# Penned vs Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app

The clearest difference is price: Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app at Free against Penned's $4.99. Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (66% vs 50%). Penned's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). On rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app is free to download; Penned costs $4.99 up front. Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Penned asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Penned against 4.6 for Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app has 1.4K ratings behind it against 87, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Penned's written reviews are positive against 66% of Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app's.

Penned ships an update every 2 months, Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Penned | Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.6 (87 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penned-private-notes/id1480653765/reviews) | [4.6 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/greatnotes5-ai-note-taking-app/id1591954297/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 87 | **1.4K** |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **66.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 1 MB | 71 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.6** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Edwing H Santos Mena](https://appshunter.io/developer/1851857999) | [Kanza Ahmad](https://appshunter.io/developer/1667956463) |

## 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


### Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/greatnotes5-ai-note-taking-app/id1591954297)

Record, transcribe, and organize lectures, meetings, and ideas with AI-powered summaries, instant answers, and quick actions. Export notes as polished PDFs for easy sharing and collaboration.

**Highlights:** Automatic transcription with time-stamps, AI-generated summaries and key takeaways, Ask AI questions about your notes, Quick AI actions: translate, proofread, expand, Export notes as PDF, Record lectures and meetings

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

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GreatNotes Weekly Premium | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| GreatNotes 40% Off | $4.99 | per month |
| Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| GreatNotes Yearly Offer | $39.99 | per year |
| GreatNotes Yearly Premium | $59.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $48.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime | $239.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Penned free?

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

### Is Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app free?

Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Penned or Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app?

Penned and Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 87 and 1.4K ratings respectively.

### Do Penned or Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app have ads?

Neither Penned nor Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Penned or Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app?

Penned ships an update every 2 months, and Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app every 4 days. Most recently, Penned was updated on October 10, 2026 and Greatnotes5 AI Note Taking app on October 17, 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.*