# Pencil vs FoxNotes

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: FoxNotes at 16.0 against Pencil's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pencil sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and FoxNotes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Pencil ships an update every 8 days, FoxNotes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pencil | FoxNotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pencil-pdf-notes-with-pencil/id6466286421/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **4** | — |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 465 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Kairoos Solutions SL](https://appshunter.io/developer/978066434) | [Do Anh](https://appshunter.io/developer/646231301) |

## What reviewers say

### Pencil

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pencil-pdf-notes-with-pencil/id6466286421)

Create beautiful notes, sketch ideas, and annotate PDFs with advanced ink tools and AI assistance. Convert handwriting to text, scan documents, and organize files seamlessly across cloud services. Enjoy a realistic ink-on-paper feel with stylus support.

**Highlights:** Advanced ink tools for writing and sketching, AI Assistant for summarization and translation, Handwritten notes to editable text conversion, Document scanning with automatic frame recognition, Cloud service integration for file management, Full-text search for PDFs, PDF reader with highlighting and read aloud

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock All and AI Assistant | $2.99 | per month |
| GoodPencil Upgrade | $3.99 | one-time |


### FoxNotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/foxnotes-note-taker/id6670165851)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Journal Planner Premium Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Journal Planner Premium Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| Journal Premium Lifetime | $29.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pencil free?

Pencil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is FoxNotes free?

FoxNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Pencil or FoxNotes have ads?

Neither Pencil nor FoxNotes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pencil or FoxNotes?

Pencil ships an update every 8 days, and FoxNotes every 2 weeks. Most recently, Pencil was updated on October 11, 2026 and FoxNotes on October 7, 2026.

---

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