Penned vs AI Keyboard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Penned
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.
- Natural Apple Pencil writing
- On-device AI text recognition
- 100% private, no cloud
- Export beautiful PDFs
- Smart tagging and search
- Distraction-free interface
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Your thoughts deserve privacy. Penned Notes is a minimalist handwriting app that keeps everything on your device. - Natural Apple Pencil writing - AI text recognition (on-device) - 100% private - zero cloud required - Export beautiful PDFs - Smart tagging & search - Clean, distraction-free interface Unlike other note apps, Penned Notes uses Apple's Neural Engine to recognize your handwriting locally and nothing leaves your device. No accounts, no tracking, no subscriptions to complex features you don't need. Perfect for: - Daily journaling - Class notes & studying - Meeting notes - Sketches & brainstorming - Sensitive work documents Privacy-first architecture means your notes stay truly yours. Download Penned Notes. Where your thoughts are penned, not surveilled.
AI Keyboard
Enhance your writing across all apps with an AI-powered keyboard and assistant. Translate, correct grammar, adjust tone, and generate content like emails and summaries. Save time with auto-paste and get smart replies.
- Global translation in 99+ languages
- Grammar and spell check
- Tone adjustment
- Auto-paste for quick snippets
- Email generation
- Paraphrasing and summarization
- AI-driven replies
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KeyAI is your AI Keyboard and full writing assistant, powered by AI. Use it across all your apps or in the main KeyAI workspace to bring linguistic precision and creativity to everything you write. Innovative Features of KeyAI – The AI Keyboard & Writing Assistant: * Global Translator: Effortlessly translate in 99+ languages from the keyboard or the app. * Grammar & Spell Check: Eliminate writing mistakes before you hit send. * Tone Adjustment: Craft messages with the perfect tone for any audience. * AutoPaste: Save and reuse your best snippets at lightning speed. * Email Generator: Draft polished emails in seconds from prompts or context. * Paraphrasing Power: Rewrite text for clarity and uniqueness. * Text Summarizer: Turn long documents into clear, actionable key points. * Synonym Suggestions: Expand your vocabulary with smart alternatives. * AI-Driven Replies: Get intelligent, context-aware responses instantly. * Customization Options: Personalize your AI Keyboard and in-app workspace. KeyAI is more than an AI Keyboard—ideal for quick replies anywhere and longer texts like emails, helping professionals and casual users communicate better. Try the app for free. A subscription or in-app purchase may be required to unlock unlimited access. Privacy Policy: https://enginesstudio.tech/privacy/keyai Terms & Conditions: https://enginesstudio.tech/terms/keyai
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: AI Keyboard at Free against Penned's $4.99. AI Keyboard also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Penned's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12). On rating, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
AI Keyboard is free to download; Penned costs $4.99 up front. AI Keyboard sells 12 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 4.7 for AI Keyboard. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 364 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Penned's written reviews are positive against 81% of AI Keyboard's.
Penned ships an update every 2 months, AI Keyboard every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Penned | AI Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (87 ratings) | 4.7 (364 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 80.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 87 | 364 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 231 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Edwing H Santos Mena | ENGINES STUDIO LAB |
Customer experience
Penned
AI Keyboard
Bugs and requests
Penned
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
AI Keyboard
Reported bugs
4 issues- Keyboard lags and becomes unresponsive during fast typing
- Automatic reply feature not working as expected
- Grammar check deleting or repeating text unexpectedly
- Compatibility issues on older devices and certain OS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for more languages (e.g., Vietnamese, Arabic)
- Implement swipe/gesture typing functionality
- Improve integration with popular messaging apps
- Add customization options for keyboard themes and layouts
- Enhance grammar correction and tone adjustment capabilities
In-app purchases
Penned
No in-app purchases
AI Keyboard
- AI Keyboard for 1 week$3.997 Days
- AI Typer Pro 1 week3 Days trial$4.997 Days
- AI Keyboard Pro for 1 Year$19.991 Year
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- AI Typer Pro 1 Year$39.991 Year
- AI Keyboard for 1 Year3 Days trial$39.991 Year
- AI Keyboard1 Month trial$40.001 Year
- Lifetime PremiumFree
- Cookie Tip$0.99
- Coffee Tip$2.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Burger Tip$4.99
- Pizza Tip$9.99
- AI Keyboard Premium Lifetime$59.99
