Penzu vs Overdue
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Penzu
This app provides a secure and private space for journaling, note-taking, and storing personal thoughts. It offers robust security features like password and PIN locks, encryption, and cloud syncing across devices. Users can also add photos and tags to their entries, making it a comprehensive digital diary.
- Unlimited journaling
- Cloud sync for free
- Password and PIN locks
- Journal encryption
- Add photos to entries
- Search and tag entries
- Offline writing
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*Used by over 1 million people around the world *Best free journal in any app store *Syncs to the web and other mobile platforms for free Penzu is the most popular free diary, journal and notepad. It’s the best place to keep your most private thoughts safe and secure. Sync your journals to Penzu where your notes are accessible from almost any device in the world. So simple and fun that you’ll leave your paper diary behind! FEATURES *Unlimited journaling *Sync journals with Penzu cloud for free *Customize your journal covers *Lock journals with a password *Encrypt your journals *Add photos *Lock app with a PIN *Search journals *Add tags *Write offline and more... WHY PENZU? Penzu is a diary and personal journal that is focused on privacy. With a unique and compelling user experience, it makes writing online as easy and intuitive as writing on a pad of paper. PRIVACY Your journal and your thoughts aren’t always meant to be shared — some things are supposed to be private! Use Penzu to jot down whatever you want. Then lock your journal with a password (or even encryption) so no one can read it but you! Furthermore, you can lock the entire app with a PIN in the event that someone gets access to your mobile device. PENZU Unlike other journal apps, Penzu has a web-based counterpart. So you can access your journals and diary from any web browser and other devices. Penzu is constantly being updated and improved so that the writing experience is effortless and reliable. SUBSCRIPTION INFO This app is free to download but requires a free Penzu account in order to start writing. Upgrading to Penzu Pro is available for a small monthly or yearly subscription. Your subscription will auto-renew unless you cancel manually. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 USD and renew every month. Yearly subscriptions are $19.99 USD and renew every year. You can see our privacy policy here: http://penzu.com/m/privacy You can read our terms of use here: http://penzu.com/m/terms
Overdue
This app helps students manage their academic workload by tracking assignments. It offers a straightforward interface designed for ease of use, ensuring you stay on top of your school tasks without any distractions.
- Homework tracking
- Assignment management
- Simple interface
- Student-focused design
- Ad-free experience
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Overdue is a homework tracker made for students, by students. Built to be simple and satisfying, Overdue makes keeping up with assignments easier. It's 100% free with no ads, no tracking, and no subscriptions. Privacy Policy https://ziplyne.dev/projects/overdue/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Overdue at 100% against Penzu's 53%. Overdue also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Penzu's advantage is ratings volume (2.5K vs 2) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Overdue holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Penzu has 2.5K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Penzu's written reviews are positive against 100% of Overdue's.
Penzu ships an update weekly, Overdue every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Penzu | Overdue |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (2.5K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.5K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 62 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Penzu Inc. | Brad Willoughby |
Customer experience
Penzu
Overdue
Bugs and requests
Penzu
Reported bugs
3 issues- Keyboard disappearing during use
- Entries not saving or syncing properly
- Inability to access account after updates
Requested features
4 requests- More customization options for fonts, themes, and layouts
- Ability to export/backup journal entries
- Improved mobile app stability and features
- Better customer support and communication
Overdue
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Penzu
No in-app purchases
Overdue
No in-app purchases
