# AI Ace vs Penned

The clearest difference is price: AI Ace at Free against Penned's $4.99. AI Ace also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 50%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Penned's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

AI Ace is free to download; Penned costs $4.99 up front. AI Ace sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Penned asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for AI Ace against 4.6 for Penned. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39 and 87 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of AI Ace's written reviews are positive against 50% of Penned's.

AI Ace ships an update weekly, Penned every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 31, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | AI Ace | Penned |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [4.5 (39 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-ace/id1459935272/reviews) | **[4.6 (87 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penned-private-notes/id1480653765/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 39 | **87** |
| Positive reviews | **80.0% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 170 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **16.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [kimihiro kubota](https://appshunter.io/developer/500031798) | [Edwing H Santos Mena](https://appshunter.io/developer/1851857999) |

## What reviewers say

### AI Ace

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-ace/id1459935272)

Pose a single question and receive answers from various AI models, including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok. This free application requires no login and offers multiple AI perspectives on your queries.

**Highlights:** Multiple AI model responses, Single question input, No login required, Free to use, Supports ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Word Watch Pro | $19.99 | one-time |


### 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 AI Ace free?

AI Ace 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, AI Ace or Penned?

Penned is rated higher. AI Ace averages 4.5 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while Penned averages 4.6 from 87 ratings.

### Do AI Ace or Penned have ads?

AI Ace shows ads; Penned does not.

### Which is updated more often, AI Ace or Penned?

AI Ace ships an update weekly, and Penned every 2 months. Most recently, AI Ace was updated on August 31, 2026 and Penned on September 22, 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.*