# Paint Gallery vs Penbook

The clearest difference is ads: Penbook at none against Paint Gallery's shown. Penbook also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (46K vs 69). Paint Gallery's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 58%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.1). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Paint Gallery sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Penbook sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Paint Gallery against 4.5 for Penbook. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Penbook has 46K ratings behind it against 69, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Paint Gallery's written reviews are positive against 58% of Penbook's.

Paint Gallery ships an update every 2 months, Penbook every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Paint Gallery | Penbook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (69 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paint-gallery/id445258482/reviews)** | [4.5 (46K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penbook-paper-planner-and-notes/id1473064295/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 69 | **46K** |
| Positive reviews | **85.6% of reviews** | 57.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#140** |
| Size | 23 MB | 143 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 18.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Bilal Javed Bhutta](https://appshunter.io/developer/1825603834) | [Pencil Research](https://appshunter.io/developer/1473063859) |

## What reviewers say

### Paint Gallery

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paint-gallery/id445258482)

Unleash your creativity with a free and fun painting application. This app offers a wide range of tools, including pencils, brushes, text, and shape drawing, along with the ability to import and export your artwork.

**Highlights:** Pencil tool, Various brushes, Color fill, Text tool, Draw shapes, Import/export drawings, Create photo galleries

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🎨 Powerful drawing tools
- 💡 Ability to import photos
- 🎨 Wide variety of colors and brushes
- 👍 Great for kids and beginners

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 🔒 No option to retrieve accidentally deleted drawings
- 💡 Lack of advanced features like layers, blending, and rotation

**Reported bugs**

- Paintings sometimes do not display properly after painting
- Crashes when trying to use certain tools or features

**Requested features**

- Add a physical trash can to retrieve deleted drawings
- Implement a copy/paste and rotate/resize feature for added elements
- Include a layer system for more advanced editing


### Penbook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penbook-paper-planner-and-notes/id1473064295)

**Currently charting:** #140 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Create custom digital notebooks with a vast library of stationery or import your own PDFs for annotation. Write naturally with a stylus and organize your notes with dynamic features like live planners and searchable handwriting.

**Highlights:** Live Paper dynamic stationery, Over 400 stationery types, Import and annotate PDFs, Natural handwriting with stylus, Searchable handwritten notes, Shape recognition, Customizable notebook covers

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Penbook Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Penbook Premium | $7.99 | per month |
| Penbook Premium | $14.99 | per year |
| Penbook Premium | $19.99 | per year |
| Penbook Premium | $29.99 | per year |
| Penbook Premium | $29.99 | per year |
| Penbook Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| Premium Lifetime (Loyalty) | $29.99 | one-time |
| Penbook Premium Lifetime | $49.99 | one-time |
| Penbook Premium Lifetime | $59.99 | one-time |
| Penbook Premium Lifetime | $69.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🎨 Variety of customization options for notebooks
- 📝 Smooth writing experience with Apple Pencil
- 🗓️ Useful calendar integration
- 💡 Innovative features like washi tape and stickers

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and data loss issues
- 🔒 Lack of password protection or locking feature
- 🔧 Glitchy zooming and ruler functionality
- 🧭 Poor notebook and page management
- 💰 Restrictive free version, expensive subscription

**Reported bugs**

- Sticker resizing issues causing app freezes
- Ruler placement and alignment problems
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between pages
- Calendar sync not working as expected
- PDF import and annotation functionality not reliable

**Requested features**

- Allow custom notebook covers or images
- Add text box and typing capabilities
- Improve organization with folders or tags
- Provide more customization options for templates
- Implement a more intuitive undo/redo system


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Paint Gallery free?

Paint Gallery is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Penbook free?

Penbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Paint Gallery or Penbook?

Paint Gallery is rated higher. Paint Gallery averages 4.7 out of 5 from 69 ratings, while Penbook averages 4.5 from 46K ratings.

### Do Paint Gallery or Penbook have ads?

Paint Gallery shows ads; Penbook does not.

### Which is updated more often, Paint Gallery or Penbook?

Paint Gallery ships an update every 2 months, and Penbook every 5 days. Most recently, Paint Gallery was updated on October 26, 2026 and Penbook on October 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*