Penjo vs RetroSync
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Penjo
This app allows you to handwrite notes, sketches, and plans digitally. Integrate your calendar events and reminders, then use your notes and photos to create a daily diary. Search your handwritten entries and synced across your Apple devices.
- Handwritten notes and sketches
- Apple Calendar and Reminders integration
- iCloud sync across devices
- Handwriting search
- Customizable journal appearance
- Photo editing and manipulation
- PDF export
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Penjo is a digital journal and planner you write by hand. In the morning, today's page shows your Apple Calendar events and reminders, and you plan around them with Apple Pencil or your finger. By evening, the same page is your diary, with notes, sketches and photos of the day, and iCloud keeps it on your iPad, iPhone and Mac. Later, search finds the words you wrote, even in your handwriting. In September 2026, the App Store featured Penjo in "Make the Most of Apple Pencil" in 173 countries. PLAN WITH YOUR CALENDAR • See your Apple Calendar events and Apple Reminders on the day page and in the week and month views, including Google and Exchange calendars. Add, edit and complete them without leaving Penjo. • Reminders you haven't finished from earlier days appear under Overdue on today's page. • On iPad and Mac, the day drawer keeps the day's plans beside your page as you move from day to day. • See your week at a glance, with each day's page and plans. The month page is a canvas too, for a habit tracker or a mood chart. MAKE IT YOURS • Give each journal its own look: 18 cover colors, 20 paper colors, and blank, lined, grid or dotted paper in different spacings. • Use Day Mode for a page every day, or List Mode for occasional notes, class notes, trips or scrapbooks. • Choose fonts and colors for your text, set up your own Apple Pencil tool palette, and pick light or dark. WRITE YOUR DAY • Every page starts blank on the paper you chose, and you decide what goes where. Add more pages to a day when you need them. • Penjo can straighten the lines you draw, and you can scribble over words to erase them. • Photos: remove the background, add a sticker effect or an instant photo frame, flip a photo or clip it to a shape, right on the page. Add text boxes, shapes and maps too. • Add moments from your day and gratitude prompts with Journaling Suggestions, and use Writing Tools and Image Playground on supported devices. SYNCED AND PRIVATE • iCloud keeps your journals in sync on iPad, iPhone, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. They stay in your own iCloud, and we never see what you write. • Lock the app or a single journal with Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode. • Export a day, week or month as a PDF, or back up and transfer whole journals as .penjo files. LOOK BACK • Search also finds the text in your photos, with text recognition on your device. • On This Day shows what you wrote on the same date in earlier years. READY FOR THE NEWEST APPLE DEVICES • The Liquid Glass design on iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and later, in your journal's colors. • iPhone Duo: open it like a book, with the page on one side and the day's events and reminders on the other, or set it half open on a table and write on the flat half. Fold it shut and the journal closes. • Home Screen widgets, and Penjo in 22 languages. FREE AND UNLIMITED Penjo is free to start, with no account to create: 3 journals and 14 day pages in each. Penjo Unlimited adds Apple Calendar and Reminders, iCloud sync, unlimited journals and pages, app and journal locks, PDF export and .penjo backups, on all your devices. Choose a monthly or yearly subscription, or pay once with Lifetime. Family Sharing is available on the monthly plan. Questions? Every message gets a personal reply. support@penjoapp.com Privacy Policy: https://penjoapp.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
RetroSync
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Track your EBike, protect it from theft, and stay connected to every ride. The Retrospec app gives you real-time battery monitoring, GPS ride tracking, and anti-theft alerts, all from your phone. FEATURES ● Real-time battery monitor and range tracking ● GPS ride tracking and route history ● Anti-theft alerts and bike location monitoring ● Customizable pedal assist and ride settings ● Ride stats: speed, distance, and ride time ● Low battery notifications ● Compatible with Retrospec EBikes Simple setup, no learning curve. Connect your EBike and go.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RetroSync at none against Penjo's 3. RetroSync also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). 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
Both are free to download. Penjo sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. RetroSync asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Penjo | RetroSync |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (282 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 73.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 282 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 214 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Zafer ARICAN | Xander Bicycle Corporation |
Bugs and requests
Penjo
Reported bugs
13 issues- Cloud sync not working across devices despite paid subscription
- App crashes when using photo effects
- Calendar not syncing or displaying properly
- Notebooks disappearing or becoming unopenable
- Text boxes misaligning after app closure
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- Bluetooth keyboard text appearing at bottom of screen
- Restore purchases button non-functional
- iCloud sync not automatic despite being enabled
- Family sharing not working on secondary Apple IDs
- Support page returning 404 errors
- Forced app updates without user consent
- Text selection tools unreliable on mobile devices
- Photo shape cutting requires specific upload order
Requested features
24 requests- Dark mode or black background option
- Screen lock/page lock to prevent accidental writing
- Apple Pencil advanced features (highlighter, squeeze, double-tap)
- Text formatting options (resize, color change for selected text)
- More page layout templates and line spacing options
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- Ability to convert handwriting to text
- Stickers and decorative elements for journaling
- Bullet point and to-do list functionality
- Google Drive and Google Tasks integration
- PDF annotation and file linking capabilities
- Folder and subfolder organization system
- Non-calendar-based notebook organization
- Weekly and monthly view options
- Automatic page creation at 50% capacity
- Customizable default text preferences
- Straight line drawing tool (like Procreate)
- Voice memo support
- Outlook calendar integration
- Book-style page turning interface
- Habit tracker and monthly review templates
- Daily prompt suggestions for journaling
- Emoji and motivational sticker packs
- Page thumbnails and quick navigation
- Hyperlinked navigation tabs
RetroSync
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Penjo
- Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$39.99
RetroSync
No in-app purchases









