Comparison

Pencil Calendar vs Mastermind Timer

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

Head to head
About

Pencil Calendar

This app combines handwritten planning with digital productivity tools. Plan your year, month, week, or day using your Apple Pencil, with options to doodle, sketch, and add notes. It syncs with your Apple Calendar and offers customizable widgets for easy access to your schedule.

Highlights
  • Handwritten planning with Apple Pencil
  • Year, Month, Week, and Day views
  • Syncs with Apple Calendar
  • Customizable widgets
  • Export to PDF or PNG
  • Template switching without data loss
  • Backup and restore functionality
Features
Read full description

CalendarPad is a handwritten calendar and planner for iPad and Apple Pencil. Write directly on spacious Year, Month, Week, and Day pages, see Apple Calendar events beside your plans, and keep important information visible with widgets. Plan freely without giving up handwriting. Add notes, priorities, to-dos, sketches, and reminders in your own style, then export any page as PDF or PNG to print or share. WRITE DIRECTLY ON YOUR CALENDAR • Handwrite, draw, and annotate with Apple Pencil • Use spacious pages designed for planning by hand • Add notes, priorities, to-dos, goals, and reminders • Choose background colors and use Light or Dark Mode PLAN AT EVERY SCALE • Year view for goals, holidays, and important dates • Month view for an easy-to-read calendar overview • Week view for priorities, tasks, and weekly planning • Day view for focused plans and Apple Calendar events • Perpetual calendars—keep planning without buying a new planner each year • Jump directly to any date or return to Today FLEXIBLE TEMPLATES • Choose from multiple layout styles for Year, Month, Week, and Day • Change templates as your planning needs change • Keep existing handwritten entries when switching layouts APPLE CALENDAR AND WIDGETS • View Apple Calendar events inside the Day planner • Add Month or Week calendar widgets to your Home Screen • Keep your schedule, notes, priorities, and to-dos visible • Daily schedule widgets refresh for the new day EXPORT, PRINT, OR SHARE • Export calendar pages as PDF or PNG • Print your handwritten calendar • Share pages with clear, useful filenames BACKUP & RESTORE — PRO • Create manual backups of calendar data, templates, and settings • Use optional automatic backups with status and attention alerts • Keep backup files locally or in iCloud Drive • Review available backups and restore a selected version FREE AND PRO ACCESS • Free: Use the Month Calendar for the current and previous months • Free: Export pages as PDF or PNG • Pro: Unlock Year, Week, and Day planners • Pro: Access future months in the Month Calendar • Pro: View Apple Calendar events in the Day planner • Pro: Use advanced backup and restore features • One-time Pro upgrade—no subscription Questions or feedback? We’d love to hear from you. support@semore-software.com

About

Mastermind Timer

Features
Read full description

Host your own Mastermind group with this handy timer

Screenshots

Mastermind Timer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mastermind Timer at none against Pencil Calendar's 2. Pencil Calendar's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Pencil Calendar sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Mastermind Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pencil Calendar ships an update fortnightly, Mastermind Timer every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Pencil Calendar versus Mastermind Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPencil CalendarMastermind Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (82 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings82 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSemore SoftwareDuc Huy Pham

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pencil Calendar

One-time2
  • CalendaPad Pro Promo$7.99
  • CalendarPad Pro$7.99
None

Mastermind Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pencil Calendar free?
Pencil Calendar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mastermind Timer free?
Mastermind Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pencil Calendar or Mastermind Timer have ads?
Neither Pencil Calendar nor Mastermind Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pencil Calendar or Mastermind Timer?
Pencil Calendar ships an update fortnightly, and Mastermind Timer every 5 weeks. Most recently, Pencil Calendar was updated on October 12, 2026 and Mastermind Timer on October 2, 2026.

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