PenCake vs Inkday Diary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Distraction-free interface
- Elegant typography
- Cross-device syncing
- Auto-save and version history
- Markdown support
- Organized by Stories
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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/
Inkday Diary
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Inkday is a private voice diary for iPhone. You speak one page a day. The recording becomes text on your device and stays there. There is no account and no cloud. Inkday has no developer servers, no analytics, and no subscription. Recording, transcription and mood detection run on Apple’s on-device frameworks. The last 30 days are always yours to read. Older pages stay on the phone and can be unlocked once. • One page a day, up to ten minutes • On-device speech-to-text • Original audio kept with each page • A haptic timeline through past days • A year of days as a quiet dot grid • Optional daily reminder — one, never a streak • Light and dark paper themes • Home-screen widget for the year Unlock the archive Pages older than 30 days can be unlocked with a single one-time purchase. Nothing is deleted if you wait. Restore Purchase is in Settings. Requires iOS 26 or later. — Unlock the archive (optional) One-time In-App Purchase to unlock diary pages older than 30 days, forever. No subscription. Price: $4.99 USD / €4.99. Price may vary by region. Restore purchases in Settings. — Privacy Policy: https://inkday-neon.vercel.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://inkday-neon.vercel.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Inkday Diary at none against PenCake's 10. PenCake's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 26.5). On price and ads 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
Both are free to download. PenCake sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per year. Inkday Diary asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | PenCake | Inkday Diary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (121 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 121 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 26.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Diffathy, Inc. | Fabian Gruss |
In-app purchases
PenCake
- Premium Yearly Subscription$6.991 Year
- Premium Yearly Subscription$9.991 Year
- Tip the Developer$0.99
- Upgrade to Premium$1.99
- Upgrade to Premium$3.99
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- 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
Inkday Diary
No in-app purchases









