Comparison

Pencil Note vs re

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pencil Note

Create and organize digital sticky notes on a virtual bulletin board. Supports Apple Pencil for realistic writing and drawing with pressure sensitivity. Offers various paper types and pen colors for personalized notes.

Highlights
  • Digital bulletin board for notes
  • Apple Pencil support with pressure sensitivity
  • Four paper types and two pen colors
  • Finger eraser functionality
  • Organize and move notes freely
  • Split screen support
Features
Read full description

Gather your thoughts in a flash using Pencil Note! With support for the new Apple Pencil, you can create sticky notes and save them on a digital bulletin board. Choose from 4 different paper types: pink or yellow sticky notes, graphing, or cardstock paper and two pen colours: red or blue to create notes on the go. Keep track of important dates, lists and other matters in this handy app. Apple Pencil support allows you to jot down notes like you would in reality. Pressure sensitivity gives you the option to not only write, but draw. Applying more pressure with the pen creates thicker lines. Now, once enabled in the Options screen, you can also erase your mistakes using a swipe of your finger! Use Pencil Note to write or draw out ideas and always have them on hand! Features: - Create and keep track of notes using this handy digital bulletin board. - Move around notes to help you organize your thoughts to commit them to memory. - Use red or blue ink and choose from 4 paper types to make differentiation easy. - Make a mistake? Simply trash the note and create a new one or enable the finger eraser in the Options screen to make quick work of your errors with a swipe of your fingertip! - Draw or write! The Apple Pencil support allows you to further enhance your notes, but you can also draw designs with your fingertips. - Simple controls! Tap on a paper to create a new page and tap away from a note when done to minimize and then move it around the bulletin board. - Split screen is supported to let you take notes as you use other apps. - All rotations are now supported for more ease of use. - Throw away old or outdated notes using the waste basket icon to keep everything neat and tidy! - Keep an eye on all of your notes with a quick glance! Organize your day and your thoughts in a snap! **The music used in the App Preview videos are for demonstration purposes only and are not available within the app. The music has been provided by Sound-ideas.com.

About

re

This app offers a beautiful and intuitive timer experience powered by Apple Reminders. Quickly set timers, sync them across devices, and view them on your lock screen with Live Activities. It includes advanced features like full-screen alarms and the ability to import calendar events.

Highlights
  • Apple Reminders sync
  • Live Activities on lock screen
  • Full-screen alarms
  • Import calendar events
  • Multiple timers
  • Favorite and edit timers
Features
Read full description

re:timer is a beautiful and elegant timer app built on Apple Reminders. Set timers quickly, stay in sync across devices, and keep track of time with a clean, minimal interface. Features - Swipe to create timers - Apple Reminders sync - your timers on all platforms at once, powered by Apple - NEW: Live Activities - see your timers on the lock screen or in the Dynamic Island - NEW: Timers with Alarms (iOS 26) - full-screen take over, even if the app is closed or your phone is in Silent Mode! - Import Calendar events as timers - Multiple timers - with time between timers - Favorite and edit timers - Early reminders - Infinite timer history - Gestimer support / custom lists - URL scheme support - create timers from other apps - Minimal mode - And more coming!

Screenshots

re4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: re at 100% against Pencil Note's 25%. re also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.4). Pencil Note's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $1.99) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Pencil Note costs $0.99 and re $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

re holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Pencil Note's written reviews are positive against 100% of re's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pencil Note ships an update every 7 months, re every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pencil Note versus re: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPencil Notere
Price$0.99 — better$1.99
Rating2.4 (5 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings57 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size168 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMagitech CorporationJosh Angelsberg

Customer experience

Pencil Note

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative62.5%

re

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pencil Note

No in-app purchases

None

re

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pencil Note free?
Pencil Note costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is re free?
re costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pencil Note or re?
re is rated higher. Pencil Note averages 2.4 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while re averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Pencil Note or re have ads?
Neither Pencil Note nor re shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pencil Note or re?
Pencil Note ships an update every 7 months, and re every 8 months. Most recently, Pencil Note was updated on September 25, 2026 and re on September 19, 2026.

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