Comparison

Penzu vs Notico Max

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Unlimited journaling
  • Cloud sync for free
  • Password and PIN locks
  • Journal encryption
  • Add photos to entries
  • Search and tag entries
  • Offline writing
Read full description

*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

About

Notico Max

An all-in-one workspace for notes, links, reminders, study sets, and passwords. Organize everything in one place with rich formatting, folders, and tags. Works offline and syncs across devices.

Highlights
  • Notes with rich formatting, folders, and tags
  • Save URLs with previews and notes
  • Date and time reminders with calendar view
  • Flashcards and quizzes for study
  • Encrypted password vault
  • Cross-device cloud sync
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

NOTICO MAX is a fast, all-in-one workspace for your notes, links, reminders, study sets, and passwords — built for people who want everything organized in one place without the bloat. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Notes — quick capture with rich formatting, folders, tags, and pins • URLs — save links with previews and notes attached • Reminders — date and time reminders with a built-in calendar view • Study Sets — flashcards and quizzes for what you're learning • Passwords — encrypted vault for your credentials • Environment Variables — secure storage for developer secrets • Trash — recover anything you delete by mistake WORKS EVERYWHERE NOTICO MAX runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Windows. Sign in once and your data syncs across every device automatically. PRIVACY-FIRST Sign in with Apple. Your data is yours — nothing is sold, nothing is shared. Local-first storage means the app works offline, and changes sync the moment you're back online. NOTICO MAX PRO Upgrade to Pro for cross-device cloud sync, ad-free experience, and priority support. $2.99/month. Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.noticomax.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Penzu4 screens
Notico Max4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notico Max at 5.0 against Penzu's 4.2. Penzu's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, monetization model 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. Notico Max sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Penzu asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notico Max 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 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Penzu ships an update weekly, Notico Max every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Penzu versus Notico Max: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPenzuNotico Max
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (2.5K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.5K — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB13 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperPenzu Inc.Michael Demchak

Customer experience

Penzu

All ratings2,524 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral4.7%
Negative14.1%
Written reviews676 reviews
Positive52.7%
Neutral10.1%
Negative37.3%

Notico Max

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Notico Max

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Penzu

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Notico Max

Subscriptions9
  • 5 GB Personal Storage$0.991 Month
  • Extra Family Seat$0.991 Month
  • NoticoMax$2.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • 50 GB Personal Storage$2.991 Month
  • 20 GB Family Storage$2.991 Month
  • Family Plan$4.991 Month
  • 100 GB Family Storage$4.991 Month
  • 200 GB Personal Storage$5.991 Month
  • 500 GB Family Storage$14.991 Month

Questions

Is Penzu free?
Penzu is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notico Max free?
Notico Max is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Penzu or Notico Max?
Notico Max is rated higher. Penzu averages 4.2 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while Notico Max averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Penzu or Notico Max have ads?
Neither Penzu nor Notico Max shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Penzu or Notico Max?
Penzu ships an update weekly, and Notico Max every 2 months. Most recently, Penzu was updated on November 6, 2026 and Notico Max on November 5, 2026.

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