Comparison

DAILY NOTE vs PenCake

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

Head to head
About

DAILY NOTE

Capture your daily thoughts and memories with this digital journal. Easily write entries, add photos, and customize your experience with various themes. Organize and find your notes effortlessly through calendar views and search.

Highlights
  • Easy and fast writing
  • Attach photos
  • Customizable themes
  • Calendar view for notes
  • Searchable content
  • Backup and restore
  • Password and biometric lock
Features
Read full description

Write today's diary [ DAILY NOTE Features ] ● Easy and fast writing ● Attach photos when writing ● Support for various themes (font, background) ● Read your all notes in calendar ● Monthly / Tag / Overview ● Type words to search contents ● Backup / Restore function ● Password & Biometric lock

About

PenCake

A minimalist writing app designed for focused journaling, storytelling, and personal expression. Enjoy a distraction-free interface with elegant typography and seamless cross-device syncing. Secure your work with auto-save and biometric protection.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free interface
  • Elegant typography
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Auto-save and version history
  • Markdown support
  • Organized by Stories
Features
Read full description

A beautifully minimal space for your thoughts. Pencake helps you focus on your words—whether you’re writing a journal, a story, or something just for yourself. Since 2018, more than 2.3 million writers have chosen Pencake as their space to write in peace. Its clean, distraction-free interface helps you focus entirely on your words. No clutter, no noise—just you and your story. With elegant typography and smooth spacing, writing on Pencake feels as natural and beautiful as writing in a real book. Minimalist, yet powerful - Clean and aesthetically refined interface - Designed to enhance focus and creativity - Beautiful fonts and themes that suit your mood Writing made effortless - Start writing instantly with an intuitive experience - Enjoy smooth performance even with long-form writing - Stay organized with “Stories” that group related entries Write anywhere, anytime - Sync your work seamlessly across all your devices - Continue writing wherever inspiration strikes Safe and secure writing - Auto-save, version history, and trash recovery - Face ID / Touch ID protection Built for real writers - Supports Markdown for flexible formatting - Word and character count, image insertion, and preview mode - Ideal for all kinds of writing—journaling, blogging, novel writing, and fanfiction Whether you're an aspiring writer or just someone who loves writing in peace, Pencake offers a simple yet inspiring place to put your thoughts into words. * Some features such as auto-sync, desktop access, themes, and advanced fonts are available through Premium. --- - Official website: https://pencake.app/ - Desktop app: https://pencake.app/download/desktop/ - FAQs: https://pencake.app/faq/ - Format text: https://pencake.app/guide/markdown/ - Email: pencake.app@gmail.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pencakeapp - X (Twitter): https://x.com/pencakeapp Please help translate into your language. https://crowdin.com/project/pencake Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pencake.app/privacy/

Screenshots

DAILY NOTE4 screens
PenCake4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PenCake at none against DAILY NOTE's shown. PenCake also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.0). DAILY NOTE's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Both are free to download. DAILY NOTE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PenCake sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DAILY NOTE holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 310 and 121 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of DAILY NOTE's written reviews are positive against 86% of PenCake's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DAILY NOTE ships an update every 3 weeks, PenCake monthly. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
DAILY NOTE versus PenCake: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDAILY NOTEPenCake
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (310 ratings) — better4.3 (121 ratings)
Positive reviews83.4% of reviews85.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings310 — better121
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB102 MB
Age rating4+12+
Developeryoungjin seoDiffathy, Inc.

Customer experience

DAILY NOTE

All ratings310 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.8%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews452 reviews
Positive83.4%
Neutral8.0%
Negative8.6%

PenCake

All ratings106 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral4.7%
Negative13.2%
Written reviews284 reviews
Positive85.9%
Neutral7.0%
Negative7.0%

Bugs and requests

DAILY NOTE

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional app crashes
  • Inconsistent behavior when saving notes
  • Delayed or missing notification alerts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for bullet points, bold, and italic text
  • Implement iCloud/Google Drive sync for cross-device access
  • Allow creation of multiple notes per day
  • Introduce a dark mode option
  • Provide more font and color customization options

PenCake

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

DAILY NOTE

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99
10 purchases

PenCake

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Yearly Subscription$6.991 Year
  • Premium Yearly Subscription$9.991 Year
One-time8
  • Tip the Developer$0.99
  • Upgrade to Premium$1.99
  • Upgrade to Premium$3.99
Show 5 more
  • Upgrade to Premium$5.99
  • Tip the Developer$9.99
  • Lifetime Premium Access$15.99
  • Upgrade to Premium Lifetime$19.99
  • Lifetime Premium Access$23.99

Questions

Is DAILY NOTE free?
DAILY NOTE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PenCake free?
PenCake is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DAILY NOTE or PenCake?
DAILY NOTE is rated higher. DAILY NOTE averages 4.6 out of 5 from 310 ratings, while PenCake averages 4.3 from 121 ratings.
Do DAILY NOTE or PenCake have ads?
DAILY NOTE shows ads; PenCake does not.
Which is updated more often, DAILY NOTE or PenCake?
DAILY NOTE ships an update every 3 weeks, and PenCake monthly. Most recently, DAILY NOTE was updated on November 2, 2026 and PenCake on November 2, 2026.

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