# Penso Notes vs Papyrus

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Penso Notes at none against Papyrus's 2. Penso Notes also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Papyrus's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Papyrus sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Penso Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

Penso Notes ships an update every 3 weeks, Papyrus weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Penso Notes | Papyrus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papyrus-research-library/id6766133716/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **2** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 124 MB | 25 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Suchitra Enterprise](https://appshunter.io/developer/1827772637) | [Zhenda Fu](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896207907) |

## What reviewers say

### Penso Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penso-notes/id6748872837)

**In-app purchases:** none


### Papyrus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papyrus-research-library/id6766133716)

Organize, annotate, and cite research papers within a native Apple ecosystem. This workspace allows you to import PDFs and citation records, take notes, and manage your reading collections as structured projects. It offers local-first storage with optional cloud sync and various export formats.

**Highlights:** Read and annotate PDFs, Organize citation records, Take Markdown notes, Search entire library, Create structured projects, Local-first storage, Optional iCloud/WebDAV sync

**Features:** Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Papyrus Lifetime Unlock | $3.99 | one-time |
| Papyrus Lifetime Unlock | $5.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Penso Notes free?

Penso Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Papyrus free?

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

### Do Penso Notes or Papyrus have ads?

Neither Penso Notes nor Papyrus shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Penso Notes or Papyrus?

Penso Notes ships an update every 3 weeks, and Papyrus weekly. Most recently, Penso Notes was updated on October 6, 2026 and Papyrus on October 12, 2026.

---

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