Comparison

Pencil Planner vs ESM Vertretungsplan

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

Head to head
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

About

ESM Vertretungsplan

Features
Read full description

This is the official substitution app for the European School of Munich created by the Developer Committee of the school. In this app, you can check for the missing teachers at the ESM and their substitutes. You can now also check your timetable with the free periods and substitutions directly integrated in it so you don't have to search for your missing teachers in the list. A cool new functionality is the ability to change the app's theme, so you don't have to use light mode! Detailed features list: - "Timetable" page: -> You can see your timetable for the current day -> Free periods are shown by having the lesson greyed out and an overlay with diagonal lines to make it clear that you have a free period. -> Substituted periods are also shown on this page. These have a different colour and the substitution teacher is shown in bold instead of your usual teacher. - "Teachers" page: -> This page contains a list of all the missing teachers for the current day -> By clicking the small arrow on the right of each teacher, you can see their substituted lesson which is shown as: [period] [substitution teacher] ... [class] [room] -> You can also filter the teachers shown, so that you only see your teachers - "Settings" page: -> This page contains multiple settings and information about the app. -> Here, you can access your account preferences ("Account preferences" button), where you can check the email and the ESM username you have used to log in. You will also find a logout button. -> You can also find a "Language" button, which will open the iOS Settings app, where you can change the preferred language of the app. -> Below, there is a "Style" button, which allows you to toggle light/dark mode and choose the app's colour scheme. -> Then, you will find an "Info" button, which will show you some basic information about this app. -> Below that, there is a "Contact" button, which will automatically lead you to your default mailing app and open a draft, so that you can easily contact us. -> Lastly, you can find a "Credits" button, which will show you all the people who have worked hard on the app and who you can be thankful for.

Screenshots

Pencil Planner3 screens
ESM Vertretungsplan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ESM Vertretungsplan at none against Pencil Planner's 3. Pencil Planner's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.2). On price, ads and device support 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. ESM Vertretungsplan asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pencil Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, ESM Vertretungsplan every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pencil Planner versus ESM Vertretungsplan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPencil PlannerESM Vertretungsplan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (12 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews84.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.2
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTNX Apps UGVaclav Salvet

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
None

ESM Vertretungsplan

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pencil Planner free?
Pencil Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ESM Vertretungsplan free?
ESM Vertretungsplan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pencil Planner or ESM Vertretungsplan have ads?
Neither Pencil Planner nor ESM Vertretungsplan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pencil Planner or ESM Vertretungsplan?
Pencil Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, and ESM Vertretungsplan every 3 months. Most recently, Pencil Planner was updated on November 3, 2026 and ESM Vertretungsplan on October 31, 2026.

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