Metapen A8 Review: Is This the Best Apple Pencil Alternative?
The Metapen A8 is an iPad stylus that delivers about 90% of the Apple Pencil 2 experience for a fraction of the cost. You get tilt support, palm rejection, and magnetic charging. It’s not a perfect clone, and a few minor quirks will reveal the difference within the first five minutes of sketching.
I once bought an original Apple Pencil for my wife, who uses Notability for all her note-taking—and I regretted it almost immediately when she lost it on a train two months later. I wasn't exactly itching to drop another fortune to replace it. That’s when I started digging into alternative styluses, and that's how the Metapen landed on my radar.
The A8 isn't the flagship of the Metapen lineup, but it’s the one that constantly pops up in "is it worth upgrading to an Apple Pencil" comparisons. Honestly? The answer isn't as black and white as you might think.
What is it, exactly?
It’s a stylus with an active tip, magnetic attachment to the side of your iPad, and charging via that same magnetic strip. Officially, it's compatible with almost every iPad released between 2018 and 2026—meaning if you have an iPad Air 4, a mini 6, or any iPad Pro with USB-C (or even older Lightning models via an adapter), it should pick up the signal. In practice, I tested it on a 9th Gen iPad and an iPad Air 5; it works on both, though the responsiveness varies slightly depending on the display.
The big selling point in the marketing is the "4-minute charge for 2 hours of use." This isn't just fluff: I’ve actually been in situations where I forgot to charge the stylus before a lecture, slapped it on the magnet during a break, and managed to finish my notes just in time. You can do the same with the original Apple Pencil 2, so they’re neck-and-neck there.
How it feels in the hand
This is where things get interesting. My first impression was that the stylus is slightly lighter and thinner than the Apple Pencil. For some, that’s a win (less hand fatigue during long drawing sessions), but for others, it might feel a bit "cheap," even though the chassis is metal rather than plastic.
Palm rejection—the ability to ignore your hand touching the screen—works correctly about 95% of the time. That remaining 5% of errors usually happens if you're holding the iPad at an awkward angle or writing right at the very edge of the screen. With the Apple Pencil, these hiccups are almost non-existent thanks to deeper integration with iPadOS. It’s not a dealbreaker, but if you're frantically taking notes in a lecture, you might hit a glitch once a day.
Tilt support for shading in Procreate or GoodNotes is present and feels quite natural—the line thickens when you tilt the pen, just like a real pencil on paper. The only real difference is noticeable to professional artists who draw every day and are used to the nuances of the Apple Pencil Pro’s "barrel roll" feature—the A8 simply doesn't have that, and it's worth knowing upfront.
Comparison with the competition
If you look at the iPad stylus market, besides Apple, you have the Logitech Crayon (simpler, no tilt or magnetic attachment, but built like a brick—perfect for kids and schools) and a sea of nameless $8-10 AliExpress clones that often can't hold a charge for more than a week.
The Metapen A8 sits right in the sweet spot: more expensive than the no-name brands, but much cheaper than Apple, while offering almost the full feature set of a premium stylus. For a student taking notes and occasionally sketching diagrams, it’s a near-perfect balance. For a professional illustrator who sells their work and relies on every nuance of line sensitivity, you're still better off looking toward the Apple Pencil Pro.
The Verdict
Buy it if: You’re a new iPad owner who wants a solid stylus for note-taking and casual sketching, and you aren't willing to spend half the cost of your tablet on official accessories. The Metapen A8 checks all those boxes.
Skip it if: You are a professional digital artist—when you're selling your work, every percentage of accuracy counts, and it's better to just buy the original once. Also, if you absolutely need the "barrel roll" rotation feature in Procreate, this hardware physically cannot do it.
The price on marketplaces is around $15, making this one of the most affordable ways to get full tilt and palm rejection. See the full landed price to your country on dede.sh.
The main compromise is that it isn't an Apple product, and if you look closely, you will notice the difference. One minor gripe: the magnetic attachment is slightly weaker than the original, so if you carry your iPad in a bag without a cover, the stylus might occasionally pop off.
Preguntas frecuentes
If you're on a budget and aren't a professional artist, go for the A8; the difference in daily use is minimal. If you draw for a living or are deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem nuances, the extra cost for the original is justified.
It claims compatibility from 2018 through 2026, including Lightning models via an adapter. Always double-check your specific iPad model against the manufacturer's compatibility list before buying, as some iPad Pro generations have different magnetic attachment types.
For hobbies, sketching, and note-taking, absolutely. For commercial illustration requiring delicate pressure gradients and barrel roll features, no—the original Apple Pencil Pro still reigns supreme.
It’s a lifesaver when you realize your stylus is dead right before a class or meeting. It's not a "must-have" feature, but it's a very welcome bonus that works more often than you'd expect.
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