# Penman vs WordByWord

The clearest difference is rating: WordByWord at 5.0 against Penman's 4.1. WordByWord also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10). Penman's advantage is ratings volume (252 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Penman sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. WordByWord asks for nothing beyond the download.

WordByWord holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Penman has 252 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Penman ships an update every 2 weeks, WordByWord every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Penman | WordByWord |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (252 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penman-ai-note-taker/id1434184098/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wordbyword-speed-reader/id6802850231/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **252** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 57.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 104 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [SER_INT](https://appshunter.io/developer/525443615) | [Tehran Hamidzada](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896601819) |

## 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 (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Discount Premium | $2.99 | per month |
| Monthly Penman Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Yearly Discount Premium | $14.99 | per year |
| 6 Months Penman Premium | $16.99 | per 6 months |
| Yearly Voice to Text plan | $19.99 | per year |
| Yearly Speech to Text Live | $19.99 | per year |
| Yearly Speech Voice to Text | $29.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Voice to Text | $29.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Voice to Text | $39.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Voice to Text | $59.99 | 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


### WordByWord

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wordbyword-speed-reader/id6802850231)

This app helps you read faster by displaying text one word at a time in a fixed position. It supports various text formats like PDFs, EPUBs, and web articles, allowing you to adjust reading speed up to 1200 WPM. All processing is done locally on your device for privacy.

**Highlights:** Reads text one word at a time (RSVP), Supports PDFs, EPUBs, web articles, and copied text, Adjustable reading speed from 100 to 1200 WPM, Punctuation and sentence endings are respected, Progress is saved for each document, Includes three classic books

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Penman free?

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

### Is WordByWord free?

WordByWord is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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

WordByWord is rated higher. Penman averages 4.1 out of 5 from 252 ratings, while WordByWord averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Penman or WordByWord have ads?

Neither Penman nor WordByWord shows ads.

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

Penman ships an update every 2 weeks, and WordByWord every 9 days. Most recently, Penman was updated on November 2, 2026 and WordByWord on October 31, 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.*