Comparison

Penbook vs CalenDraw

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

Head to head
About

Penbook

Create custom digital notebooks with a vast library of stationery or import your own PDFs for annotation. Write naturally with a stylus and organize your notes with dynamic features like live planners and searchable handwriting.

Highlights
  • Live Paper dynamic stationery
  • Over 400 stationery types
  • Import and annotate PDFs
  • Natural handwriting with stylus
  • Searchable handwritten notes
  • Shape recognition
  • Customizable notebook covers
Features
Read full description

Write naturally with your Apple Pencil on Live Paper with Penbook. Build your perfect notebook from more than four hundred types of stationery. Then, use the best digital inking technology to pour your ideas, notes, plans, and dreams into it. Penbook's Live Paper is way smarter than ordinary stationery. Schedule your life on a monthly planner that shows a real calendar, organize your day with a day planner that shows you what time it is, and record your nutrition on a food diary that knows what day it is. Or, bring your own stationery! Import your PDFs into Penbook for quick annotation and editing. Give your notebooks colorful covers with fun art, and share them so your notes are always where you need them. FEATURES • Live Paper, the dynamic stationery that uses the smarts of your iPad and iPhone • Over 400 of academic, scientific, and planning stationeries • Import PDFs and use them as notebooks • Write naturally with your Apple Pencil, stylus, or finger • Unlimited unique cover combinations for your notes • Search your handwritten notes for words or phrases • Snap your strokes to perfect shapes with shape recognition INCLUDED STATIONERIES Penbook has a huge selection of customizable stationery. Each page of your notebook can be different, turning your iPad or iPhone into a magic notebook: • Blank stationery, with an optional date and configurable margin • Ruled paper with variable density • Graph paper with four options for square sizes • Dot stationery, either squared or isometric (offset) • Cross stationery with configurable margins and density • To Do pages with four layout options • Monthly habit paper for tracking streaks, habits, and goals • Day planner paper with a live updating timeline and calendar, and three layouts • Weekly planner paper that highlights the current time and date • Monthly planner paper that keeps track of the current day and shows you what's coming next • Yearly stationery for getting a complete overview of your next 365 days • Cornell paper for taking perfect study notes • French ruled (Séyès) paper • Penmanship practice paper • Table stationery for hand-written spreadsheets • Polar graph paper for plotting radial data • Semi-log and loglog paper for data with exponential growth or decay • Isometric stationery with equilateral (60-60-60) or isosceles (75-75-30) triangles • Perspective paper, configurable with one, two, or three vanishing points • Developer stationery with device stencils and configurable note-taking areas • Storyboard paper with 3 frame aspect ratios • Engineering paper with variable density • Chemistry paper for easily sketching molecules • Staff and tablature (music) paper with optional linked staves GET THE MOST OUT OF PENBOOK Use all of Penbook's stationery and writing features in a single notebook for free for as long as you like. Upgrade to Penbook Premium to create and export unlimited notebooks, receive access to new stationery and covers as they're designed, and get regular app updates. Penbook Premium is available by purchasing a yearly subscription or a one-time (lifetime) in-app purchase. When you choose to upgrade with the yearly subscription, you can start using Penbook Premium for free with a 7-day free trial. During the trial, cancel any time until 24 hours before the trial expires, and you will not be charged. If you do not cancel, you will be automatically billed for the yearly subscription when your free trial ends. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Our customer-first privacy policy: https://penbook.app/privacy-policy Penbook's terms of use: https://penbook.app/terms-of-use

About

CalenDraw

This app combines handwritten notes, drawings, and calendars in a single digital workspace. It allows for direct annotation on your calendar with a stylus, event management, and integration with other popular calendar and reminder services. Organize your thoughts and schedule visually.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes and drawings on calendar
  • Color-coded scheduling
  • Drag and drop event rescheduling
  • Keyboard event entry
  • Calendar and reminder integration
  • Full-text search
  • Customizable widgets
Read full description

Transform your ideas into beautifully organized plans with CalenDraw, where creative expression meets efficient planning. Seamlessly blend handwritten notes, drawings, and calendars in one intuitive digital workspace. CalenDraw is your digital planner reimagined. Make Your Calendar Personal • Write and draw directly on your calendar with Apple Pencil • Color code your schedule to stay organized • Drag and drop events to reschedule • Enter events with keyboard using rich text when your Pencil isn't handy Seamless Integration • Import events from Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook • Sync with iCloud across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Integrate with Apple Reminders • Get notifications on your iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac • Add widgets to your Home Screen for quick views Stay Organized • Create and manage multiple task lists • Check off completed tasks • Link journal entries to specific dates • Organize thoughts in separate notebooks • Switch between Month, Week, and Day views Power Features • Find anything instantly with full-text search across all your calendars, notes, and tasks • Keep your planning seamless by connecting your Apple Reminders • Save time by storing your favorite drawing tools and colors in the Pencil Case for quick access Perfect for: Students combining class schedules with study notes Professionals planning creative projects Anyone who loves to visualize their plans and ideas Visual thinkers and creative organizers Journal enthusiasts and planners Subscription Information: Payment will be charged to your iTunes account after the trial ends upon confirmation. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled 24-hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel subscriptions in your iTunes account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited upon purchasing a subscription. Terms of Service: https://www.databenice.com/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.databenice.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Penbook4 screens
CalenDraw4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Penbook at free with in-app purchases against CalenDraw's subscription. Penbook also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (46K vs 3.5K). On price, rating, review sentiment 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Penbook sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and CalenDraw sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Penbook against 4.5 for CalenDraw. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Penbook has 46K ratings behind it against 3.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 58% and 57% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Penbook ships an update every 5 days, CalenDraw every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Penbook versus CalenDraw: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPenbookCalenDraw
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (46K ratings) — better4.5 (3.5K ratings)
Positive reviews57.8% of reviews — better57.0% of reviews
Number of ratings46K — better3.5K
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.117.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size143 MB79 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPencil ResearchDataBeNice LLC

Customer experience

Penbook

All ratings45,717 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral4.7%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews631 reviews
Positive57.8%
Neutral13.0%
Negative29.2%

CalenDraw

All ratings2,941 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral4.3%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews309 reviews
Positive57.0%
Neutral16.5%
Negative26.5%

User reviews

Penbook

From 46K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🎨 Variety of customization options for notebooks
  • 📝 Smooth writing experience with Apple Pencil
  • 🗓️ Useful calendar integration
  • 💡 Innovative features like washi tape and stickers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and data loss issues
  • 🔒 Lack of password protection or locking feature
  • 🔧 Glitchy zooming and ruler functionality
  • 🧭 Poor notebook and page management
  • 💰 Restrictive free version, expensive subscription

CalenDraw

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Helpful for organizing daily routine
  • 👍 Great for planning and journaling
  • 👍 Syncs well across devices
  • 👍 Customizable writing tools

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy behavior, crashes, and data loss
  • 🐛 Reminders not working as expected
  • 🐛 Disappearing notes and entries
  • 🐛 Laggy performance on some devices
  • 🔍 Limited functionality in free version

Bugs and requests

Penbook

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Sticker resizing issues causing app freezes
  • Ruler placement and alignment problems
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between pages
  • Calendar sync not working as expected
  • PDF import and annotation functionality not reliable

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow custom notebook covers or images
  • Add text box and typing capabilities
  • Improve organization with folders or tags
  • Provide more customization options for templates
  • Implement a more intuitive undo/redo system

CalenDraw

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Reminders showing up on wrong dates
  • Calendar dates not aligning correctly
  • Inability to delete task lists
  • Keyboard getting stuck
  • Pencil drawing functionality not working

Requested features

5 requests
  • Separate pages for notebooks and task lists
  • Option to remove animations
  • Ability to import photos/images
  • Weekly and yearly calendar views
  • Handwriting-to-text conversion

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Penbook

Subscriptions6
  • Penbook Premium2 variants$4.991 Month
  • Penbook Premium$7.991 Month
  • Penbook Premium7 Days trial3 variants$14.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Penbook Premium7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Penbook Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Penbook Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Penbook Premium Lifetime$49.99
5 purchases

CalenDraw

Subscriptions5
  • CalenDraw Pro3 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Pro Access3 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • CalenDraw Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • CalenDraw Pro7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • CalenDraw Pro7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Penbook free?
Penbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CalenDraw free?
CalenDraw is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Penbook or CalenDraw?
Penbook is rated higher. Penbook averages 4.5 out of 5 from 46K ratings, while CalenDraw averages 4.5 from 3.5K ratings.
Do Penbook or CalenDraw have ads?
Neither Penbook nor CalenDraw shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Penbook or CalenDraw?
Penbook ships an update every 5 days, and CalenDraw every 2 weeks. Most recently, Penbook was updated on November 13, 2026 and CalenDraw on November 11, 2026.

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