# Penman vs Penned

The clearest difference is price: Penman at Free against Penned's $4.99. Penman also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Penned's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 12). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Penman is free to download; Penned costs $4.99 up front. Penman sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Penned asks for nothing beyond the download.

Penned holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 252 and 87 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Penman's written reviews are positive against 50% of Penned's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Penman ships an update every 2 weeks, Penned every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Penman | Penned |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [4.1 (252 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penman-ai-note-taker/id1434184098/reviews) | **[4.6 (87 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penned-private-notes/id1480653765/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **252** | 87 |
| Positive reviews | **57.7% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Paid |
| Size | 104 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **16.6** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [SER_INT](https://appshunter.io/developer/525443615) | [Edwing H Santos Mena](https://appshunter.io/developer/1851857999) |

## What reviewers say

### Penman

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penman-ai-note-taker/id1434184098)

Effortlessly convert spoken words into text notes in over 120 languages using advanced speech-to-text technology. Enhance your writing with AI-powered actions and organize your notes with a powerful, intuitive editor. Sync securely across devices and export your work in various formats.

**Highlights:** Speech to text transcription, AI-powered writing enhancements, Intuitive text editor, Note organization and categorization, Cross-device iCloud sync, Export to PDF, TXT, Image, HTML, Multiple language support

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Discount Premium | $2.99 | per month |
| Monthly Penman Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| 3 Months Penman Premium | $8.99 | per 3 months |
| Annual Voice to Text Live | $14.99 | per year |
| Yearly Discount Premium | $14.99 | per year |
| 6 Months Penman Premium | $16.99 | per 6 months |
| Yearly Speech to Text Live | $19.99 | per year |
| Yearly Voice to Text plan | $34.99 | per year |
| Yearly Speech Voice to Text | $49.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Voice to Text | $14.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Voice to Text | $19.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Voice to Text | $79.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Accurate speech-to-text transcription
- ⚡ Fast and efficient note-taking
- 🎨 Beautiful, intuitive UI design
- 🌍 Supports multiple languages
- 📱 Easy text export to various formats

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
- 💾 Data loss and disappearing text issues
- 🔄 Unreliable syncing across devices
- ⏸️ Recording stops when phone sleeps
- ❌ Inconsistent speech-to-text accuracy

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on launch or during use
- Text disappears without user action
- Transcription halts when device enters sleep mode
- iCloud sync failures between devices
- Notes deleted when free trial expires

**Requested features**

- Persistent highlighting tool color selection
- Export to Markdown (.md) format
- Custom photo book covers
- More font options
- Ability to keep handwritten notes without conversion


### Penned

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penned-private-notes/id1480653765)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Penman free?

Penman is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Penned free?

Penned costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Penman or Penned?

Penned is rated higher. Penman averages 4.1 out of 5 from 252 ratings, while Penned averages 4.6 from 87 ratings.

### Do Penman or Penned have ads?

Neither Penman nor Penned shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Penman or Penned?

Penman ships an update every 2 weeks, and Penned every 2 months. Most recently, Penman was updated on October 16, 2026 and Penned on October 10, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*