Note: Links to products on Amazon and other sites may contain affiliate tags, and I may receive a portion of the sale. I only link to products I wish to highlight, and am not compensated to mention them.

If you’re going to be using an iPad for any length of time, at some point you’re probably going to want to prop it up. A lot of people go for a keyboard case, like the Magic Keyboard, by default. And while that works, part of the uniqueness of the iPad is that most of the time you don’t really need a keyboard and trackpad.

I have a few different stands that I use across my various iPads that will give you some ideas of the types of stand options you can consider for your iPad setups!

Lululook Magnetic desk stand

The stand I use the most is my desk stand, and with the M4 iPad Pro, I upgraded to the Magnetic iPad Stand by a company called LuluLook. I enjoy this stand because of its flexibility. It both rotates and is height adjustable. The way I mainly use this stand is to lower it under my monitor while it’s plugged into my Thunderbolt dock. This makes Face ID easily accessible while I’m working at my desk.

The downside of this stand in particular is that the magnets are maybe a bit too strong. It’s definitely a two-hand remove operation. Sometimes I worry I’m applying too much pressure to the iPad to remove it from the stand, but so far, there have been no adverse effects.

The other potential downside to this stand in particular is that it doesn’t charge. My Thunderbolt dock provides both data and power, so I specifically bought a stand that doesn’t change, but this could be a big deal for you. There are a number of magnetic stands out now that do offer charging via the Smart Connector. They’re probably fine products, but I’m just a little suspicious of them. Last I knew, the Smart Connector hadn’t been opened up to any company beyond Logitech. I worry these stands may be skirting around Apple’s approval, which could put these products in a precarious state. This reminds of the situation with Lightning cables that weren’t MFI certified. They’d work for some amount of time, but after a few iOS updates, you might start getting authentication errors and it would stop working. And I definitely don’t something like that happening for a product I’m paying over $100 for.

Link: Lululook Magnetic Desk Stand

Tineeowl Magnetic Kickstand

It’s always puzzled me a bit that more accessory manufacturers don’t take advantage of the magnets on the back of the iPad. So I was pretty excited when I came across this stand on Reddit and bought it off Amazon immediately.

This is the Adjustable Kickstand Cover by a company called TineeOwl. This is exactly what it sounds like, a standalone kickstand for the iPad Pro. What’s unique about this versus similar products I’ve seen on Amazon is that it is just a back cover. It doesn’t cover the side, and doesn’t have a folio cover for the front. For someone that appreciates the iPad being thin and light, this is critical.

This stand works in both portrait and landscape orientations, which is important for the accessories I buy. If you’re working on a document or reading a long article, the ability to rotate the iPad into portrait is a big advantage over a standard laptop.

The downside of this stand is that despite it just being a back cover, relative to the iPad, it’s actually kind of heavy. And maybe it has to be to properly support the device, but it’s kind of a bummer that it makes the whole package heavier.

Link: Tineeowl Adjustable Kickstand Cover

ESR Folio Stand

This other popular alternative to using keyboard case with your iPad would be using a folio case, like Apple’s Smart Cover. I occasionally buy Apple’s option when Verizon will randomly have them on deep discount, but these days, for less money, you can get the same case or better, and there’s not really an advantage to going with Apple’s cover.

On my 11-inch iPad Pro, I went with the Slim Trifold Stand Case by ESR. Its official use as a stand is limited to landscape, unlike other options, but if you just want a basic stand option to watch movies, this is a cost-effective way to go. I’ve also come to like cases that have a flap to secure the Apple Pencil. If you’ve ever carried your iPad in a bag, you know that the Pencil will almost always end up at the bottom of your bag.

I don’t really have much bad to say about it besides that it doesn’t support portrait orientation. It’s been a solid option for my 11 inch iPad Pro and iPad Mini.

Link: ESR Folio Stand

Honorable Mention: CharJen Stand

I was gifted this stand a couple of years ago, when I was using my M1 iPad Pro as my primary personal device. This is the MagFlott v 1.0 Magnetic Stand from CharJenPro. I wanted this stand because of its incridble build quality and aesthetic. I really wish it worked with my M4 Pro, otherwise I wouldn’t have replaced it. Its still in use today for my M1 iPad Pro, which is now used for testing beta iPadOS releases. It fits in beautifully with a lighter colored desk setup.

The only downside is that its this particular model is not height adjustable, it just tilts and rotates around to portrait. The company did come out with a height adjustable version shortly after I bought this, which sucks for me, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. I’m keeping an eye on this company for when they release a version that’s compatable with the M4 iPad Pros (early 2025 according to their website).

Link: MagFlott V1.0 Magnetic Stand for IPad

These are the stands I’m currently using, and this should give you an idea of some of the options that are available of your iPad. As this list inevitably change, I’ll be sure to write about it here!