Pencil Note vs Hands Off
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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 - Throw away old or outdated notes using the waste basket icon to keep everything neat and tidy!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.
Hands Off
This minimalist widget helps you break phone scrolling habits by providing customizable reminders. It aims to increase focus and presence without tracking or distractions. Reclaim your time and be more intentional with your device usage.
- Customizable reminders
- Lock screen widgets
- Home screen widgets
- Personalized messages
- No tracking or ads
- Minimalist design
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Put! Down! Your! Phone! Hands Off is a free, minimalist widget designed to interrupt your scroll habit and remind you to reclaim your time, focus, and presence. No logins. No tracking. No distractions. Just one goal: make you stop using your phone when you didn’t mean to. Features: - Blunt, bold, or kind reminders – you choose. - Lock screen + Home screen widgets. - Customize colors, styles, and messages. - No notifications, adverts, or dopamine traps. - Free. Forever. Take a walk. Drink some water. Be intentional. Do literally anything else, just put down your phone.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Hands Off at Free against Pencil Note's $0.99. Hands Off also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.4) and update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months). Pencil Note's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Hands Off is free to download; Pencil Note costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hands Off holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pencil Note has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Pencil Note ships an update every 7 months, Hands Off monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pencil Note | Hands Off |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.4 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 168 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Magitech Corporation | Hudson Heavy Industries |
Customer experience
Pencil Note
Hands Off
In-app purchases
Pencil Note
No in-app purchases
Hands Off
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pencil Note free?
Is Hands Off free?
Which has better reviews, Pencil Note or Hands Off?
Do Pencil Note or Hands Off have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pencil Note or Hands Off?
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