Comparison

Penloop vs Focalist

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

Head to head
About

Penloop

This app helps you organize your life by capturing events, todos, notes, and more. It offers a flexible system with calendars, folders, and tags to manage your information privately on your device.

Highlights
  • Capture events, todos, notes, journals
  • Organize with calendars, folders, tags
  • Private, on-device data storage
  • Automatic backups
  • Create multiple spaces
  • Sync via iCloud Drive
Features
Read full description

Penloop isn’t just a tool for storing information—it’s a space for thinking, creating, and growing. It adapts to your needs, so you can focus on what truly matters. Designed for doers, creators, and those who want to make a difference, Penloop is for the ones who are always thinking, moving, and striving to be better. It’s for those who want to live more mindfully and seek more than just an app. It’s for people who value privacy, clarity, and balance—those who are tired of tools that control them, and instead, want something that empowers them. It’s where your life can thrive. Rethink how you organize your life. At its core, Penloop isn’t just a note-taking app. It’s a better way to think, plan, and create. In one place, you can capture everything: • Events — so you’re always on top of your appointments • Todos / Reminders — so you never forget what matters • Notes and Journals — for your ideas and reflections • Timers and Stopwatches — to master your time • Logs — to monitor progress on what matters most • Bookmarks — for inspiration and future plans A system, tailored to you. With Penloop, you’re in control. Organize your world using: • Sleek Calendars — Keep your schedule on track by planning and visualizing events and appointments. Organize your day, set reminders, and never miss an important event, all while boosting your productivity and reducing stress. • Intuitive Folders — Streamline your workflow by grouping related items and reducing clutter. Folders help you stay organized, improve efficiency, and maintain focus, making it easy to find and manage your content. • Powerful Tags — Quickly organize, search, and filter your notes, tasks, and events. Tags help you find related content, track progress, and stay focused, so you can stay organized and effortlessly boost productivity. Privacy, Built Right In. • Your data stays yours. Always. Penloop doesn’t rely on servers. It stores your notes as ‘.space’ files directly on your device. Move them effortlessly between your project folders or sync them via iCloud Drive. This is your digital space—beautiful, flexible, and private. Reliable. Intuitive. Effortless. • With automatic backups and the ability to create multiple spaces, Penloop ensures your notes are safe and ready whenever inspiration strikes. It’s not just a tool. It’s a leap forward in how you organize your life. This is Penloop. Start today.

About

Focalist

This task manager allows for quick editing of to-do items and prioritizes tasks based on context, such as location. It offers instant synchronization and offline access to your lists.

Highlights
  • Instant task editing
  • Location-based tasks
  • Cross-platform sync
  • Offline-first support
  • Prioritized 'Now' view
Features
Read full description

A fast and efficient todo/task manager with reminders. Includes cross-platform sync and location-based tasks. • Edit tasks instantly without getting stuck in an item subscreen. It feels as lightweight as editing a document. • Bring your tasks to you. Everything you need to do is brought to the Now view - like your shopping list when you arrive at the grocery store, or the next task on a project. • Instant sync, with offline-first support. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Penloop4 screens
Focalist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Focalist at Free against Penloop's $6.99. Focalist also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.7). Penloop's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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

Focalist is free to download; Penloop costs $6.99 up front. Focalist sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Penloop asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Focalist holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Penloop ships an update fortnightly, Focalist every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on November 4, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Penloop versus Focalist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPenloopFocalist
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating3.7 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB15 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperDynaPlastic Ltd.David Rickard

Customer experience

Penloop

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Focalist

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Penloop

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Focalist

Subscriptions2
  • Focalist Premium (Monthly)$1.491 Month
  • Focalist Premium (Annual)$12.001 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$46.00

Questions

Is Penloop free?
Penloop costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Focalist free?
Focalist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Penloop or Focalist?
Focalist is rated higher. Penloop averages 3.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Focalist averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Penloop or Focalist have ads?
Neither Penloop nor Focalist shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Penloop or Focalist?
Penloop ships an update fortnightly, and Focalist every 4 weeks. Most recently, Penloop was updated on November 4, 2026 and Focalist on November 4, 2026.

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