In today’s digital age, many people rely on tablets to work, study, and stay organized.

Tablets are a great alternative to laptops and desktops when it’s to portability and ease of use. These are more affordable, lighter, and easy to carry and take very little time to set up.

Tablets are not only meant for gaming, watching movies, or browsing the web, but also you can use them to write, draw, take notes, and annotate PDFs, which is becoming increasingly popular in various fields, from education to business.

For those who need to take notes, and annotate many PDF documents everyday, the handwriting input device would do wonders and makes the process faster and easier.

Finding a good tablet for handwritten notes and annotating PDFs can be a frustrating task. Tablets are a dime a dozen nowadays, but only a select few are designed specifically for supporting pen input.

Keep in mind that reliable, powerful tablets with pen aren’t exactly cheap — especially if you want easy drawing, note-taking and PDF-annotating.

But for a moderate investment, you can get a great Apple ipad, android tablet or windows tablet that’s great for writing, annotating PDFs, taking notes, and even digital art.

If you are looking to buy the best budget tablet for annotating PDFs and taking notes, this guide will help you make a good choice.

The Best Budget Tablets with Pen for taking notes and annotating PDFs

Generally, you don’t need a premium tablet for taking handwritten notes and annotating PDFs, you need a reliable mid-range or even an entry-level tablet with stylus support and good app library.

Thankfully, once you know where to look, you’ll find plenty of incredible tablets for note taking and PDF annotating.

I have chosen the top tablets for you below based on their high performance, large displays, and reasonable prices.

1. ipad 10th Gen

Any current iPad could do this job, however, The iPad 10th gen is undoubtedly the best budget ipad for PDF annotating and note-taking. It is good value for money, Powerful enough, and reliable.

It offers a large and bright 10.9-inch Retina multi-touch screen, looks fine, especially in its color reproduction.

Its A14 Bionic chip is incredibly powerful so you won’t be getting any issues while surfing, browsing, and multitasking.

The tablet also has a long-lasting battery life of up to 10 hours, which makes it perfect for students who have long classes.

Unfortunately, the Apple Pencil 1st gen is not included with the iPad 10th gen. But if you do pick it up, you’ll get a powerful note-taking tool that offers low latency, tilt support, and pressure sensitivity.

In addition, The screeen is non-laminated, there does have an air gap between the glass and the actual display. The storage is a bit restrictive for someone, as the base model ships with only 64GB of storage.

Overall, iPad 10th gen allows you to access the note taking and PDF annotating app that comes on the iPad OS at the lowest cost. If you have iCloud, all your documents will be on the cloud.

2. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is a strong contender in the midrange Android tablet market. It does not have an AMOLED screen and top-tier processor like the more expensive flagship options but will still work well.

Instead, It comes with a large multi-touch IPS LCD screen at 10.9 inches in size and with a clear 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution. The screen will display rich vivid and accurate colors.

The 90Hz refresh rate is good for scrolling smoothness, whether in apps or in UI.

The Exynos 1380 chipset, combined with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, packs more than enough power for day-to-day tasks like web browsing, streaming Netflix, annotating PDFs, or taking notes.

Unlike the iPad 10th gen, you don’t have to spend additional money on a stylus pen since the Tab S9 FE comes with a Samsung S-Pen included in the box.

You’ll love the S-Pen for drawing, sketching, taking notes, annotating PDFs, etc as it’s so responsive with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt functionality. When you’re done, it attaches magnetically, so you’ll never lose it.

3. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite

If you are on a budget but still need an entry-level tablet with an S Pen, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is for you.

The s6 Lite sports a 10.4 Inch TFT LCD Laminated Display with 2000p x 1200p solution and 100% sRGB color gamut. The display is quite frankly amazing, bright and crisp.

Although not as smooth as S9 FE, The tablet will be able to run note taking and pdf annotation app with ease thanks to an Exynos 9611 processor with 4 GB RAM options.

Despite its affordable price range, you will still get an S Pen just like on the more expensive tablets. This makes It brilliant for note-taking, PDF annotating and sketching while you’re in class or in a meeting.

4. Ugee UT2

The Ugee UT2 is a good choice for those with limited budgets, especially art students. It runs on Android, providing flexibility and a wide range of software choices.

The 10.36-inch LCD has a resolution of 2000 x 1200 and 100% sRGB color gamut, providing a crisp and vivid canvas for your digital art.

Its matte Anti-glare display uses etching technology, which can simulate the full-color paper drawing experience while reducing unwanted glare and fingerprints.

Is is equipped with a high-performance 6nm octa-core processor and 6GB RAM, Performance is fast enough and is mostly smooth even with multi-tasking.

Additionally, the included U-pencil is battery-free, supports tilt, 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and palm rejection that can reproduce every stroke perfectly.

Most importantly, the starting price of the Ugee UT2 is only $299. Therefore, if you are looking for a cost-effective standalone android drawing tablet for annotating PDFs and taking notes, the Ugee UT2 is your ideal choice.

5. Simbans Picasso Tab X11

The Simbans PicassoTab X11 is one of the most affordable Android tablets with a digital Pen that make it great for taking handwritten notes and annotating PDFs.

The IPS Lamintaed display is good for these tasks with a 11-inch screen size and Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution.

Since Note taking or PDF annotating is not too system-intensive, octa-core MediaTek MT8183 CPU and 6 GB RAM are low but will work perfectly.

Storage space is enough at 128 GB of internal storage expandable to 1 TB using a microSD card.

The Picasso Pen 3 supports tilt, and 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity. However, The pen is powered by one AAAA battery, a bit outdated.

This tablet is definitely made for beginners, decent for casual drawing, taking handwritten notes and annotating PDFs.

6. Lenovo Tab P11 (2nd Gen)

If you are looking for a great value mid-range android tablet for note-taking and PDF annotating, the Lenovo Tab P11 (2nd Gen) is a great option for your work.

It has a great 11.5-inch IPS display with 2K Resolution (2000×1200) and 400 nits of brightness that makes everything look clear and bright.

The octa-core MediaTek Helio G99 processor and 4 GB RAM ensures the Tablet is fast and not affected by unnecessary lags when doing lightweight tasks.

The best thing is the Lenovo Tab p11 comes with a keyboard and a pressure-sensitive Precision Pen 3, making it an ideal option for taking notes and annotating PDFs. These additional items add a $100 value to the entire package.

This tablet even provides 10 hours of battery life via the 7700 mAh battery capacity, making it perfect for all of your needs when you are taking it on the go.

7. iPad Air M2 2024

The Apple iPad Air 2024 is for anyone who needs an iPad Pro-like performance from a portable tablet at a fraction of the price. It is a fit for casual users and creators alike.

The new iPad Air comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, with an IPS-based Liquid Retina Display, offering a wide color gamut, and excellent viewing angles.

Unlike standard ipad 10th gen, It has a laminated display, which means there is no gap between the thin glass on top and the LCD panel under it.

It is fast thanks to the Apple M2 chipset tucked inside it. This tablet delivers at all times. The storage space is 128GB.

iPad Air M2 is compatible with the newest Apple Pencil Pro, making it easy to take notes and annotate PDFs in class or meetings.

Overall, this is the best tablet for just about everyone. Its performance and price tag make it easy to pull the trigger on a purchase order. Highly recommended.

Factors to consider when choosing a tablet for taking notes and annotating PDFs

Key features to evaluate a tablet for note-taking and Pdf annotation include Stylus compatibility, display size and quality, Operating system, ecosystem, battery life, price and more.

Stylus compatibility

Most people use a stylus when taking notes or annotating PDFs on a tablet, so consider tablets that either come with a stylus right out of the box or have the option to buy one from the maker separately.

The digital stylus pen lets you write or draw directly on the screen, making taking notes or highlighting important info in your documents easier.

Note that Some support stylus pen better than others, and most don’t support them at all.

Display Quality and Size

A tablet’s experience is largely based on its display, so pay attention to tablets with high resolution, wide color gamut and even paper-like displays.

Screen size is also important. A bigger screen gives you more space to read and annotate documents without having to zoom in and out all the time. However, larger tablets can be harder to carry, so consider what size suits you best.

Operating system and ecosystem

When choosing a portable tablet for taking notes or annotating PDFs, You can find 3 different operating systems-Windows, Android and iPadOS- used on various devices.

Windows primarily for Microsoft devices, Android for most brand tablets, and iPadOS specifically for Apple iPads.

The app ecosystem is crucial, too. Some tablets have more apps available than others, especially those good for taking notes or annotating PDFs.

Look for a tablet that supports PDF annotation and note-taking apps that you use.

Performance

You should choose a versatile tablet that is powerful enough to handle note-taking and PDF annotating tasks.

Battery life

If you plan to take notes or annotate PDFs in your tablet for extended periods without access to a power outlet, make sure it has a long battery life.

Downside of Windows tablets is battery life. With iPads and Android tablets, it’s easy to find one that can last 8 hours and more.

Budget

Lastly, think about how much you want to spend. Tablets can range from quite affordable to very expensive, depending on their features and brand.

Decide how much you’re willing to pay for the features you need. Sometimes, a more affordable entry-level tablet can do everything you need, especially if you mainly use it for annotating PDFs and Taking Notes.

However, if you want a tablet you can use for heavy productivity tasks like drawing, video editing, photo editing, and more, then a flagship tablet like an iPad pro might be a better choice.

What is PDF Annotation?

PDF annotation is adding digital notes, highlights, drawings, or comments to a PDF document to provide additional information or markup. It’s very common and useful, and you may also need to sign or fill out a PDF.

There are various markup tools, often found in a PDF annotator, that you can use to annotate what you are reading.

You can underline a sentence, use a highlighter, add a comment with an arrow, flag with a symbol, draw a shape around it, tag a Post-It note on it, and more.

Utilize the selection and markup tools to annotate the PDF. With these tools, you can write on PDF with a pen, draw on PDF, and make use of the PDF annotator features. You can type, sketch, draw, use shapes, add notes, sign, and even change the format for all your annotations.

What are the best PDF annotation apps with Stylus Support?

You will require a PDF annotator that supports pen input to do such tasks.

The best pdf annotation apps with Stylus Support are Adobe Acrobat, Xodo, PDF Expert, Drawboard, PDF element, foxit PDF, PDF-XChange Editor, PDFgear. These apps are helpful to edit the pdf files, making sign , and a lot more.

What are the Best Note-Taking Apps with Stylus Support?

Most note taking apps don’t offer the option to write and sketch by hand, which can feel limiting to a lot of people.

Some of the best note taking apps that supports pen input include the OneNote, Evernote, Notability, Goodnotes, Apple Notes, Squid, Xournal++, etc.

Is it worth buying a drawing tablet for note taking & PDF annotating?

As an alternative to buying a full tablet, I strongly suggest looking into a traditional USB drawing tablet. It will works as an external stylus system for your Windows or MacOS laptop.

With the cheap graphics tablets you are going to be writing on one surface (the tablet) and seeing the words appear on another (your laptop screen).

They can be a little irritating to use at first, hopefully you’ll get used to it. They start cheap, and portable enough that you can see if you like them anyway.

Several brands exist, Wacom is the best but super expensive, Huion and XPPen are pretty decent too, and will be a lot cheaper. If you mostly care about price I’d suggest you go with one of the lesser known brands.

Something by Huion, XPPen or other less known budget-friendly brands will let you get a physically larger tablet for the same price compared to Wacom, which is going to be a lot more comfortable to use.

I’ve got a Small XPPen Deco 640 (less than $40) tablet that I use for PDF annotation in PDF Expert, note taking in OneNote, and even drawing publication-quality figures in Krita and Medibang paint.

You may find some drawing tablets with a built in screen that lets you draw or write directly on with a pen. However, they are expensive – at least $150, and not standalone, still require a computer to work. This greatly limits their portability, So I don’t recommend them.

Explore More: Good Cheap Graphics Tablets for Beginners Under $100

Conclusion

Are you an artist or a student who wants to take digital notes and Annotate PDFs? for this use case, the budget apple iPad or android tablet with Pen is WAY more than enough.

I have picked six great Tablets with pen available in the market it’s up to you to pick any according to your needs and work nature.

All the tablets I reviewed have ideal screen displays, are very portable, have decent performance, support pen input, and offer good value for money.

As for apps, there are plenty available but you’re gonna have to try some and figure out which one works best for you.