built for managing long projects: chapters and acts as sections you drag around, and strong compile options for self-publishing.

The iPad app opens your existing project and shows the same left-hand sidebar as the desktop version. You can go full screen, change formatting for chapter headings and body text, open other documents inside the project, and search. I used it to edit chapters of my last book.

Two quirks to plan around. Sync runs through Dropbox, not iCloud, so you have to set that up. And you must remember to sync when you finish, which none of the other apps here require. Get that wrong and you will have two versions of a chapter.

Read the full Scrivener review.

6. Google Docs

Price: Free with a Google Account.

Google Docs is a good iPad writing app, it syncs instantly, and it is the right choice when someone else needs to comment on your draft. I use it for editing more than writing.

Open a file, tap the pencil, edit. Sharing and comments work the way you expect.

The reasons I do not live in it: I prefer markdown to Google’s formatting, and finding a specific document again means scrolling through everything unless you have been disciplined about starring files. For bigger projects I find Ulysses or iA Writer easier.

7. Pages

Price: Free, listed as free on the App Store, verified 21 August 2026.

If you have an iPad you already have Apple’s word processor, and it is good. Templates, a table of contents you can navigate, sharing and export, and a sidebar you can hide for something closer to a minimalist experience.

There is a book template that will download and give you a formatted manuscript to type into. Personally I find that backwards: I would rather have the manuscript written, copy edited and line edited before it goes anywhere near a template. You can also just open a blank document and start writing, which is what I would do.

Like Apple Notes it is rich text rather than markdown.

8. Byword

Price: $5.99 for the iPhone and iPad app on the App Store. The Mac app is a separate $10.99 purchase. Verified on both App Store listings on 21 August 2026.

Byword is a cheaper minimalist markdown app. It will not manage a big project, but if you are writing blog posts or short articles it costs a fraction of the others.

It syncs with your iCloud library and with Dropbox, and it can open files from elsewhere on the iPad, so you can draft in iA Writer or Ulysses and edit in Byword if that suits you.

I have used it on and off. I think Ulysses and iA Writer look better and I prefer their extra features. Buy it with your eyes open, though: the iOS listing shows version 2.9.3, released in April 2020, so the iPad app has had no update in more than six years. It still works and it is cheap. It is not being developed.

9. LivingWriter

Price: Subscription. I could not verify the current figure from LivingWriter’s own pricing page in August 2026, so check it directly before you sign up.

LivingWriter is built for authors and novelists rather than for bloggers. Its selling point is story templates: you pick a structure like the hero’s journey, name your story, and it populates the outline with each stage and tooltips explaining what belongs in it. For a first novel that scaffolding is genuinely time-saving.

The iOS app is more bare-bones than the web version. You go into your project and write chapters or sections. It can be slow to load and sync, and it does not have Scrivener’s depth.

It is the alternative to Scrivener worth looking at if what you want is a structure to write into rather than an empty binder.

How I tested these

I spent months writing on an iPad Pro with a keyboard, drafting articles and blog posts, editing other writers’ work, and editing chapters of my own book. Every app here is one I have used on that setup, not one I read about. Pricing was re-verified against each vendor’s own page or App Store listing on 21 August 2026, and any figure I could not confirm has been left out rather than guessed at.

What I would actually do

I use Ulysses the most, because it supports markdown, has the document management I need, and publishes straight to my sites. I like iA Writer nearly as much and would buy it instead if I did not want a subscription. I use Scrivener for books and Obsidian for notes, and I reach for Google Docs or Apple Notes when I need something free and fast.

The real advice: pick one app that suits your workflow and your budget, and stick with it. Hunting for the perfect writing app is one of the more convincing forms of procrastination available to a writer.

Related Writing Software & iPad Setup Guides

• Ulysses Review: How I manage sheets, chapters, and one-click WordPress/Ghost publishing on iPad and Mac.
• iA Writer Review: Why iA Writer ($49.99 one-time) is the best subscription-free markdown app for iPad.
• Scrivener Review: Deep dive into Scrivener 3 for desktop and iPad, including how to avoid Dropbox sync conflicts.
• Best Keyboards for Writers: Tested mechanical and low-profile keyboards that turn an iPad or Mac into a serious drafting desk.
• ProWritingAid Review: The 25-report book editing tool I run once my iPad draft moves back to the desktop.
• Best Markdown Editors, Best Note-Taking Apps, Best Free Writing Software, and our main Writing Software Hub.