Best Highlighter Pen Apps

196+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.5 avg rating
19 free apps
Updated May 2026

The best highlighter pen apps on iPhone average 4.5★ across 196+ titles — we've ranked them by what real users actually keep on their phones. Updated May 2026.

Top Picks for Highlighter Pen

Highlighter Pen Line Strokes#1

Highlighter Pen Line Strokes by Gusztav Hoffer

Skip CAPS Lock, Draw Emotion!
Editor's Choice
💌 Stickers
5.0(1 ratings)
$2.99
Highlighter Pen Line Strokes screenshot 1
Highlighter Pen Line Strokes screenshot 2
Highlighter Pen Line Strokes screenshot 3
Highlighter Pen Line Strokes screenshot 4

Add emphasis to your messages with bold, transparent stickers. Highlight important parts of conversations with animated strokes in various sizes. Perfect for drawing attention to memes, typos, or anything that matters.

Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup#2

Noteful: Notes & PDF Markup by Noteful Technologies Ltd

Highlight. Write. Learn.
Strong Contender
📊 Productivity
4.8😊(22K 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

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔍 No handwriting recognition or search
  • 🔍 Limited text editing options
Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF#3

Goodnotes: AI Notes, Docs, PDF by Goodnotes Limited

Note taking, canvas & work app
Worth Considering
📊 Productivity
4.7😊(431K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
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

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Glitches and crashes
  • 🔍 Syncing and iCloud issues
  • 🔍 Lack of flexibility with text input

More Highlighter Pen apps to explore

4
Image to text - Highlighted
Image to text - Highlighted
Image to text - Highlighted
Book highlighter
Free

Capture, organize, and revisit key passages from your books with advanced text recognition. Create collections, add tags and notes, and easily export your highlights. Stop forgetting what you read and make your reading more impactful.

Text recognitionBook collectionsTags and notes
📚 Books
(249)
free with in-app purchases
5
Black Highlighter: Redact Text
Black Highlighter: Redact Text
Black Highlighter: Redact Text
Censor & secure screenshots
Free

Easily hide sensitive information in photos and screenshots. The Magic Highlighter automatically detects text and covers it perfectly, ensuring no details are missed. Advanced features allow for automatic redaction of specific information and custom shortcuts for streamlined workflows.

Magic Highlighter for automatic text detectionMultiple color options for redactionImport images from Photos
📷 Photo & Video
(86)
free with in-app purchases
6
Notability: AI Notes & PDF app
Notability: AI Notes & PDF app
Notability: AI Notes & PDF app
Write, type, annotate, draw
Free

Capture, organize, and enhance your thoughts with a versatile digital notebook. Seamlessly blend handwriting, typing, and multimedia to annotate documents, record lectures, and generate summaries. Ideal for students and professionals seeking to boost productivity and learning.

Handwritten and typed notesPDF and document annotationAudio recording and transcription
📊 Productivity
(450K)
freemium
7
Notion: Notes, Tasks, AI
Notion: Notes, Tasks, AI
Notion: Notes, Tasks, AI
Task & project management app
Free

This AI-powered workspace helps you write notes, manage tasks, organize projects, and collaborate with others. It offers features like AI meeting notes and interactive maps to streamline your workflow for personal, student, or professional use.

AI-powered note-taking and summarizationTask and project managementCollaborative workspace
📊 Productivity
(88K)
free with in-app purchases
8
Lux Draw
Lux Draw
Lux Draw
Paint,sketch neon glow pen art
Free

Create unique art with light-inspired tools and gritty textures. Draw from scratch or enhance photos with glow pens and special effects. Offers advanced features like HDR brushes and Apple Pencil support for a professional artistic experience.

Live-calculated HDR brushesGlow Pen, Hot Pen, Light SpheresGritty paper/canvas textures
🎨 Graphics & Design
(871)
free with in-app purchases
9
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
25+ Pens to Take Better Notes
Free

This app offers a comprehensive note-taking experience with advanced tools for digital planning, PDF markup, and flashcard creation. It features a wide array of pens, handwriting stabilization, and AI-powered assistance for enhanced productivity and creativity. Organize, secure, and share your notes seamlessly across devices.

25+ pens and brushesPDF, PPT, DOC markupFlashcard creation
📊 Productivity
(13K)
free with in-app purchases
10
Notes Writer: PDF, Voice, AI
Notes Writer: PDF, Voice, AI
Notes Writer: PDF, Voice, AI
PDF Editor, Pens, Notepad, AI
Free

This app is a comprehensive note-taking and PDF editing solution for mobile devices. It allows users to write, format, and organize notes, annotate PDFs, fill forms, and scan documents. The app offers advanced editing tools, powerful search, and seamless sharing and export options.

Write and format notesAnnotate PDFs and fill formsOrganize with unlimited notebooks
📊 Productivity
(7.2K)
free with in-app purchases
11
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter
PDF Expert: Editor & Converter
Edit, Sign, Convert Documents
Free

This app allows you to edit, annotate, fill out forms, and convert PDF documents. It offers AI-powered summarization and analysis, along with tools to merge, sign, and protect your files. Work seamlessly across Apple devices with a user-friendly interface.

Edit PDF text and imagesAnnotate and highlight PDFsFill out PDF forms
📊 Productivity
(215K)
free with in-app purchases
12
MyScript Notes: AI Handwriting
MyScript Notes: AI Handwriting
MyScript Notes: AI Handwriting
Smart note taking, PDF & study
Free

Transform handwritten notes into editable text with advanced AI. Brainstorm on an infinite canvas, annotate PDFs, and create structured documents. Supports 66 languages and works across devices.

AI handwriting recognitionInfinite canvas for brainstormingPDF annotation
📊 Productivity
(38K)
free with in-app purchases
13
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Edit Research Documents/Books
Free

This app is a fast and lightweight PDF reader designed for research. It allows users to read, highlight, and annotate documents, and then extract this information into organized notes. Advanced features include table data extraction, text recognition, and smart copying of annotations into various formats.

Read and browse PDF documentsHighlight, underline, and strikethrough textAdd comments and sticky notes
📊 Productivity
(1.6K)
freemium
14
PDF Highlighter - Read & Edit
PDF Highlighter - Read & Edit
PDF Highlighter - Read & Edit
by Jaydeep Dhameliya
Free

Easily edit and highlight text, photos, and documents directly on your phone. This app provides realistic highlighting tools and drawing functions to mark important sections of PDFs and images, allowing you to save and share your annotated files.

Edit and highlight PDF files and photosUse realistic highlighter pen toolFreehand drawing with pen, line, arrow, rectangle, and circle tools
📊 Productivity
(1)
free
15
Digital Planner – Task Journal
Digital Planner – Task Journal
Digital Planner – Task Journal
Routine List & Notes Tracker
Free

This app combines a daily planner with creative tools to organize your life and express your imagination. Create habit trackers, to-do lists, and reading lists, all while using colorful templates, stickers, and brushes. It also features AI art generation to add unique visuals to your pages.

Habit trackersTo-do listsReading and movie lists
📊 Productivity
(14K)
free with in-app purchases
16
Excerpt - The Book Highlighter
Excerpt - The Book Highlighter
Excerpt - The Book Highlighter
Scan books and compile notes
Free

Capture and organize quotes and images from physical books using your device's camera. Add notes, customize highlighter colors, and share your findings. Export your compiled excerpts into a PDF for easy reference.

Scan book pages with cameraCapture quotes and imagesAdd notes to excerpts
📊 Productivity
(36)
free with in-app purchases
17
Werdsmith: Writing App
Werdsmith: Writing App
Werdsmith: Writing App
Write poetry, scripts, books
Free

This app transforms your devices into a writing studio, helping you overcome writer's block with AI-powered suggestions and build a consistent writing practice. It automatically handles formatting, allowing you to focus on your creative process.

AI-powered writing suggestionsDaily writing practice builderAutomatic formatting
📊 Productivity
(7.8K)
freemium
18
CiteLighter
CiteLighter
CiteLighter
Highlight Text in Images!
Free

Easily highlight text from images of books or articles. Capture text from photos or screenshots and emphasize key passages by blurring the surrounding content.

Highlight text from imagesCapture text from photosCapture text from screenshots
📚 Books
(29)
free
19
Marker & Highlighter Stickers
Marker & Highlighter Stickers
Marker & Highlighter Stickers
Fun scribbles for everyday use
Free

Enhance your messages with over 120 colorful marker and highlighter stickers. Perfect for correcting text, decorating photos, expressing emotions, and adding quick reactions to your conversations.

Over 120 stickersMarker and highlighter stylesMultiple colors
💌 Stickers
(2)
free with in-app purchases
20
PDF Reader - Editor & Viewer
PDF Reader - Editor & Viewer
PDF Reader - Editor & Viewer
Editor, Converter, OCR
Free

Edit, convert, and manage PDF documents on your mobile device. This app allows you to directly edit text, scan documents, fill out forms, and secure your files with passwords and watermarks. It also supports OCR to extract text from scans and convert PDFs to various formats.

Edit PDF text directlyConvert PDF to Word, Excel, PPT, imagesOCR for text extraction from scans
🔧 Utilities
(2.9K)
freemium