Comparison

Penzu vs Reevly

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

Reevly

Features
Read full description

Reevly helps you remember who borrowed what. Print a QR tag. Stick it on the thing. Scan to lend. Done. Built for the everyday loan loop — the books your dive shop sends home with students, the projector that gets passed around the AV team, the tools your parish lets people sign out for weekend projects, the kit your scouting troop hands off camp-to-camp. Anything physical that leaves and (usually) comes back. PLAIN-LANGUAGE BY DESIGN No "asset custodian." No "check-out." Reevly says "Lend." "Return." "Who has it." "Your items." That's it. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Add items with photos, serial numbers, locations, notes, and prices • Lend to a borrower with an optional due date • Mark returned in one tap — capture an optional condition photo • Print a sheet of QR tags and stick one on each item • Scan a QR to lend, return, or just look up an item • See what's out, what's overdue, and what's coming back soon at a glance • Filter by location, category, or status — search by name • Export your data as CSV anytime PRO ADDS • Kits — bundle items and lend them together atomically • Reservations — hold an item for a future date with conflict detection • Per-category default loan durations • Unlimited items, borrowers, and loans • Up to 10 photos per item SIGN IN THE WAY YOU PREFER Sign in with Apple, Google, or email — your data stays yours. We don't sell it, don't share it with advertisers, and don't run tracking pixels. DARK MODE Full dark mode designed alongside the warm-cream light palette. Switch in Settings or follow the system. PRIVACY-FIRST Your items, borrowers, and loan history live on Cloudflare infrastructure scoped to your account. Other Reevly users can't see your data. Delete your account anytime — there's a 30-day grace window in case you change your mind. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://reevly.app/privacy

Screenshots

Penzu4 screens
Reevly4 screens

Verdict

The call

Penzu and Reevly are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Penzu sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Reevly sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Penzu versus Reevly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPenzuReevly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (2.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews52.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.5K — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB51 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperPenzu Inc.Eric Paolo Smith

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

Reevly

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Penzu

Subscriptions2
  • Penzu Pro Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Penzu Pro Subscription$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Penzu Pro Upgrade$18.99
2 purchases

Reevly

Subscriptions2
  • Reevly Pro · Monthly14 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Reevly Pro · Annual14 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Penzu free?
Penzu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reevly free?
Reevly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Penzu or Reevly have ads?
Neither Penzu nor Reevly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Penzu or Reevly?
Penzu ships an update weekly, and Reevly weekly. Most recently, Penzu was updated on October 17, 2026 and Reevly on October 10, 2026.

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