A sticky notes app for iPad, matched to what you need

The best sticky notes app for an iPad depends on the job. For quick notes and lists that sync to every Apple device, use Apple Notes. For a board of sticky notes you plan on, alone or with other people, use Freeform. Both are already on your iPad. TackNote is a sticky notes app for iPhone and iPad where one note holds the text, a checklist, photos and a recording with its transcript, pinned on a corkboard that widens on the iPad's bigger screen.

We make TackNote, so we have tried to be fair to the others and plain about where ours falls short. If you only want the answer, the questions below point you to a pick, and every answer they give is also written out in Which one fits you.

Is there a sticky notes app built into the iPad?

Not one called Stickies. On the Mac, Apple's Stickies app keeps notes on the desktop (Stickies User Guide), and that guide covers only the Mac. Two of Apple's own apps cover the same ground instead, and for many people one of them is all they need.

Apple Notes: quick notes that follow you everywhere

Apple Notes can hold checklists, sketches, photos, videos and web links, and it can scan and sign documents. You can pin your most important notes to the top, protect a note with a password, and with iCloud your notes stay up to date across all your devices. On a compatible iPad you can start an instant note from the Lock Screen with Apple Pencil, and since iPadOS 18 you can record and transcribe audio inside a note (Apple Support).

If your notes are mostly text and lists, and you want them on your iPhone and Mac as well, start here. It is free and already installed.

Freeform: a board of sticky notes

Freeform is the closest thing on the iPad to a wall of real sticky notes. You add sticky notes to a board alongside text, shapes, images and drawings, and you can draw with Apple Pencil or a finger. Apple says it "really starts to shine when you collaborate with other people," because several people can work on the same board at the same time (Apple Education, iPad User Guide).

If you are planning a project, sorting ideas or running a workshop, Freeform is built for that.

A widget sticky notes app

The App Store has many apps made just for sticky notes. One of them, Sticky Notes: Free Note Taking by Epiphany Labs, is designed for iPad, needs iPadOS 15 or later, puts notes and to-do lists in Home Screen widgets, and says you can reach your notes on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It is free with in-app purchases (App Store).

If you want a short note on your Home Screen all day, a widget app like this one is the simple answer. Check the listing for what the free version includes.

TackNote: one note that holds all of it

TackNote for iPhone also runs on iPad, from the same App Store listing. It is built for notes that are more than a line of text: the meeting with its recording and transcript, the shopping list with a photo of the part, the sketch next to the to-dos.

• A corkboard that uses the screen. Notes are paper cards in six colors on a cork board. A phone shows two columns, and an iPad shows three, four or five as the window gets wider. An open note stays at a comfortable reading width instead of stretching across the display.
• Every orientation. The iPad can be held in portrait or landscape, either way up.
• Draw with Apple Pencil or a finger. A note can be text, a checklist, text and a checklist together, or a sketch.
• Record onto the note. Tap the microphone and the words appear as people speak, transcribed on the device. Recording keeps going with the screen locked, and the audio stays under the transcript. With Apple Intelligence turned on, the sparkles button writes a summary.
• Photos and video. Take them with the camera or add them from your library, right onto the note.
• Reminders and projects. Give a note a time reminder, file it in a project and a sub-folder, and search names, text, checklists, transcripts and place names.
• Encrypted, with no account. Notes are sealed on the device with AES-256, and there is nothing to sign up for.
• One purchase per Apple ID. Everything works free for 7 days, then $24.99 once. On another iPhone or iPad with the same Apple ID, tap Unlock or restore in Settings.

Our guide to sticky notes apps for iPhone walks through the same app on a phone, and recording a meeting and getting notes covers the recording side in detail.

The four side by side

Using TackNote on an iPad with a Mac

Turn on the Mac sync switch in TackNote's Settings and the notes you make go to TackNote for Mac (version 1.4 or later, a separate purchase) through your own iCloud. They wait on the Mac's TackBoard, in From phone, until you put them somewhere. On the Mac, TackNote does a different job: a note is tacked to a window, a browser tab, a document or a folder, and shows up only when that work is in front. Notes stuck to a window, an app or a file on the Mac stay on the Mac. Our post on syncing sticky notes between a Mac and an iPhone covers the other options.

Where TackNote falls short on iPad

• It needs iPadOS 26 or later. An older iPad cannot run it. Apple Notes and Freeform are the place to start there.
• Sync is built around the Mac. The sync switch sends notes to TackNote for Mac. We do not promise that an iPad and an iPhone will share notes with each other, so if that matters most, Apple Notes does it through iCloud.
• Summaries need Apple Intelligence. Recording and transcripts work without it. The summary button asks you to turn Apple Intelligence on.
• It is not free forever. After the 7 days, every note stays readable, searchable and shareable, and one payment of $24.99 lets you make and change notes again. No subscription.
• The app and its screens say iPhone. It is one app for both, so the App Store listing and our pages call it TackNote for iPhone.

Which one fits you

• Quick text and lists that should be on every Apple device: use Apple Notes.
• A board to plan on, alone or with other people: use Freeform.
• A short note on your Home Screen all day: try a widget app such as Sticky Notes: Free Note Taking.
• Notes that hold recordings, photos and lists, on an iPad with iPadOS 26 or later: use TackNote for iPhone, which runs on iPad.
• The same, and you also work on a Mac: use TackNote on the iPad with TackNote for Mac, and turn on sync so your notes reach the Mac.
• Your iPad is older than iPadOS 26: TackNote will not run on it. Use Apple Notes, which can record and transcribe audio in a note from iPadOS 18.

Common questions

Is there a sticky notes app built into the iPad?

Not one called Stickies, but two Apple apps cover it. Freeform has sticky notes you place on a board, and Apple Notes handles quick notes and checklists and keeps them in sync through iCloud.

Does TackNote work on iPad?

Yes. TackNote for iPhone runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 or later. On an iPad the board widens to three, four or five columns, and you can draw on a note with Apple Pencil or a finger.

Do you pay again for TackNote on an iPad?

The unlock is an App Store purchase tied to your Apple ID. On another iPhone or iPad signed in with the same Apple ID, tap Unlock or restore in Settings.

Do TackNote notes on iPad sync with a Mac?

With sync turned on, the notes you make go to TackNote for Mac (version 1.4 or later, a separate purchase) through your own iCloud, and wait on the Mac's TackBoard. Notes stuck to a window, an app or a file on the Mac stay on the Mac.