Comparison

Pensieve Note vs Papyrus

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

Head to head
About

Pensieve Note

Capture and organize your thoughts with a unique note-taking experience. Pin notes to real-world locations using augmented reality, set location-based reminders, and secure private thoughts with a hidden folder. Offers rich text formatting, drawing, voice notes, and powerful organization tools.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality note placement
  • Location-based reminders
  • Hidden folder for private notes
  • Rich text formatting and drawing
  • Voice notes with transcription
  • One-sentence journaling timeline
  • Custom folders and tagging
Features
Read full description

Pensieve Note is where your thoughts find a home — beautiful, organized, and always within reach. Inspired by the magical memory vessel, this app transforms how you capture, organize, and revisit your ideas. PLACE MEMORIES IN THE REAL WORLD Use augmented reality to pin notes to physical locations. Leave a reminder at your favorite coffee shop, attach study notes to your desk, or create a memory trail through your city. Your notes exist in space, not just on screen. LOCATION-BASED REMINDERS Never forget what you needed to remember. Set notes to notify you when you arrive at specific places — grocery lists at the store, talking points before meetings, or reminders when you get home. GHOST MODE — YOUR SECRET SPACE Some thoughts deserve extra privacy. Ghost Mode creates a hidden folder protected by a secret code — invisible to anyone browsing your notes. Your private journal, secure ideas, or surprise plans stay truly private. BEAUTIFUL NOTE-TAKING - 15+ paper styles: College ruled, dot grid, graph paper, Cornell notes, and more - Rich text formatting with colors and styles - Draw and sketch with Apple Pencil support - Add photos, stickers, and voice recordings - Handwriting recognition that converts writing to text VOICE NOTES & TRANSCRIPTION Record your thoughts and let the app transcribe them automatically. Perfect for capturing ideas on the go, recording lectures, or quick voice memos that become searchable text. ONE SENTENCE JOURNALING Build a life timeline, one sentence at a time. Daily prompts help you capture moments that matter. Over time, watch your story unfold in a beautiful, scrollable timeline. POWERFUL ORGANIZATION - Custom folders with beautiful cover images - Tags for cross-referencing notes - Pin important notes to the top - Smart search across all content - Mind maps to visualize connections SECURITY & SYNC - Face ID and Touch ID app lock - iCloud sync across all your devices - Export notes as PDF - Import from other note apps Your thoughts deserve more than plain text files. Give them a home that is as unique as the ideas themselves. Download Pensieve Note and start capturing memories that last. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://doc-hosting.flycricket.io/pensieve-note/60d88c90-b919-46f7-a7e2-41eefa18708c/privacy

About

Papyrus

Features
Read full description

Is your current note app slow? Meet a truly lightweight note app. - It's free — with no stingy limit on the number of notes. - Trimmed of every bit of bloat, yet complete with the features you actually need. - Open as many notes as you like with no slowdown, and PDFs load blazingly fast. - Import and edit notes from another popular note app. - Import by the folder — the hierarchy is preserved. [GoodNotes Import] Import .goodnotes files. Strokes, images, shapes, and masks are reproduced almost perfectly. [Handwriting] A custom vector drawing engine delivers extremely lightweight, high-precision ink. Five tools are built in: Pen, Highlighter, Eraser, Lasso, and Mask. Anything selected with the Lasso can be copied, moved, deleted, or duplicated. Mask is a study aid — cover what you want to memorize with the pen, then tap to peek underneath. Straight-line snapping and shape recognition (rectangles, circles, lines, and more) are also supported. [PDF Import & Annotation] Import a PDF and write directly on its pages. Switch between four page layouts: continuous scroll, single page, horizontal, and two-page spread. [File Organization] Organize your notes with a Finder-like file browser, creating folders freely. Switch between list and grid views, and move files and folders by drag and drop. A Trash lets you restore notes you deleted by mistake. [Tabs & Split View (iPad)] Open multiple notes at once in tabs. On iPad, split the screen to view and edit two notes side by side (Split View). [Page Sidebar] Swipe in from the left edge to reveal page thumbnails. Press and hold a thumbnail to reorder pages, and select multiple pages to delete, copy, and paste. [Images] Paste images from Photos, Files, or the clipboard. [Export] Export notes and PDFs as a "PDF for submission/printing," a "fast annotation PDF" (PDF annotations only), or a "Papyrus Archive" (.papyrus). [Apple Pencil] - iPad: draw with Apple Pencil only; pan and zoom with your finger. - iPhone: draw with your finger while the compact ink palette is open; otherwise pan and zoom. - With Apple Pencil Pro, use the squeeze gesture to bring up the hover palette. About Papyrus Sync (Subscription) iCloud sync and sharing are available through the "Papyrus Sync" subscription (monthly or yearly, auto-renewing). All core features — note-taking, PDF annotation, and more — are completely free. - Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. - The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. - You can manage your subscription or turn off auto-renewal in your Apple Account settings after purchase. - Prices are shown in the app and may vary by region. Terms of Use (EULA): https://coremedica.jp/pages/legal/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://coremedica.jp/pages/legal/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Pensieve Note4 screens
Papyrus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Papyrus at every 4 days against Pensieve Note's fortnightly. Pensieve Note's advantage is iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Both are free to download. Pensieve Note sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Papyrus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pensieve Note ships an update fortnightly, Papyrus every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Pensieve Note versus Papyrus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPensieve NotePapyrus
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMena Solimanwaraku kobayashi

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pensieve Note

Subscriptions2
  • Pensieve Note Pro$2.991 Month
  • Pensieve Note Pro$29.991 Year
2 purchases

Papyrus

Subscriptions2
  • Papyrus Sync Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Papyrus Sync Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Pensieve Note free?
Pensieve Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Papyrus free?
Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pensieve Note or Papyrus have ads?
Neither Pensieve Note nor Papyrus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pensieve Note or Papyrus?
Pensieve Note ships an update fortnightly, and Papyrus every 4 days. Most recently, Pensieve Note was updated on October 5, 2026 and Papyrus on October 13, 2026.

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