Best Annotating Apps

180+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.5 avg rating
18 free apps
Updated June 2026

With an average user rating of 4.5★, the annotating category is one of the App Store's strongest. Browse all 180+ apps we track, sorted so the most loved ones surface first.

Compare top Annotating Apps (June 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1Annotable: Annotation & MarkupAnnotable: Annotation & MarkupFree4.6★ (894)NoYesSep 2026
2Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDFGoodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDFFree4.7★ (455K)NoYesSep 2026
3Noteful: Notes & PDF MarkupNoteful: Notes & PDF MarkupFree4.8★ (24K)NoYesSep 2026
4Notability: AI Notes & PlannerNotability: AI Notes & PlannerFree4.8★ (457K)NoYesSep 2026
5Drawboard PDF Annotate, MarkupDrawboard PDF Annotate, MarkupFree4.8★ (1.9K)NoYesSep 2026
6iAnnotate 4 — PDFs & moreiAnnotate 4 — PDFs & more$9.994.7★ (8.9K)NoNoSep 2026
7Annot8: Annotation & MarkupAnnot8: Annotation & MarkupFree3.5★ (11)NoYesMay 2026
8Annotate - Text, Emoji, Stickers and Shapes on Photos and ScreenshotsAnnotate - Text, Emoji, Stickers and Shapes on Photos and ScreenshotsFree4.4★ (478)NoNoMay 2026

Top Picks for Annotating

Annotable: Annotation & Markup#1

Annotable: Annotation & Markup by 凌 王

Image Annotation & Markup
Editor's Choice
📷 Photo & Video
4.6😊(894 ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
Annotable: Annotation & Markup screenshot 1
Annotable: Annotation & Markup screenshot 2
Annotable: Annotation & Markup screenshot 3
Annotable: Annotation & Markup screenshot 4
Annotable: Annotation & Markup screenshot 5

This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for annotating and marking up images. It offers a wide range of customization options for common annotation elements and unique features like text highlighting on screenshots. The app supports various iOS system integrations for a seamless user experience.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Game changer
  • 🚀 Excellent—the built-in iOS markup features pale in comparison
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Fantastic!
  • 👍 Amazing App
  • 👍 Nice lightweight image editor
  • 👍 Fantastic!
  • 👍 Easy simple to use
  • 👍 Wonderful app - must have
  • 👍 Great all-in-one app
  • 👍 Use it all the time
  • 👍 Top app
  • 👍 Highly recommend this app!!
  • 👍 Absolutely Amazing!!
  • 👍 Really handy little app...
  • 👍 The best image annotation tool on iOS
  • 👍 high recommend
  • 👍 Très bonne application!!
  • 👍 Great annotation tool
  • 👍 Best annotation app there is!
  • 👍 Does what it says on the tin
  • 👍 A must have
  • 👍 Easy yet powerful
  • 👍 Amazing !
  • 👍 Best of breed App
  • 👍 Simple and very functional
  • 👍 A Really Good Apo
  • 👍 Wow!
  • 👍 Great little app
  • 👍 Brilliant app
  • 👍 Very useful app

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Blur broken ios26
  • 🔒 Can't undo
  • 💰 Paid app, free version is worthless
  • 💰 Everything is locked behind a pay wall
  • 💰 Extremely frustrating to use
  • 💰 Too many features need $$
  • 💰 Too expensive!!
  • 💰 A little rich
  • 💰 Pourquoi payer??
  • 🐛 Can't cope with a pencil
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF#2

Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF by Goodnotes Limited

Note taking, Planner & Journal
Strong Contender
📊 Productivity
4.7😊(455K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
#85in Productivity
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF screenshot 1
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF screenshot 2
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF screenshot 3
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF screenshot 4
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF screenshot 5
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF screenshot 6

Capture ideas, enhance productivity, and unlock insights with advanced AI features. This app offers tools for professionals, students, and creatives, including infinite whiteboards, AI-powered transcription and summarization, and customizable digital notebooks.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Excellent note-taking experience
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🚀 Smooth writing with Apple Pencil
  • 📁 Powerful organization with folders and notebooks
  • 🖼️ Ability to annotate PDFs and documents
  • 🌈 Customizable paper styles and covers

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Glitches and crashes
  • 🔍 Syncing and iCloud issues
  • 🔍 Lack of flexibility with text input
  • 🔍 Limited eraser and highlighting options
  • 🔍 Subpar performance on Mac app
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup#3
4.8😊(24K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 1
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 2
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 3
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 4
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 5
Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup screenshot 6

This app revolutionizes paperless note-taking on iPad, allowing for handwritten notes, document annotation, and knowledge organization. It offers a fluid writing experience, PDF markup, powerful tagging, and audio recording synced with notes.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Smooth writing experience
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 💡 Layers feature
  • 👍 Affordable one-time purchase
  • 🚀 Efficient and lightweight
  • 👍 Great organization with tags and folders
  • 👍 Customizable UI

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔍 No handwriting recognition or search
  • 🔍 Limited text editing options
  • 🔍 Lack of advanced features like math conversion
  • 🔍 Exporting PDFs loses some formatting

More Annotating apps to explore

FAQ about Annotating

What are the best annotating apps for iPhone?
Annotable: Annotation & Markup tops our annotating apps ranking as of June 2026, with a 4.6-star average from 894 App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 18 of the top annotating apps we rank are free to download, including Annotable: Annotation & Markup and Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF.
Annotable: Annotation & Markup has no ads and offers in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of June 2026.
We track 180+ annotating apps on the iOS App Store as of June 2026, ranked by rating, recency, and analysis of real user reviews.
Annotable is a comprehensive tool for annotating and marking up images. It allows users to add various elements like rectangles, text, and arrows, and offers features for obscuring or highlighting specific areas. It also includes unique capabilities like highlighting text directly on screenshots.
Key features include a full set of common annotation tools, extensive customization for colors and sizes, blur and pixelation effects, spotlights, loupes for focus, and the ability to highlight text on screenshots. It also supports high-resolution output and works with all image types.