Comparison

Lyrium vs PenVox

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

Head to head
About

Lyrium

This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for songwriters, including AI-powered lyric suggestions, rhyme dictionaries, and creative prompts. It helps users brainstorm ideas, analyze their work, and even compose chord progressions. Share your creations with others through sharable song pages and lyric sheets.

Highlights
  • AI-powered lyric suggestions
  • Rhyme dictionary and thesaurus
  • Word cloud and suggestion feed
  • Chord progression composer
  • Song analysis and feedback
  • Sharable song pages
  • Writing prompts and timer
Features
Read full description

You won't find a lyrics app with more features on the App Store. Music tools are our passion and Lyrium is the best for this job. Get the lyrics app developed by ex-Apple engineers. Feature List • Word Cloud - Tom Petty wrote an entire album looking at magnet words on a music stand. We put a galaxy of magnets right around your notepad. • Cloud Tags - type [word] in your lyrics and the cloud shows words that could go there • LyRhyme - smart songwriting dictionary and Roget-style thesaurus • Freestyle Drafting Engine - capture lyrics as you think out loud and get contextual suggestions • Rhyme Worksheets - seed inspiration by generating a tapestry of thematic words and rhymes to get lyrics flowing • Object Writing - utilize this powerful technique to capture your sense memories and transport your listeners into the world of your song • First Line Engine - offers suggestions that integrate your own meticulously curated ideas and words to get a first line on the page • Configurable Context - every suggestion generation feature has a configurable context that controls exactly what your inspiration should source • Song Palette - tweak the thematic and emotional energy you want to capture in your song • Meter Analysis - see the rhythm of your lines right in the editor • Rhyme Highlighting - automatically color code rhymes • Chord Annotations - add your chords and share them • Sharable Song Pages and Lyric Sheets - share your song and any of the context that went into it via sharable links hosted by Lyrium. Also export social captions and HTML embeds or bbcode for forum posts. Upload audio to share your entire complete work with a Lyrium page. • Collect Notes - capture inspiration in the form of journal entries, song concepts, or voice notes to tap for your songwriting • Song Analysis - automatically detect narrative stagnation or cliches and get suggestions for improvement • Metaphor Explorer - get metaphor ideas automatically as you work • Suggestion Feed - tap the same inspiration that drives the word cloud in a feed by your notepad • Process Notes - catalog the evolution of your song over time to revisit old threads or explore the origins of old ideas • Song Chat - when all else fails, you can interact with a generative model to get answers or inspiration from any prompt • Concept suggestions - source starting points for kicking off songs • Chords Playground - compose and preview chord progressions • Harmonic Vibe Dictionary - explore common chord movements and the theory behind them • Writing Prompts • Writing Timer • Tuner We put the best techniques used by pro songwriters into an deeply interconnected creative process that takes you from collecting inpiration to writing your first line and tracking your final lyrics. Use the new Freestyle drafter to get inspiration as you think out loud. Suggestions are automatically offered for the bit you seem to be working on. Our AI philosophy in a letter A note to your other lyrics app: AI can't write lyrics. So many new songwriting apps don’t get this. AI just writes the song, and the output is derivative by design. Great art is a product of emotion and experience by the unconscious mind, not a rehash of unlicensed pop songs spewed by autocomplete matrix math in a data center on leveled farmland. Expediting the process while undermining the authenticity is futile. Lyrium is fundamentally different. It’s built from the ground up to cultivate connections and inspiration in *you*. We tap the best tools available to amplify your sparks at every songwriting stage: a powerful rhyme dictionary and Roget-style thesaurus, your sense memories, your journal, and creative interfaces that tap language models for their mastery of language, not lyrics. All this input is tied together in a first-of-its-kind workspace that exposes the power and flexibility you’d expect from the pro tools you use to make the rest of your music. Terms of use: https://lyrium.app/terms

About

PenVox

This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for songwriters, from drafting lyrics with section headers and multiple versions to accessing rhyming dictionaries, thesauruses, and AI assistance for creative blocks. It also includes multi-track audio recording, a chromatic tuner, metronome, and collaboration features.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free lyrics editor with section headers
  • Multiple versions per song
  • Rhymes, thesaurus, dictionary, and emotion tools
  • AI helper for brainstorming and overcoming blocks
  • Multi-track audio recording up to 5 takes
  • Chromatic tuner and metronome with practice sets
  • Collaboration with co-writers
Features
Read full description

PenVox is a songwriting studio built for people who take writing seriously. Draft, revise, and finish songs in one focused app. WRITE WITHOUT FRICTION - Distraction-free lyrics editor with section headers ([Verse], [Chorus], [Bridge]) - Multiple versions per song — compare drafts as you go - Auto-save as you type - Voice dictation for capturing lines on the fly - Notes panel for ideas and reminders - Word, line, and syllable counts WRITING TOOLS BUILT IN - Rhymes — perfect and near rhymes - Thesaurus — synonyms and related words - Dictionary — definitions, parts of speech, examples - Emotions — 12 categories to find the right feeling - Phrases — common songwriting hooks and patterns - AI Helper — brainstorm, revise, and break through blocks - Freestyle — random word generator with timer mode ORGANIZE YOUR CATALOG - Albums, favorites, and custom sort order - Search across every lyric and title - Grid and list views - Deadline tracking with days-left indicators - Tags for genre, BPM, and key RECORD AND LAYER AUDIO - Multi-track recording — stack up to 5 takes per song - Import audio from your device - Play All transport with 15-second seek - Rename, delete, and export individual tracks TUNER AND METRONOME - Chromatic tuner with cents-accurate pitch detection - Full metronome with time signatures, subdivisions, and multiple sounds - Practice Sets — build routines with multiple BPMs and durations - Save and recall metronome presets COLLABORATE - Invite co-writers with Editor, Viewer, or Commenter roles - Share links for quick access - Share Calendars EXPORT - Export individual songs as PDF or plain text - Export your entire catalog at once Constant updates and improvements! PenVox also works on the web at penvox.app, so your songs travel with you. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Lyrium4 screens
PenVox4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PenVox at none against Lyrium's 2. PenVox also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.4). Lyrium's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Lyrium sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. PenVox asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Lyrium against 5.0 for PenVox. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lyrium has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lyrium ships an update every 6 days, PenVox every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Lyrium versus PenVox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLyriumPenVox
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.415.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB53 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperJake SpracherPenVox LLC

Customer experience

Lyrium

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PenVox

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Lyrium

Subscriptions2
  • Plus14 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Plus Annual — Early Adopter14 Days trial$49.991 Year
None

PenVox

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lyrium free?
Lyrium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PenVox free?
PenVox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lyrium or PenVox?
Lyrium and PenVox are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 6 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Lyrium or PenVox have ads?
Neither Lyrium nor PenVox shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lyrium or PenVox?
Lyrium ships an update every 6 days, and PenVox every 5 days. Most recently, Lyrium was updated on October 6, 2026 and PenVox on October 15, 2026.

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