# Penned vs Calculator Advanced

Penned and Calculator Advanced both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 50% of Penned's written reviews are positive against 22% of Calculator Advanced's. Penned also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). Calculator Advanced's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $4.99) and iOS requirement (14.2 vs 16.6). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Penned costs $4.99 and Calculator Advanced $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Penned holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 98 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Penned's written reviews are positive against 22% of Calculator Advanced's.

Penned ships an update every 2 months, Calculator Advanced every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Penned | Calculator Advanced |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **$0.99** |
| Rating | **[4.6 (87 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penned-private-notes/id1480653765/reviews)** | [4.4 (98 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calculator-advanced/id1561949054/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 87 | **98** |
| Positive reviews | **50.0% of reviews** | 22.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Size | 1 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | **14.2** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Edwing H Santos Mena](https://appshunter.io/developer/1851857999) | [Mert Can Kus](https://appshunter.io/developer/1534283988) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Calculator Advanced

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calculator-advanced/id1561949054)

This app allows you to save and reuse complex mathematical formulas, eliminating the need to re-enter them. Simply input variables to perform calculations repeatedly, making it ideal for frequent use of specific equations.

**Highlights:** Save and reuse formulas, Variable input for calculations, Supports advanced trigonometric and logarithmic functions, List variable calculations (sum, count, median, standard deviation), Includes 84 built-in formulas, Scientific calculator with math keyboard, User manual included

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Penned free?

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

### Is Calculator Advanced free?

Calculator Advanced costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Penned or Calculator Advanced?

Penned is rated higher. Penned averages 4.6 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while Calculator Advanced averages 4.4 from 98 ratings.

### Do Penned or Calculator Advanced have ads?

Neither Penned nor Calculator Advanced shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Penned or Calculator Advanced?

Penned ships an update every 2 months, and Calculator Advanced every 5 months. Most recently, Penned was updated on September 22, 2026 and Calculator Advanced on September 30, 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.*