Comparison

Pentip vs OpenNotes

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

Head to head
About

Pentip

This app combines typed notes, handwriting recognition, and PDF annotation. It allows you to seamlessly switch between typing and drawing on the same page, with your annotations intelligently linked to your text. Import PDFs, mark them up, and fill out forms with support for multiple languages.

Highlights
  • Handwriting recognition and search
  • Type and handwrite on the same page
  • Drawings move with text
  • Smart Dark mode for reading
  • PDF import and markup
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Pentip is a notebook for people who take a lot of notes, and who write some of them by hand and type the rest. FIND WHAT YOU WROTE BY HAND Search your notes and Pentip reads your handwriting. It also searches typed text, floating text frames, the text inside any PDF you imported, and the values you filled into PDF form fields. Search your whole library, or find every match inside the document you have open and jump straight to it. Handwriting is recognised in all ten languages Pentip speaks, Arabic and Turkish included. Searching costs nothing extra. TYPE AND HANDWRITE ON THE SAME PAGE Type straight onto the page. Your text flows from one page to the next, the way it does in a word processor, instead of sitting in a small box you have to drag around. Then pick up your Apple Pencil and draw on that same page. There is no drawing mode to switch into: the Pencil draws, the keyboard types where the cursor is, and your finger scrolls. YOUR DRAWINGS MOVE WITH YOUR TEXT Every pen stroke remembers the line of text it was drawn beside. So if you come back weeks later and add a paragraph, the arrow you drew still points at the same sentence, even once that sentence has moved onto the next page. READ IN THE DARK WITHOUT CHANGING YOUR WORK Turn on Smart Dark and a light document is drawn dark while you read and write it. It is a viewing mode, so what you export is exactly what you made. TOOLS THAT FEEL RIGHT Pen, brush, highlighter and a precise eraser, all with Apple Pencil pressure and tilt. Hold at the end of a stroke and it snaps into a clean shape. Straighten lines with the ruler or turn it into a protractor to measure an angle. Squeeze an Apple Pencil Pro and a small palette of colours and sizes opens at the tip of the pen. WORK ON YOUR HANDOUTS Import a lecture PDF and mark it up like paper, or scan pages straight in with the camera. Tap a form field and type into it, in any script, right to left included. Select the text in the PDF itself to copy, look up or translate it. And if your lecturer sends a corrected version, swap it in and every note you made stays where it was. BUILT FOR BIG DOCUMENTS Notebooks of any length, page templates, five layers, and sections that hold several canvases in a single file. Star the ones you live in and they gather on a Favorites page. TEN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING RIGHT TO LEFT Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. Text direction is set for each paragraph, so an Arabic note sits correctly next to an English source. Export to PDF or as an image, and sync across your devices with iCloud. Pentip runs on iPhone and Mac too. Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pentip.app/privacy/

About

OpenNotes

Create handwritten notes, import and annotate PDFs, and organize your thoughts with folders. This free, open-source app prioritizes privacy by keeping all your data local and on your device.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
  • PDF import and annotation
  • Folder-based organization
  • Add images and text
  • Local-first data storage
  • Export and share notes
Features
Read full description

OpenNotes is a simple, free, open-source notes app built for handwriting, PDFs, and focused organization. Create notebooks, import PDFs, write with Apple Pencil, add images or text, organize notes into folders, and export your work when you need it. OpenNotes is local-first and privacy focused. There are no accounts, no analytics, and no tracking. Your notes live on your device, with optional backup to your own iCloud so they survive a lost iPad or a deleted app. Nothing is ever sent to us — your notes stay in your Apple account, readable by no one else.

Screenshots

Pentip4 screens
OpenNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: OpenNotes at 4.4 against Pentip's 1.0. OpenNotes also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads 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. Pentip sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. OpenNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OpenNotes holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OpenNotes has 25 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pentip ships an update every 5 weeks, OpenNotes every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Pentip versus OpenNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPentipOpenNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.4 (25 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings125 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.215.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKhalil KhalilMark Miller

Customer experience

Pentip

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

OpenNotes

All ratings25 ratings
Positive84.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pentip

Subscriptions2
  • Pentip Pro Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Pentip Pro Yearly7 Days trial$8.991 Year
None

OpenNotes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pentip free?
Pentip is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OpenNotes free?
OpenNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pentip or OpenNotes?
OpenNotes is rated higher. Pentip averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while OpenNotes averages 4.4 from 25 ratings.
Do Pentip or OpenNotes have ads?
Neither Pentip nor OpenNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pentip or OpenNotes?
Pentip ships an update every 5 weeks, and OpenNotes every 5 days. Most recently, Pentip was updated on October 13, 2026 and OpenNotes on October 7, 2026.

Other comparisons