Comparison

CogAtelier vs Penlora

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

Head to head
About

CogAtelier

Features
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This is a standalone business management tool designed for restorers of antique automata and mechanical toys, as well as conservation institutions. It helps you digitize paper logs, blueprints, and handwritten notes. 【Restoration Workflow & Scheduling】 Create new restoration commissions and record details such as the client, automaton, labor hours, deposit, and delivery deadline. The app features ten built-in standard restoration steps; each step captures timestamps, damage details, and repair specifics, ensuring full traceability. The dashboard displays tasks by urgency, automatically flags overdue orders, and tracks active and completed jobs. 【Pickup SMS Notifications】 When a restoration is complete and ready for pickup, notify clients using customizable SMS templates that automatically populate details like names, automaton names, and addresses. Features include text preview and copying, integration with the system's SMS app for sending, notification archiving, and status updates to mark pickup completion. 【Client & Automaton "Mechanical Medical Records"】 Create client profiles with one-tap calling and automatic tracking of repair history. Automaton profiles store collection details such as era, origin, mechanism type, and materials; past restoration records generate an automatic timeline, creating a unique "mechanical medical record" for each piece. 【Local Data Security】 Data is stored entirely locally; no account registration is required. Supports one-tap JSON backups. Deletion of records is prevented if there are unfinished commissions, and the system automatically checks for duplicates when creating new records to avoid redundant entries. > Note: The app does not support automated background SMS sending; it relies on the device's native SMS application. If the device does not support direct integration, text can be copied and sent manually. All data is stored on the device; please export a backup before uninstalling the app.

About

Penlora

Features
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Penlora is a local workshop ledger for carousel restorers, antique amusement-ride studios, and historic park teams. Keep repair jobs, client and ride files, figure condition charts, band organs, and mechanical parts in one place. Everything stays on your device—no account, no subscription. Jobs and stage tracking Log a job in a few steps: link a client and ride, choose the job type (Single figure / Full ride / Mechanical overhaul / Electrical restore), then set estimated hours and priority. The Today board shows active work. Stages follow a fixed eleven-step path (Intake → Tear-down & tag → Wood body → Primer → Paint → Gilding → Mechanics → Electrics → Reassembly → Trial run → Archive). Mark a stage done when you finish it; timestamps keep a clear trail. After a stage, open the system Messages sheet to text the client. Custom SMS templates are supported, and each send is saved in the notice history for later review. Clients and ride files Client records store type (Historic park, Museum, Private collector, City park, Film crew), name, contact, phone, address, and notes, plus linked rides and jobs. Ride files cover build year, maker, country of origin, rotation direction, paint style, size, and more. Under each ride you can keep figure charts—“spinning case histories”—with wear notes (wood crack, paint loss, gilding wear, missing tail, glass eye, and so on), materials used this round (wood, primer, pigment batch, gilding karat, eye source), and notes on past poor repairs. Band organs and parts trail Register a fairground organ per ride: maker, pipe count, stop layout, paper-roll titles, and bellows condition. The parts trail logs gears, linkages, bearings, and other parts by ride—name, specs, and replacement notes—and can link each entry to a job for later lookup. In Studio you can manage SMS templates and see counts for clients, rides, figure charts, organs, jobs, and parts. Bring shop-floor records into one clear local ledger so every ride—and every figure—has a trail you can trust.

Screenshots

CogAtelier4 screens
Penlora4 screens

Verdict

The call

CogAtelier and Penlora are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
CogAtelier versus Penlora: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCogAtelierPenlora
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Daily
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNgoc Minh HoangLy Thi Xeo

In-app purchases

None

CogAtelier

No in-app purchases

None

Penlora

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CogAtelier free?
CogAtelier is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Penlora free?
Penlora is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do CogAtelier or Penlora have ads?
Both CogAtelier and Penlora show ads.

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