FoundKey vs PenForm
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FoundKey
Read full descriptionHide full description
FoundKey is a hands-on cryptography toolkit and learning app. Run real cryptographic operations, see exactly how ciphers transform your text, build multi-step cipher recipes, and trade encrypted messages and code-cracking challenges with friends - all in a beautiful, fast, fully offline app. WORKBENCH - 45+ OPERATIONS • Encode & decode: Base64, Hex, Binary, URL, Morse code (with audio playback), and more • Classical ciphers: Caesar, Vigenère, Atbash, Rail Fence, Playfair, Enigma, and friends • Modern crypto: AES, ChaCha20, Blowfish, and other symmetric ciphers • Hashing & key derivation: SHA-256 and the SHA-2 family, MD5, BCrypt, Argon2 • Utilities: frequency analysis, text tools, random keys, and more SEE HOW CIPHERS ACTUALLY WORK Tap "Explain" and watch your own text get transformed step by step - letter shifts, key alignment, rail patterns. It's the fastest way to truly understand a cipher: not a diagram from a textbook, but your message, traced live. CIPHER LAB - BUILD YOUR OWN ENCRYPTION Chain operations into reusable recipes: Vigenère into Base64 into reversed text — whatever you can dream up. Save, color-tag, and share recipes, or publish them as "black box" puzzles where friends must figure out the password. LEARN - A CRYPTOGRAPHY LIBRARY IN YOUR POCKET Illustrated chapters take you from ancient ciphers to modern encryption and hashing, with progress tracking as you read, test, and master each topic. MESSAGES - REAL ENCRYPTED NOTES Compose messages encrypted with real algorithms and pass them to friends by QR code, AirDrop, or link. They decrypt in the recipient's app with the key you share. No accounts, no servers — the message travels inside the code itself. CHALLENGES - CRACK THE CODE Solve built-in puzzles across difficulty tiers, race the clock, use hints sparingly - or craft your own challenges and dare your friends. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no ads, no analytics, no tracking • Everything stays on your device; works fully offline • Sensitive clipboard copies expire automatically and never sync to other devices • History auto-deletes on your schedule POWER-USER FRIENDLY • Siri Shortcuts for Base64, Hex, and SHA-256 • Spotlight search for operations, articles, and recipes • Deep links and .cwb files for sharing • Beautiful native design for iPhone and iPad, light and dark FREE VS PREMIUM Free forever: all 45+ operations, 5 cipher recipes, the first Learn chapters, starter challenge packs, and unlimited message exchange. One single purchase — no subscription — unlocks unlimited recipes, all 8 Learn chapters, every challenge pack, and early access to new features. Whether you're a puzzle lover, a student, a developer who needs a quick Base64 or hash, or just someone who thinks Enigma machines are cool — Crypto Workbench turns cryptography from a black box into a playground. Download it and crack your first code in the next five minutes. Terms of use: https://gitlab.com/seisembay/foundry-docs/-/blob/main/terms-of-use.md
PenForm
Read full descriptionHide full description
Learn to write beautifully, one letter at a time. PenForm is a handwriting coach that actually grades your handwriting, not just a tracing app. Write a letter with your Apple Pencil or your finger, and PenForm scores it on shape, slant, size, baseline, and smoothness. Then it tells you exactly what to fix, right there on the page. FIVE SCRIPTS, ONE APP • Print: the fundamentals, from your first letter to full sentences • Cursive: grouped by stroke family, the way real handwriting programs teach it • Italic: a refined, slanted everyday hand • Greek: learn the alphabet used across math, science, and the Greek language • Russian (Cyrillic): the alphabet behind Russian and other Slavic languages Whether you're a kid building fine motor skills, an adult fixing decades-old handwriting habits, or someone learning a new alphabet from scratch, there's a course for you. LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE Lessons unfold in a guided path, one small step at a time: new letters, then words, then sentences, each building on the last. Don't want to follow the path? Jump into Free Practice and drill any single letter, anytime. STAY MOTIVATED Build a daily streak, earn XP, level up, and unlock achievements, with optional Game Center integration to track them alongside your other games. BUILT FOR IPAD AND IPHONE A full, comfortable layout on iPad with Apple Pencil, and an adapted experience on iPhone. Portrait or landscape, Pencil or finger. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS PenForm is completely free. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads. There's no account to create and no data collection. Your practice history stays on your device, with an optional iCloud backup you control entirely. Pick up the pencil. Start writing better today.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PenForm at none against FoundKey's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. FoundKey sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PenForm asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | FoundKey | PenForm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Islam Seisembay | Lukas Nagy |
In-app purchases
FoundKey
- FoundKey Premium$4.99
PenForm
No in-app purchases









