Comparison

Pencil Notes vs Noteday

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

Head to head
About

Pencil Notes

Features
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# Pencil Notes — Your Simple Apple Pencil Notebook Turn your iPad into a simple, distraction-free notebook designed for Apple Pencil. Write naturally, organize your ideas, annotate documents, and export your work — all without subscriptions or complicated setup. ## WRITE NATURALLY Pencil Notes is built around the feeling of writing on real paper. • Write with Apple Pencil • Create unlimited notebooks and pages • Choose blank, lined, dotted, or grid paper • Use a pressure-sensitive pen • Highlight important ideas • Undo and redo with ease • Zoom and pan while writing Whether you're taking notes, planning your day, journaling, brainstorming, or simply sketching, Pencil Notes keeps things simple. ## WRITE ON PDFs Import a PDF and write directly on it with Apple Pencil. Highlight text, add handwritten notes, draw, underline, circle important information, and mark up documents naturally. Perfect for: • Study materials • Lecture notes • Work documents • Forms and worksheets • Research papers • Presentations • Personal documents ## ANNOTATE IMAGES Import an image and use your Apple Pencil to write, draw, mark up, or add notes directly on it. ## EXPORT YOUR WORK When you're finished, export your handwritten pages, PDF annotations, or marked-up images and share them wherever you need. ## PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your notes stay on your iPad. No account required. Your notes stay on your iPad. No cloud storage. No ads. Just open the app and start writing. ## MADE FOR EVERYDAY USE Use Pencil Notes for: • Class and lecture notes • Meetings • To-do lists • Journaling • Planning • Brainstorming • Sketching • PDF annotation • Document markup • Personal notes ## SIMPLE BY CHOICE Pencil Notes isn't trying to replace every app on your iPad. It's a simple place to write. Open it. Pick a page. Grab your Apple Pencil. Start writing.

About

Noteday

Features
Read full description

Noteday is the notebook that feels like paper and thinks like a study partner. Write with buttery, low-latency Apple Pencil ink at up to 120Hz — pressure, tilt, and shapes that snap into place. Then let Noteday AI turn what you wrote into summaries, flashcards, quizzes, and even images, right on the page. WRITE THAT FEELS LIKE PAPER • Ultra-responsive 120Hz ink with real pressure • Straight-line snap and instant shape recognition • Partial eraser, lasso select, and a laser pointer for presenting • Zoom-write box and a ruler for precise work PAGES BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Add text, images, stickers, sticky notes, and tables to any page • Organize with folders and search your typed content • Reorder, duplicate, and manage pages with ease • Record audio right alongside your notes • Set local reminders so nothing slips TEMPLATES MADE TO BE USED • Free hero planners, to-do lists, Cornell notes, and more built in • A growing marketplace of à-la-carte packs — productivity, student, finance, fitness, medical, music, travel and more • Buy once, own forever — apply any template as a page in any notebook COVERS WORTH COLLECTING • Museum-art covers from Hokusai, Van Gogh, Klimt, Monet, William Morris, and İznik masters • Full Gold, Full Silver, and Rose Gold metal covers with a live, moving gleam • Personalize with your name, monogram, and font • Import your own PDF or PNG as a cover NOTEDAY AI THAT STUDIES WITH YOU • Ask your notes and get answers with page references • Summarize, outline, make flashcards, build quizzes, and rewrite • Turn a description into an image placed straight onto your page • Start with 25 welcome credits, top up with credit packs anytime EXPORT & SHARE • Export any notebook as PDF or image to share anywhere NOTEDAY PRO Go unlimited with Noteday Pro: • Unlimited notebooks (free plan includes 2) • No ads • Premium stickers • 1,000 AI credits every month Noteday Pro is $2.99/month or $19.99/year with a 7-day free trial. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. • Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. • Templates, covers, and credit packs are one-time purchases you own forever. Privacy Policy: https://getnoteday.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Questions? getnoteday.com/support

Screenshots

Pencil Notes3 screens
Noteday4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Noteday at Free against Pencil Notes's $1.99. Noteday also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 4 weeks). Pencil Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Noteday is free to download; Pencil Notes costs $1.99 up front. Noteday sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Pencil Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pencil Notes ships an update every 4 weeks, Noteday every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Pencil Notes versus Noteday: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPencil NotesNoteday
Price$1.99Free — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKliv SpahiuGambit Global LTD

In-app purchases

None

Pencil Notes

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Noteday

One-time10
  • Project Plan$0.99
  • Contraction Timer$0.99
  • Baby Feeding Log$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Milestone Tracker$0.99
  • Exam Study Planner$0.99
  • Class Schedule$0.99
  • Pregnancy Appointments$0.99
  • Pregnancy Journal$0.99
  • Invoice Log$0.99
  • Client / CRM$0.99

Questions

Is Pencil Notes free?
Pencil Notes costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Noteday free?
Noteday is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pencil Notes or Noteday have ads?
Neither Pencil Notes nor Noteday shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pencil Notes or Noteday?
Pencil Notes ships an update every 4 weeks, and Noteday every 8 days. Most recently, Pencil Notes was updated on October 25, 2026 and Noteday on October 5, 2026.

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