Comparison

OpenAppLock vs PenPal

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

Head to head
About

OpenAppLock

This app helps you regain control of your screen time by blocking specific applications. You can set schedules, time limits, or open limits for apps, and even create custom rules to prevent unwanted usage.

Highlights
  • Block apps on a schedule
  • Set time or open limits
  • Preset and custom rules
  • Lock rule edits
Features
Read full description

Block apps and reclaim your screen time! - Block apps on a schedule, or add a time/open limit - Choose from preset rules, or create your own - Lock rule edits to prevent changes while blocking

About

PenPal

This app records your voice, transcribes it into text, and automatically generates summaries, to-do items, and calendar events. It allows you to search your notes and sync events to your existing calendar. Your data remains private on your device.

Highlights
  • Live audio transcription
  • Automated summaries
  • To-do item extraction
  • Calendar event creation
  • Sync with Apple Calendar
  • Searchable notes
  • Private by design
Read full description

PenPal is your voice-first notetaking pal. Just talk — PenPal records, transcribes, and turns what you said into clean summaries, to-do items, and calendar events, automatically. Spend less time typing and organizing, and more time thinking out loud. TRANSCRIBE ANYTIME — EVEN LOCKED Tap once and start recording. PenPal transcribes live and keeps going in the background, so you never lose a word — even with your phone locked or while you switch apps. SUMMARIES AUTOMATED Every recording becomes a clean, time-stamped summary organized by topic. Skim a 30-minute conversation in seconds and jump straight to the part you need. YOUR TO-DOS AND MEETINGS, HANDLED PenPal pulls the action items and meetings out of what you said — with due dates and times. Review the suggestions, accept the ones you want, and they land in your to-do list and on your calendar. SYNC TO YOUR REAL CALENDAR Accepted events sync to your Apple Calendar — and onward to the Google, Outlook, or iCloud accounts you already use. No extra setup. ASK YOUR NOTES ANYTHING Chat with your entire library. Ask "what did I decide about the budget?" and PenPal answers, citing the exact notes it came from. STAY ORGANIZED Folders, tags, favorites, and search keep everything findable. Tap any line of a transcript to jump to that moment in the audio. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your notes live on your device. PenPal sends transcript text to its AI to generate summaries and answers — and never your audio. No ads, no tracking. Talk it out. PenPal does the rest. PenPal Plus is an optional auto-renewing subscription ($5/month) for unlimited notes, AI features, and storage. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://penpalnotes.org/privacy.html

Screenshots

OpenAppLock4 screens
PenPal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OpenAppLock at none against PenPal's 1. OpenAppLock also leads on ads (none vs shown). PenPal's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. PenPal sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. OpenAppLock 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 OpenAppLock against 5.0 for PenPal. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OpenAppLock ships an update every 2 weeks, PenPal every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
OpenAppLock versus PenPal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpenAppLockPenPal
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (9 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings9 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrendan ChenSteven Bui

Customer experience

OpenAppLock

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PenPal

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

OpenAppLock

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

PenPal

Subscriptions1
  • PenPal: AI Voice Transcriber$4.991 Month

Questions

Is OpenAppLock free?
OpenAppLock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PenPal free?
PenPal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, OpenAppLock or PenPal?
OpenAppLock and PenPal are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 9 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do OpenAppLock or PenPal have ads?
PenPal shows ads; OpenAppLock does not.
Which is updated more often, OpenAppLock or PenPal?
OpenAppLock ships an update every 2 weeks, and PenPal every 3 days. Most recently, OpenAppLock was updated on November 10, 2026 and PenPal on November 11, 2026.

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