# Quick Notes vs Penlog

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Quick Notes | Penlog |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (319 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quick-notes-capture/id6458535284/reviews) | **[4.8 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penlog-handwriting-journal/id6765667652/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **319** | 6 |
| Positive reviews | 79.1% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 4 days |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 196 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Furkan Simsir](https://appshunter.io/developer/1191021297) | [RT Indianapolis Holdings LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896030549) |

## What reviewers say

### Quick Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quick-notes-capture/id6458535284)

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:** Safari Extension, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $9.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Quick and easy capture
- 👍 Simple and intuitive UI
- 💡 Great for organizing information
- ✨ Satisfying categorization
- 💰 Lifetime license option

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Defective, data loss
- 🐛 Sidebar sorting buggy
- 🐛 Crashes a lot
- 🐛 Mac app non-functional
- 🐛 MacOS app crashing

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- Batch operations (export/merge)
- More keyboard shortcuts for macOS
- Tags and coloring
- An "all items" view with grouping and sorting
- Calendar or timeline view


### Penlog

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penlog-handwriting-journal/id6765667652)

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:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Penlog Pro Monthly | $8.99 | per month |
| Penlog Pro Annual | $89.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*