Comparison

Charcoal vs Pencil Planner

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

Head to head
About

Charcoal

This app offers a simple yet powerful sketching experience with rich tools and beautiful color palettes. Easily create and export your artwork for use in other graphics programs. It supports modern iOS features like multiple windows and dark mode for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Simple sketching interface
  • Rich drawing tools
  • Beautiful color palettes
  • Export sketches
  • Multiple window support
  • Dark mode
Features
Read full description

• Charcoal is incredibly easy to use: Just create or open a sketch and start sketching. There are no layers or confusing settings. Instead, Charcoal features rich tools and beautiful color palettes. • Charcoal allows you to export a sketch to use it in your favorite graphics program. • Charcoal supports modern iOS and iPadOS features like multiple windows and dark mode: use it at night or open multiple sketches, even side by side.

About

Pencil Planner

This app allows users to visually plan their schedules by drawing appointments directly onto a calendar. It offers an intuitive, pen-on-paper experience for effortless scheduling, making it ideal for families and couples to coordinate activities and boost overall productivity.

Highlights
  • Draw appointments directly on calendar
  • Intuitive pen-on-paper planning
  • Visual family planner
  • Couple calendar for shared planning
  • Boost productivity and organization
  • Supports iPad stylus input
Features
Read full description

Ditch the Text, Draw Your Schedule with Stift! Tired of typing appointments? Stift lets you unleash the power of your tablet pen. Draw your schedule directly on the calendar! Why Stift? Effortless Scheduling: Draw appointments for any day, week, or month. It's that simple! Natural Planning: Forget the keyboard frustration. Stift feels intuitive, just like using a pen on paper. Perfect for Families: Coordinate everyone's activities with a visual, fun family planner. Keep track of soccer practice, music lessons, and movie nights - all in one place! Boost Productivity: Manage your time visually and stay organized with Stift. Work together: Use the calendar as a couple calendar and plan your year together. Stift: The fun and easy way to schedule your life. Please read the licensed application end user license agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ And our Terms of Service: https://www.s5t.app/terms

Screenshots

Charcoal3 screens
Pencil Planner3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Charcoal at none against Pencil Planner's 3. Charcoal also leads on ratings volume (144 vs 12). Pencil Planner's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). 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. Pencil Planner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months. Charcoal asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Charcoal against 4.6 for Pencil Planner. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Charcoal has 144 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Charcoal's written reviews are positive against 84% of Pencil Planner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Charcoal ships an update every 2 months, Pencil Planner every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Charcoal versus Pencil Planner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCharcoalPencil Planner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (144 ratings)4.6 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.8% of reviews84.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings144 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLars AugustinTNX Apps UG

Customer experience

Charcoal

All ratings144 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral6.9%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews125 reviews
Positive76.8%
Neutral12.8%
Negative10.4%

Pencil Planner

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative10.5%

Bugs and requests

Charcoal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Saved sketches lose quality
  • Palette colors change unexpectedly
  • Freezing when opening color palette

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to change brush/pen size
  • Layers and blending tools
  • Color wheel and custom color selection
  • Import/export options

Pencil Planner

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Charcoal

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Pencil Planner

Subscriptions2
  • Quarterly Pro$2.993 Months
  • Yearly Pro7 Days trial$7.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro$12.99

Questions

Is Charcoal free?
Charcoal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pencil Planner free?
Pencil Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Charcoal or Pencil Planner?
Pencil Planner is rated higher. Charcoal averages 4.5 out of 5 from 144 ratings, while Pencil Planner averages 4.6 from 12 ratings.
Do Charcoal or Pencil Planner have ads?
Neither Charcoal nor Pencil Planner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Charcoal or Pencil Planner?
Charcoal ships an update every 2 months, and Pencil Planner every 3 weeks. Most recently, Charcoal was updated on November 3, 2026 and Pencil Planner on November 3, 2026.

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