Comparison

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro vs Penned

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

Head to head
About

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a wireless keyboard and numpad for your computer. Customize keypads for specific applications to enhance productivity and control your device from a distance using WiFi. Setup is simple with a downloadable helper app.

Highlights
  • Virtual keyboard and numpad
  • Customizable keypads
  • Remote computer control
  • WiFi connectivity
  • Numbers and navigation blocks
  • Wake On LAN
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone or iPad into a powerful and elegant keyboard extension with numbers and navigation pads. Create custom keypads for your professional tools to boost productivity. Move freely and control your computer from across the room. No line of sight is required - the app uses WiFi to connect to your computer. Setup is both quick and easy, just download the helper app from my website and install it on your computer and that's it. The app exists since 2016 and has been downloaded more than 300,000 times and received very positive reviews both from users and from the press. It's actively maintained and receives frequent updates with new and exciting features. MAIN FEATURES - Numbers block - Navigation block ADVANCED FEATURES - Create custom keypads to control apps and websites - High customization of the app interface - History of connected devices for quicker re-connection - Wake On LAN REQUIREMENTS - Mac with macOS 10.10 or newer - PC with Windows 7 SP1 or newer - Free helper app, available at https://cherpake.com/get - Shared network connection, WiFi or Personal Hotspot, see https://cherpake.com/connect

About

Penned

A minimalist handwriting app designed for privacy, keeping all your notes securely on your device. It features natural writing with Apple Pencil, on-device AI text recognition, and smart tagging for easy searching. Export your notes as PDFs in a clean, distraction-free interface.

Highlights
  • Natural Apple Pencil writing
  • On-device AI text recognition
  • 100% private, no cloud
  • Export beautiful PDFs
  • Smart tagging and search
  • Distraction-free interface
Features
Read full description

Your thoughts deserve privacy. Penned Notes is a minimalist handwriting app that keeps everything on your device. - Natural Apple Pencil writing - AI text recognition (on-device) - 100% private - zero cloud required - Export beautiful PDFs - Smart tagging & search - Clean, distraction-free interface Unlike other note apps, Penned Notes uses Apple's Neural Engine to recognize your handwriting locally and nothing leaves your device. No accounts, no tracking, no subscriptions to complex features you don't need. Perfect for: - Daily journaling - Class notes & studying - Meeting notes - Sketches & brainstorming - Sensitive work documents Privacy-first architecture means your notes stay truly yours. Download Penned Notes.  Where your thoughts are penned, not surveilled.

Screenshots

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro4 screens
Penned4 screens

Verdict

The call

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro and Penned both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 88% of Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro's written reviews are positive against 50% of Penned's. Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro also leads on ratings volume (653 vs 87) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). Penned's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $9.99). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro costs $9.99 and Penned $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro against 4.6 for Penned. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro has 653 ratings behind it against 87, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro's written reviews are positive against 50% of Penned's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro ships an update monthly, Penned every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro versus Penned: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRemote KeyPad and NumPad ProPenned
Price$9.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.6 (653 ratings) — better4.6 (87 ratings)
Positive reviews88.4% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings653 — better87
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size108 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRemote Sunrise LTDEdwing H Santos Mena

Customer experience

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro

All ratings652 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews484 reviews
Positive88.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative9.7%

Penned

All ratings87 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.4%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral21.4%
Negative28.6%

Bugs and requests

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Keyboard not recognized after rebooting computer
  • Constant crashes or freezes
  • Numeric input not registering correctly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Bluetooth connectivity
  • Allow customizing button colors
  • Include a full keyboard layout, not just numpad
  • Add haptic/audio feedback for key presses
  • Improve stability and reliability

Penned

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro

No in-app purchases

None

Penned

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro free?
Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Penned free?
Penned costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro or Penned?
Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro is rated higher. Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro averages 4.6 out of 5 from 653 ratings, while Penned averages 4.6 from 87 ratings.
Do Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro or Penned have ads?
Neither Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro nor Penned shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro or Penned?
Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro ships an update monthly, and Penned every 2 months. Most recently, Remote KeyPad and NumPad Pro was updated on November 6, 2026 and Penned on November 3, 2026.

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