# Penbook: Paper Planner & Notes — user reviews > 480 indexed App Store user reviews of Penbook by Pencil Research, rated 4.60/5 from 44,888 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penbook-paper-planner-and-notes/id1473064295/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penbook-paper-planner-and-notes/id1473064295.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 35,071 · 4★ 4,623 · 3★ 2,099 · 2★ 1,023 · 1★ 2,072 ## What do users think of Penbook? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface - 🎨 Variety of customization options for notebooks - 📝 Smooth writing experience with Apple Pencil - 🗓️ Useful calendar integration - 💡 Innovative features like washi tape and stickers **Cons** - 🐛 Occasional crashes and data loss issues - 🔒 Lack of password protection or locking feature - 🔧 Glitchy zooming and ruler functionality - 🧭 Poor notebook and page management - 💰 Restrictive free version, expensive subscription **Commonly reported bugs** - Sticker resizing issues causing app freezes - Ruler placement and alignment problems - Inconsistent behavior when switching between pages - Calendar sync not working as expected - PDF import and annotation functionality not reliable **Most requested features** - Allow custom notebook covers or images - Add text box and typing capabilities - Improve organization with folders or tags - Provide more customization options for templates - Implement a more intuitive undo/redo system ## Newest reviews (12 of 480) ### 4/5 — Needs more work. Don’t expect quick support. *2026-07-23, version 7.4.2* a good app if you want to create separate books with custom covers to hold a range of information on any topic. You can put the books in a library. There are plenty of useful tools for hand-writing and drawing. You can insert direct links to the web. A weakness is you can create a new book by importing a PDF but there appears to be no facility to directly import PDF’s into any existing book. I am getting an issue where the local library stops syncing with iCloud - a red cloud with a cross appears in the menu. The only way to restore syncing seems to be to backup locally, delete all PenBook data on iCloud then restore with the local backup. The error reappears intermittently. I have asked tech support for help for weeks but there seems to be no-one home. ### 2/5 — Basic *2026-07-06, version 7.4.2* There’s a lot of brushes, but not a lot and lots of sizes except the racer you can’t change the racer size and it’s tiny. The pressure sensitivity is terrible. It’s horrendous when I want to make my writing bigger. I have to press my Apple Pencil really hard against my iPad. Just to make my writing just a tiny bit bigger. Not even a mother would love this face. It has some free templates. Yes none of them are really good to say the least so if you do get the free ones red is kind of mess. It’s not really feels responsive and good for writing this is great for like some doodling and some drawing not so great for actual notetaking. ### 3/5 — :/ *2026-06-25, version 7.4.2* great app, but support is nonexistent. i also wish that there were tutorials or something with the current version of the app, since i'm struggling with a function that should be possible. great idea, just something to work on ### 4/5 — Lovely App *2026-06-23, version 7.4.2* I really like this app and its apple pencil integration is wonderful. The only thing stopping me from a 5 star review is structural and organizational tools like stickers, washi tape, shape recognition and photos are limited and inconvenient to use in their current state. An example being you can’t change the width of washi tape or duplicate it. The basics are 10/10 but with the extras being as they are the app is competing with real paper 1 for 1 and sometimes i think i would rather the notebook i don’t have to charge. It also crashes semi consistantly with bigger notebooks but i have never lost any work so not a huge deal. Overall great app. Keep improving it and i will continue to use it. ### 2/5 — No Customer Support *2026-06-22, version 7.4.2* I loved this app when I first got the lifetime subscription in 2024, but since all the updates were added, I’m having difficulty with the app. It lags, freezes, and crashes quite often. It shows old books that were deleted and purged. The iCloud sync never works despite the series of troubleshooting that I’ve attempted on my own. The worst part is, I’ve tried reaching out for support on two separate occasions and no one in development seems to care. I really expected more after paying $30 for all the features. It seems I might have to find another app that supports my needs. ### 2/5 — No real, permanent dark mode + only 1 notebook free *2026-06-03, version 7.4.2* 1) The app kicking me out could be due to my location…the connection is consistently just horrible here. Most things don’t load right. 2) No permanent dark mode disturbs me because I’m very sensitive to light (getting migraines from it) and to be greeted by a big white screen just hurts. WHY do we have to manually switch it for every page, snd it doesn’t even save those pages when I make them dark? Other apps charge $ for the permanent all-over dark mode feature, not manual… 3) You can only make 1 notebook, I tried making two and it doesn’t work. 4) Idk what I was thinking, I’m just going to use physical notebooks from now on. These apps suck. Please do not use them if you’re seeking to be productive and not just aesthetic, and also love dark mode. 🫠 So many barriers to getting something done in an app with frequent reminders to upgrade. No thank you. I understand why it’s there, but it’s the wrong vibe for me. ### 4/5 — Best handwriting *2026-05-17, version 7.4.1* This is the best notes app I’ve found for beautiful handwriting. I’m an avid fountain pen user in real life, and the Penbook fountain pen tools come closer than anything else I’ve tried digitally to recreating that same look and feel. I also really love the simplicity of the notebooks and overall design. The app feels calm, intentional, and focused on the actual writing experience rather than overwhelming you with features. One feature I would absolutely love is the ability to manually adjust and lock the nib angle, especially when using Apple Pencil. That would make the writing experience feel even more natural and expressive for handwriting-focused users. If Penbook added that feature, it would easily be a five-star app for me. ### 2/5 — Lock please *2026-05-14, version 7.4.1* I love this app and have been a paying user for several years. I am also a lefty and the accidental page movement is getting unbearable. I know others must have reported it as well so I’ve been waiting for a fix. PLEASE add a feature that allows me to lock the page in place! ### 5/5 — Ok.. *2026-05-03, version 7.4.1* Just I put it to more people see this but, I hate I HATE HATE is no good for notes I can’t write good but I’ll give it 4 stars I feel so bad writing this but is my opinion. ### 5/5 — I love this app! *2026-04-29, version 7.4.1* I rarely write reviews, but this is the perfect app for the creative type of person who owns an iPad mini and needs a reason to use the Apple Pencil. ### 3/5 — Potential to be perfect. *2026-04-24* I use this app on my iPad to take notes and plan and stuff. The note taking experience itself is super smooth, but there aren't many options for planners. The app also crashes quite often when I try to import PDFs. If those few issues were taken care of (& I hope they are) this app would be perfect. Regardless, a great app. I have a lifetime subscription. ### 5/5 — Iiiiii *2026-04-15, version 7.4.1* Good ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Whateverrrr *2026-07-16, version 7.4.2* App is incredibly slow… I only have two additional apps (excluding socials, which are also two) but this app still crashes frequently. ### 1/5 — Problems Using Latest Version *2026-07-15, version 7.4.2* I stopped using for a while and now features that had worked don’t seem to work consistently any longer. I did update to the latest version and am on the latest iOS. I will say issues may be related to latest version of iOS, but not sure either way, just very frustrated with the app hence my current rating. ### 1/5 — Perdi todos os cadernos depois de desligar o iCloud Backup! *2026-07-14* Dois dias atrás, decidi desligar o backup no iCloud por falta de espaço. Eis que hoje, acordei e todos os cadernos tinham sumido! Tentei restaurar um backup em ZIP que eu tinha em outra nuvem, e o app não reconhece o ZIP que ele próprio gerou. Não dá erro, mas também não recupera os cadernos. Perdi tudo, meses de anotações importantes. Eu tinha pago a licença Lifetime e fiquei na mão. Vou trocar pra uma concorrente. Fiquei extremamente decepcionada. ### 1/5 — Annoying! *2026-07-10, version 7.4.2* Cannot get this thing to work. I just paid to upgrade but many features are not available or don’t work. I cannot delete a page from a notebook. The swipe up to get the minimap does not work. There is no organizer button. Tried to submit a support query but the app only launches Apple Mail and I use Google. Would greatly appreciate if someone could reach out and help otherwise I will be canceling my subscription and requesting a refund. ### 1/5 — Content Deleted *2026-05-03, version 7.4.1* All of my content was deleted that I’ve been storing for over a year ### 1/5 — No Support *2026-04-23, version 7.4.1* I had used this app for years, had numerous books, then upgraded to the life time subscription and lost 80% of my books, years of journals and educational notes. Reached out to support many times and never heard back. This experience has caused me to stop using my iPad and have gone back to paper notebooks and journals. Heartbroken and disappointed. ### 1/5 — It should be easier *2026-04-21, version 7.4.1* This is the least intuitive app I’ve used. I want to like it. It works with the pencil very well. But selecting templates, creating custom notebook designs and working with PDFs either simply don’t work or the features are impossible to find. I paid for this, but it frustrates me every time I try to use it. ### 1/5 — One star review *2026-04-19, version 7.4.1* It was awful! I could not do anything and it was so boring. Even Adobe Fresco was better! ### 1/5 — ⚠️ Journal Editing is Very Limited *2026-04-09, version 7.4.1* Once you create your journal whether or not you use pdf to start it, you can't add more pdf files as new pages, nor can you delete pages once you make any new ones. Back to Goodnotes 😞 And I was really loving the simplicity of it ### 1/5 — Boring *2026-04-08, version 7.4.1* 😭🥀😞😠🙄 ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Awesome experience *2026-08-04* Unable to define the benefit in words ### 5/5 — Genius *2026-08-04, version 7.4.2* It solved the main issue that has stopped me from journaling forever: lack of sync with dynamic Google Calendar ### 5/5 — Penbook *2026-07-15, version 7.4.2* It’s an all in one writing app ### 5/5 — I love this *2026-07-08, version 7.4.2* And I love it so you don’t have to worry about doing summer work and ya know ### 5/5 — Diario *2026-07-07, version 7.4.2* Muy bueno ### 5/5 — This is the coolest thing ever *2026-06-17, version 7.4.2* I love this so far. ### 5/5 — only been using it for five minutes, already falling in love lol *2026-06-17, version 7.4.2* get it if you actually have things going on or wanna grow in any area ### 5/5 — My Must Have *2026-06-01, version 7.4.2* This is my go to app for keeping my personal and professional life in sync. I like having the pen options to highlight and mark how I need to and the ability to add pages, format and choose layout is clutch in how I operate. I chose the lifetime subscription and I have enjoyed watching this app evolve and grow in capability at each iteration. ### 5/5 — Best app for productivity highly recommended *2026-05-31, version 7.4.2* Keep pushing new features and updates please thanks 🙏 ### 5/5 — Wow *2026-05-11, version 7.4.1* Trop trop bien maintenant je suis plus organisé --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*