The Top iPad Apps of 2026: Your Must-Have Guide

We chose Notability because it combines handwriting, typing, and sketching in one easy-to-use app. It lets you take notes, record lectures, and add multimedia, making it perfect for students, professionals, and creatives.

Notability is a versatile app that ranks among the top iPad apps for anyone looking to combine handwriting, sketching, and typing in a single elegant interface. Renowned for its flexible and intuitive design, Notability offers a variety of tools that make it indispensable for students, professionals, and creatives alike. Users can take notes, annotate PDFs, record lectures, and even sketch ideas effortlessly with the best free iPad apps. It is also counted as the top drawing apps for iPad.

The app supports a wide range of multimedia integrations, allowing you to add photos, web pages, and GIFs to your documents, making it a robust tool for presentations and projects. Its seamless synchronization across devices ensures that your notes are always accessible, whether you're on your iPad, iPhone, or Mac. With Notability, your iPad becomes a powerful tool for capturing your thoughts and creative ideas with precision and style.

We chose Procreate because it turns your iPad into a powerful digital canvas. It's easy to use, packed with features, and perfect for creating amazing art, whether you're a pro or just starting out.

Procreate is a game-changer for artists and designers, offering a comprehensive suite of tools that turns your iPad into a digital canvas. With its intuitive interface and expansive feature set, Procreate empowers users to create stunning illustrations, intricate paintings, and professional-grade designs with the touch of a finger or the stroke of an Apple Pencil. Procreate is also one of the best apps for designers.

One of the best free apps for iPad boasts hundreds of customizable brushes, advanced layering systems, and high-resolution canvases, allowing for an unparalleled level of detail and creativity. Whether you're a seasoned artist or a budding creator, Procreate's seamless performance and robust capabilities make it a top choice. Its ability to export in various file formats and compatibility with third-party styluses and keyboards enhances its versatility, solidifying Procreate as a must-have app for any creative toolkit.

We chose Adobe Lightroom for iPad because it’s powerful yet easy to use, handles high-quality RAW files, and syncs across devices. It offers advanced tools and tutorials, making photo editing simple and professional on the go.

Adobe Lightroom for iPad stands as a pinnacle in mobile photo editing, offering a powerful, yet user-friendly interface that caters to both amateur photographers and seasoned professionals. This comprehensive app brings advanced editing tools right to your fingertips, enabling you to enhance colors, refine details, and manipulate light with precision. Lightroom’s unique capability to handle large RAW files seamlessly makes it a standout choice for high-quality image processing on the go.

Additionally, its cloud syncing feature ensures that your projects are easily accessible across all devices. Plus, the best free apps for iPad facilitate a smooth workflow. With presets and intuitive tutorials, users can quickly learn techniques to transform their photos into stunning artworks. Whether you’re capturing landscapes, portraits, or street photography, Adobe Lightroom for iPad effortlessly elevates your images to professional levels.

We chose LumaFusion because it offers powerful video editing tools on iPad with an easy interface. It supports multi-track editing, 4K video, and includes advanced features like color correction, making it perfect for all creators.

LumaFusion is a premier video editing app designed specifically for iPad users who demand professional-grade tools on the go. Renowned for its intuitive interface and powerful performance, LumaFusion offers a multi-track editing environment where users can work with up to six video and audio tracks simultaneously. It is among the top iPad video players.

Ideal for filmmakers, journalists, and content creators, the app includes a suite of advanced features such as layer effects, keyframing, color correction, and a comprehensive library of royalty-free music and sound effects. Its ability to handle 4K video makes it exceptionally useful for high-resolution projects. Whether you're crafting a cinematic masterpiece or a simple vlog, LumaFusion streamlines the editing process, ensuring your final product is both polished and impactful.

We chose Nomad Sculpt for its easy-to-use interface and powerful tools, perfect for both beginners and experts. It allows for precise 3D modeling directly on an iPad, making creative work simple and mobile.

Nomad Sculpt revolutionizes 3D modeling and digital sculpting directly from your iPad, offering artists and designers an intuitive, powerful tool for creative expression. This app stands out with its user-friendly interface, making complex sculpting techniques accessible even to beginners. With a vast array of sculpting tools and advanced features like dynamic topology, multiresolution sculpting, and vertex painting, Nomad Sculpt allows for the precise creation and customization of 3D models.

Whether you’re crafting detailed characters, intricate architectural models, or abstract art, Nomad Sculpt handles it all with ease. Additionally, the app supports various file formats for easy integration into professional workflows, making it an indispensable tool for digital artists looking to unleash their creativity on the go.

We chose GoodLinks for its easy-to-use design, powerful tagging system, and no ads. It saves articles and videos for offline reading, works well with iPads, and keeps everything organized without subscription fees.

GoodLinks is a robust and user-friendly read-it-later app that’s perfect for iPad users who crave organization and efficiency. This app stands out by offering a sleek interface and powerful tagging system, allowing you to save articles, videos, and anything else you find online with ease. With no subscription fees or ads, GoodLinks provides a distraction-free environment to enjoy your saved content.

Whether you’re a researcher looking to collate resources or just someone who enjoys reading offline, GoodLinks enhances your experience by offering offline accessibility and customizable reading views. The app supports a wide range of formats and integrates smoothly with the iOS ecosystem, making it an indispensable tool for anyone looking to optimize their reading and content-saving practices on their iPad.

We chose Final Cut Pro for iPad for its professional-grade video editing on the iPad, offering ease and precision for all skill levels. Its touch-optimized features and seamless iCloud sync make creating top-quality videos simple and efficient.

Final Cut Pro for iPad brings professional-grade video editing to your iPad, empowering creatives to craft stunning visuals with unparalleled ease and precision. Designed for both novices and seasoned editors, this app leverages the robust power of the iPad to provide a seamless, touch-optimized editing experience. With features like advanced color grading, multi-cam editing, and magnetic timeline, you can manipulate video, audio, and graphics in real-time. It is also one of the best video editing apps.

The app supports 4K and HDR video, ensuring top-notch quality for your projects. Whether you're producing a cinematic masterpiece or a simple vlog, Final Cut Pro integrates effortlessly with your creative workflow, syncing across all your devices via iCloud. Ideal for filmmakers, marketers, and content creators aiming to elevate their visual storytelling, Final Cut Pro on iPad is a game-changer in mobile video editing.

We chose Things3 for iPad because it is easy to use, beautifully designed, and helps organize tasks effortlessly. With features like reminders and project milestones, it keeps us on top of everything in a simple way.

Things3 for iPad stands out as an exceptionally designed task management app, perfect for anyone looking to organize their life with elegance and simplicity. Renowned for its clean, intuitive interface, Things3 makes it effortless to manage daily tasks, projects, and deadlines. Whether you’re planning a major project or simply need to keep track of your grocery list, Things3 integrates all aspects of your life into a seamless workflow.

The app supports powerful features such as project milestones, customizable tags, and scheduled reminders, ensuring you stay on top of your commitments. With its unique Today view, you can focus on your immediate tasks while planning for the future is made easy with the Upcoming feature. Optimize your productivity on the go with Things3 for iPad—the ultimate tool for personal organization.

We chose Canva because it lets you easily create professional designs on your iPad. With its simple drag-and-drop interface and thousands of templates, anyone can make stunning graphics quickly, whether for work, school, or personal projects.

Canva is an indispensable app for iPad users seeking to create stunning, professional-quality designs with minimal effort. Perfect for both novices and seasoned designers, Canva offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that makes graphic design accessible to everyone. It offers thousands of customizable templates ranging from social media graphics to presentations and flyers. Canva ensures you can effortlessly express your creativity. Canva is also featured as one of the best AI logo generators and apps.

Its robust toolset includes a vast library of fonts, images, and illustrations, along with photo editing tools that let you fine-tune your visuals to perfection. Whether you're crafting marketing materials, personal projects, or educational content, Canva empowers you to bring your ideas to life on your iPad. With real-time collaboration features, it’s also ideal for team projects, making it a top choice for users looking to enhance their visual impact.

We chose Sofa because it beautifully organizes our leisure time, making it easy to manage watchlists, reading lists, and hobbies. Its user-friendly design turns planning downtime into a fun and simple task.

Sofa: Downtime Organizer is the ultimate iPad app for organizing and optimizing your leisure time. This beautifully designed app allows you to seamlessly manage your watchlists, reading lists, and hobby activities all in one intuitive interface. With Sofa, planning your downtime becomes a pleasure rather than a chore. You can categorize your interests, from movies to books to games, and even set reminders for personal downtime sessions.

Its user-friendly layout provides a visual snapshot of your planned relaxation activities, making it easy to track what you're currently enjoying and what's next on your list. Whether you're scheduling a movie marathon or planning your next reading escape, Sofa ensures your leisure time is as structured and satisfying as your workday, enhancing your overall work-life balance.