Comparison

Penso Notes vs Dabbly

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

Head to head
About

Penso Notes

Features
Read full description

Penso Notes: Write freely. Find easily. Never lose a brilliant idea again. Penso Notes transforms how you capture, organise, and rediscover your thoughts. Whether you're planning your day, tracking goals, or preserving memories, this powerful digital journal adapts to your life. Why Choose Penso Notes? - Bullet Journaling Perfected:Inspired by Ryder Carroll's proven Bullet Journal and Rapid Logging Methods, enhanced for the digital age. - Multimedia Memory Keeping:Add formatted text, photos, voice and camera recordings. - Multiple Journals, One App: Keep diaries for work, personal life, travel, or projects. - Find Anything Instantly: Search by text, tags, dates, or even bullets. Smart Organisation - Customisable bullets for quick scanning of tasks, notes, and events - Note Colours, tags and categories - Day dividers with mood and weather tracking - Priority highlighting and reactions - Calendar integration for events and reminders - Quick swipe gestures for migration and scheduling - Customisable themes and stickers Privacy You Can Trust Your thoughts are yours alone. Secure diary locking, private keys, and on-device storage mean your personal information stays personal. Perfect For: - Professionals managing projects and ideas - Creatives capturing inspiration - Anyone wanting better life organisation - Students organising research and deadlines - Bullet journal enthusiasts going digital Key Features: - Text, audio, photo, video, and file entries - Cross-journal search and tags - Customisable bullets and colour coding - Integrated Calendar and reminders - Multiple diary support - Mood and day dividers - Privacy controls - Beautiful themes and stickers From Scattered to Organised Stop losing important thoughts across sticky notes, random apps, and forgotten notebooks. Penso Notes creates one trusted space where every idea, plan, and memory has its place. Join thousands worldwide who trust Penso Notes to stay organised and keep ideas safe. Ready to Transform Your Thinking? Download Penso Notes today and experience the perfect blend of creative freedom and digital organisation. Penso Pro is an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly). Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Account Settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.penso-notes.com/privacy

About

Dabbly

Features
Read full description

Dabbly is the fastest way to jot down your day. Open the app and you're already on today's note โ€” no menus, no setup. Type a bullet, check it off, move on. Everything you write is saved instantly and works completely offline. WHY DABBLY โ€ข Daily by design. Each day gets a fresh note, so your thoughts stay organized by when you had them. โ€ข Check things off. Turn any line into a to-do and tick it when it's done. โ€ข Folders for what matters. Group notes into folders โ€” work, recipes, trips, anything โ€” and drag notes in with a tap. โ€ข Whiteboards. Sketch a diagram or doodle an idea with freehand drawing, right alongside your notes. โ€ข Look back anytime. Your history keeps every day you've written, easy to scroll through. BUILT TO BE FAST AND PRIVATE โ€ข Offline-first. Everything is stored on your device and opens instantly โ€” no waiting on the network. โ€ข Optional sync. Sign in with just your email (a quick code, no password) and your notes sync securely across your devices. โ€ข Your data, yours. No ads, no tracking, no selling your information. Export a full backup whenever you want. Whether it's a daily to-do list, a running journal, quick meeting notes, or a place to keep your ideas, Dabbly stays out of your way so you can just write. Simple. Fast. Yours.

Screenshots

Penso Notes4 screens
Dabbly3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dabbly at none against Penso Notes's 3. Dabbly also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Penso Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Dabbly asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Penso Notes versus Dabbly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPenso NotesDabbly
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size161 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSuchitra EnterpriseJohn Gillespie

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Penso Notes

Subscriptions2
  • Penso Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Penso Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Penso Pro Extended$79.99
None

Dabbly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Penso Notes free?
Penso Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dabbly free?
Dabbly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Penso Notes or Dabbly have ads?
Neither Penso Notes nor Dabbly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Penso Notes or Dabbly?
Penso Notes ships an update every 3 weeks, and Dabbly every 3 weeks. Most recently, Penso Notes was updated on November 5, 2026 and Dabbly on October 31, 2026.

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