Comparison

Quick Notes vs Penlog

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

Head to head
About

Quick Notes

This app helps you quickly capture thoughts, ideas, and tasks on your mobile device. It offers seamless organization, intuitive reminders, and easy export to over 20 other applications, keeping your inspiration flowing and your to-dos managed.

Highlights
  • Quick note-taking in real-time
  • Export to 20+ apps and Siri Shortcuts
  • Seamless iCloud synchronization across devices
  • Intuitive reminders with badge system
  • Automatic date and URL recognition
  • Home and lock screen widgets
  • Share extension for adding content from any app
  • Siri voice commands and Shortcuts integration
Features
Read full description

Capture's intuitive interface and smart features turn your mobile device into a powerful thought organizer, letting you seize, sort, and execute your ideas with unprecedented ease. • Quick Notes: Immediacy is key, and with Capture, the moment inspiration hits, you're ready. Our quick note-taking feature is designed for those who think fast and want to write faster. Notes, lists, and reminders are captured in real-time, ensuring no idea ever slips through the cracks. Brain dump on the go and stay one step ahead of your inspiration. • Export to 20+ apps: Looking to migrate your captures to other platforms like Obsidian, Things 3, Todoist, iA Writer, Craft, Omnifocus 4, Fantastical, UpNote, NotePlan, Reminders or Apple Calendar? Capture's export functionality allows you to move your content with ease. It's all about getting your thoughts out there, wherever 'there' might be, from to-do to calendar apps. In addition, you can run any Siri Shortcut as an export option, enabling all kinds of workflows by using the capture as input. • iCloud Sync: Keep your ideas and tasks in harmony across all your devices with Capture's iCloud Sync. Every note, list, and preference is automatically updated, ensuring you have access to your latest thoughts wherever you go. • Intuitive reminders: With our badge system, subtle yet effective reminders keep you informed of your tasks. These intuitive nudges ensure that important notes don't get lost in the shuffle, keeping you alert and on track. • Automatic date & URL recognition: Organization has never been so effortless. Capture's data recognition identifies your dates and URLs so you don't need to manually insert them. They are also pre-filled with your favorite export option. • Widgets: Access your captures instantly with our widgets right from your home and lock screen. Capture prioritizes convenience, giving you a visual snapshot of your latest thoughts and to-dos without having to open the app. • Share Extension: Add content to Capture with ease using the Share extension — available from any app. • Siri & Shortcuts: Capture thoughts hands-free with Siri voice commands and enhance your workflow with Siri Shortcuts to create, open, and search captures effortlessly. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Penlog

This app allows you to write handwritten notes and tasks using an Apple Pencil on your iPad. It automatically syncs these entries with your Notion workspace, converting your handwriting into actionable tasks and organized notes. The app also offers features like task carry-forward and a morning briefing with integrated AI.

Highlights
  • Handwritten task and note creation
  • Two-way Notion task synchronization
  • Automatic notation reading (tasks, notes, headings)
  • Carry-forward of unfinished tasks
  • Morning briefing with calendar and AI integration
  • REST API and MCP server for developers
Features
Read full description

Write a task by hand. Watch it show up in Notion. Penlog is a handwritten daily journal. You write with Apple Pencil on iPad. On iPhone you see today, add and check off tasks, and read every page. Every day gets its own page, so there is nothing to name, nothing to file, and no folder to choose. You write. Your other apps update themselves. Rick Thomas, a solo founder in Indianapolis, builds Penlog for people who think in ink. TWO-WAY TASK SYNC WITH NOTION A task you write by hand becomes a real task in your Notion tasks database. Cross it off with Apple Pencil, or tap it on iPhone, and it completes in Notion. Complete it in Notion and it shows as done on your page. Task status moves in both directions automatically. There is no export step and no copying and pasting. NOTATION READING Penlog reads your notation, not only your words. A bullet is a task. A dash is a note. An X means done. An underline makes a heading. Your page arrives sorted into tasks and notes instead of a wall of transcribed text. Penlog reads a page after you stop writing, not while you write. It waits for a finished thought rather than reacting to a half-formed stroke. CARRY-FORWARD An open task stays with you. If you do not finish it today, Penlog carries it forward to tomorrow's page, and to the day after, until you cross it off. Nothing gets lost because you turned the page. THE MORNING BRIEFING Connect Notion, your calendar, Claude, or ChatGPT. Penlog places today's events and open tasks on your page before you open it. That is the Morning Briefing. You can edit or hide anything in it before you start writing. SEEDING FROM AN AI ASSISTANT Ask Claude or ChatGPT to put something on tomorrow's page and it is waiting when you sit down. Penlog calls this seeding. It works in the other direction too, because an assistant can read the page you wrote by hand. FOR AGENTS, SCRIPTS, AND DEVELOPERS Every page is available through a REST API. Penlog also runs a Model Context Protocol server, usually written MCP, so any assistant that supports MCP can read your page and write to it the same way it reads your calendar. Penlog is listed in the Notion Integration Gallery and in the official MCP Registry. WHAT IS FREE AND WHAT NEEDS PRO The journal is free. You can write every day, have your notation read into tasks and notes, carry unfinished tasks forward, and export your pages without a subscription. Penlog Pro adds the destinations, and you can try it free for 14 days. Two-way Notion sync, calendar import, the REST API, and the MCP server require Pro. Pro also removes the daily limit on handwriting reads that applies to free accounts. WHAT PENLOG IS NOT Penlog does not replace Notion and it does not ask you to move your tasks somewhere new. If you keep tasks in Notion and write by hand on iPad, you are doing both today and reconciling them yourself. Penlog is the part in between. FROM A FIVE-STAR REVIEW sleepypeach wrote: "I loved notion but really struggle to refer to it on a daily basis... Written systems worked better but didn't allow me to plan long term. Penlog has been the perfect solution to my workflow issues." PRIVACY AND SECURITY Penlog encrypts all network traffic in transit with TLS. You can delete your account in Settings, which permanently removes your data from Penlog's servers. Writing needs an iPad and Apple Pencil. SUBSCRIPTION AND PURCHASE TERMS Penlog Pro is an auto-renewable subscription, offered monthly or annually. Eligible new subscribers get a 14-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when the trial ends, or when you confirm the purchase if there is no trial. The subscription renews automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the current period ends, and renewal is charged within 24 hours of the end of that period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://penlog.app/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://penlog.app/privacy/

Screenshots

Quick Notes4 screens
Penlog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Quick Notes at 319 against Penlog's 6. Quick Notes also leads on device support (5 vs 2). Penlog's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 79%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Quick Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Penlog sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Quick Notes against 4.8 for Penlog. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Quick Notes has 319 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Quick Notes's written reviews are positive against 100% of Penlog's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Quick Notes versus Penlog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuick NotesPenlog
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (319 ratings)4.8 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings319 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size196 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFurkan SimsirRT Indianapolis Holdings LLC

Customer experience

Quick Notes

All ratings315 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews86 reviews
Positive79.1%
Neutral9.3%
Negative11.6%

Penlog

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Quick Notes

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Data loss/notes vanishing
  • Sidebar sorting is buggy and breaks
  • Mac app does not work
  • App crashes frequently
  • Stickie notes do not work on MacOS 14 Sonoma
Show 3 more
  • MacOS App keeps crashing when hitting Enter key
  • App keeps crashing when making lists
  • Cannot share more than 1 note at a time

Requested features

19 requests
  • Batch operations (export/merge)
  • More keyboard shortcuts for macOS
  • Tags and coloring
  • An "all items" view with grouping and sorting
  • Calendar or timeline view
Show 14 more
  • View and live-edit notes expanded
  • Themes (black/white)
  • Ability to share to Supernotes and Tasks
  • Apple Watch app
  • New items to appear at the bottom of the feed
  • Ability to swipe left and right to move between lists
  • App icon customization
  • More widget presentation
  • Visual customization
  • Pin and archive lists
  • Support for images
  • WatchOS app with dictation
  • Better Markdown support
  • More keyboard shortcuts

Penlog

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Quick Notes

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Yearly3 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$19.99
2 purchases

Penlog

Subscriptions2
  • Penlog Pro Monthly14 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Penlog Pro Annual14 Days trial$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Quick Notes free?
Quick Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Penlog free?
Penlog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Quick Notes or Penlog?
Penlog is rated higher. Quick Notes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 319 ratings, while Penlog averages 4.8 from 6 ratings.
Do Quick Notes or Penlog have ads?
Neither Quick Notes nor Penlog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Quick Notes or Penlog?
Quick Notes ships an update every 4 days, and Penlog every 4 days. Most recently, Quick Notes was updated on November 7, 2026 and Penlog on November 5, 2026.

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