Comparison

随笔 vs Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook

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

Head to head
About

随笔

Features
Read full description

模块化自由排版: 抛弃传统的单一文本框。在这里,文字、照片和手绘被视为一个个独立的“内容块”。你可以像搭积木一样,在任意两段文字之间插入一张相册图片,或者一段灵感涂鸦,排版灵活,随时可以修改或删除历史记录。 极简三色画板: 回归最纯粹的书写与绘画体验。应用内置了专属的手绘画板,仅保留黑、红、绿三种最经典的墨水颜色。无论是标注重点、手绘脑图,还是记录一瞬的灵感,都能以最高清的原生画质保存,并完美嵌入你的日记流中。 时间线双视图: 你的所有记录都会按照创建时间在首页倒序排列。支持“卡片”与“列表”双视图一键切换。每篇记录都带有精确的“创建时间”与“最后更新时间”双重时间戳,让你清晰地追踪思路的演变过程。 iCloud 无缝同步与备份: 应用全面接入了强大的 iCloud 架构。你在 iPhone 上敲下的文字、画下的草图,会立刻在后台静默同步到你的 iPad 或 Mac 上。无需注册账号,无需繁琐的导出导入,你的 Apple ID 就是最安全的数据保险箱。

About

Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook

A distraction-free writing application designed for authors and journalers. It offers a clean editor, organizational tools for novels and notes, and features like draft history and full-text search. The app supports vertical writing and provides a dedicated reading mode.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free editor
  • Novel and note organization
  • Draft history
  • Vertical writing and ruby support
  • Dedicated reading mode
  • Writing progress heatmap
  • Offline functionality
  • Plain-text export
Features
Read full description

You open your notes to write, and end up fiddling with menus, sync errors and formatting instead. Penmo+ gives you a quiet page and nothing else, so the words come first — and a small daily record keeps you coming back tomorrow. Novels, scripts, worldbuilding, notes, ideas, journals — keep all your writing in one notebook. ■ Focus on writing A clean, text-first editor with no clutter. Focus Mode strips everything but your words. Auto-save lets you lose yourself in writing, with a quiet cue so you never wonder if it saved. Adjust the font size and line spacing to taste. Draft history keeps your earlier versions, so you can rewrite without fear. ■ Organize your work Series → Episodes → Chapters, from long novels to short shorts. Reorder episodes and chapters by drag. ■ Vertical writing & ruby Preview your text in traditional vertical writing (tategaki). Ruby / furigana notation (|kanji《reading》) is supported. ■ A "Read" tab, just for reading A place to revisit your work, separate from writing. Pick an episode from your library and read it as one continuous, vertical flow across chapters. The reading font size is adjustable, separately from writing. ■ See your writing, every day A GitHub-style heatmap shows how much you write at a glance. Streaks, a daily goal and a gentle reminder keep you going. ■ Pick up where you left off Tap "Continue writing" to jump straight back to your last chapter. ■ Take your words anywhere Full-text search, plain-text (.txt) export, and full backup & restore. ■ Made your way A warm, paper-like light mode and a calm dark mode for night writing. Follows the system, or switch it manually. ■ Works offline Everything is stored on your iPhone. Write anytime, anywhere — no connection needed. ■ For those who write even more — Penmo+ Pro (one-time purchase) - Export beautiful vertical-writing PDFs with ruby - Export EPUB e-books (vertical writing, ruby) - Automatic daily iCloud backup - Unlimited draft history - Extra body fonts (gothic / rounded gothic) Choose monthly, yearly, or a one-time purchase. The one-time purchase is yours forever. All core features stay free, with no ads. Penmo+ is a quiet writing tool, like a fountain pen. A notebook you'll want to open every day. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://fillapps.com/privacy/

Screenshots

随笔3 screens
Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: 随笔 at none against Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook's 3. Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). 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. Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. 随笔 asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

随笔 ships an update every 3 weeks, Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 5 level
随笔 versus Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter随笔Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews—94.1% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB68 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQitao SunSeiya.k

In-app purchases

None

随笔

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook

Subscriptions2
  • Penmo+ Pro (Monthly)$0.991 Month
  • Penmo+ Pro (Yearly)$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Penmo+ Pro (Lifetime)$5.99

Questions

Is 随笔 free?
随笔 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook free?
Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do 随笔 or Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook have ads?
Neither 随笔 nor Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 随笔 or Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook?
随笔 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook every 2 days. Most recently, 随笔 was updated on October 25, 2026 and Penmo+ Quiet Writing Notebook on October 28, 2026.

Other comparisons