Comparison

Penned vs DoneDate

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

Head to head
About

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.

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
Read full description

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.

About

DoneDate

Features
Read full description

When did you last do it? DoneDate remembers so you don't have to. Changing the bedsheets, descaling the kettle, flea treatment for the dog, rotating the tyres, calling your parents. Some things don't happen on a strict schedule, but you still want to know how long it has been. DoneDate keeps the date of every time you did it, and shows you what is due next. HOLD TO MARK IT DONE Press and hold a chore to log it. DoneDate saves the date, starts counting again, and your panda celebrates with you. SEE HOW LONG IT'S BEEN • Every chore shows how many days have passed since you last did it • Filter by Due Today, Overdue and Upcoming • A timeline, calendar and full history of every time you did something • Charts that show your routine over weeks and months • Add notes, tags, icons and colours to any chore REPEATS THAT FIT REAL LIFE Set chores to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or on your own custom schedule. You get a gentle reminder at the time you choose. BRING WHAT YOU ALREADY TRACK Import repeating items from Apple Reminders and Calendar. A repeating event arrives already knowing the dates it happened. Everything is read on your device and nothing is sent anywhere. ALWAYS WITHIN REACH • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for upcoming chores and insights • Siri Shortcuts: log a chore just by asking • Light and dark appearance • Back up and restore your data whenever you want UNLOCK PLUS+ • Unlimited DoneDates (the free plan holds one chore) • iCloud Sync across your iPhone and other Apple devices • Log with Siri, even on the go • Ask Panda: ask about your DoneDates in plain language and get instant answers, even offline (requires a device that supports Apple Intelligence; runs on your device) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION DoneDate Plus+ is available as an auto-renewing subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the current period ends. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. If a free trial is offered, any unused part of it is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://donedate.appexosolutions.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Penned4 screens
DoneDate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DoneDate at Free against Penned's $4.99. Penned's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

DoneDate is free to download; Penned costs $4.99 up front. DoneDate sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Penned asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Penned versus DoneDate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPennedDoneDate
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (87 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings87 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEdwing H Santos MenaAppexo Solutions LLP

In-app purchases

None

Penned

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

DoneDate

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Annual3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Penned free?
Penned costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DoneDate free?
DoneDate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Penned or DoneDate have ads?
Neither Penned nor DoneDate shows ads.

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