# Project Life vs Penless

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Penless at none against Project Life's 10. Penless also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (92% vs 72%). Project Life's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (496 vs 46). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Project Life sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Penless asks for nothing beyond the download.

Penless holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Project Life has 496 ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Project Life's written reviews are positive against 92% of Penless's.

Project Life ships an update every 3 weeks, Penless every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Project Life | Penless |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (496 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/project-life/id915861546/reviews) | **[4.7 (46 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penless/id1094568732/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **496** | 46 |
| Positive reviews | 72.4% of reviews | **91.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 347 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Becky Higgins LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/915861549) | [On My Wave, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1186828667) |

## What reviewers say

### Project Life

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/project-life/id915861546)

Easily create beautiful photo albums and scrapbooks on your device. Combine photos and stories with customizable templates and digital artwork. Print your creations directly through the app to hold your memories in your hands.

**Highlights:** Import photos from Camera Roll, Photo Stream, or Dropbox, Collage-style templates and pre-designed artwork, Journaling with adjustable font styles, Hundreds of designer card collections, Export, share, and print completed pages, Order photo books directly through the app, Organize pages into albums

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Backup Service (monthly) | $6.99 | per month |
| Celebrate Themed Cards | Free | one-time |
| Good Life 4x4 Quotes | Free | one-time |
| Capture Life Themed Cards | Free | one-time |
| Essential Overlays - Black | Free | one-time |
| Essential Overlays - White | Free | one-time |
| Extra Layouts 1 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Extra Layouts 2 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Extra Layouts 5 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Freeform Text | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fantastic and easy to use
- 💡 Convenient for on-the-go scrapbooking
- 👍 Streamlines memory keeping
- 👍 Affordable in-app purchases
- 👍 Lots of layout and design options

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and technical issues
- 💰 Expensive to print through the app
- 💰 Purchases don't transfer across devices
- 🔒 Lack of syncing between devices
- 👎 Limited text and font options

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Compatibility issues with older devices
- Text formatting problems
- Overlays not displaying correctly

**Requested features**

- Ability to organize kits and pages into folders
- More font and text customization options
- Layering and photo editing tools
- Integration with cloud storage services
- Larger print size options (8x10, 8.5x11)


### Penless

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penless/id1094568732)

Enhance your gifting with personalized video messages attached to physical items via exclusive QR codes. Organize wish lists, save ideas to the cloud, and bookmark favorite websites.

**Highlights:** QR Code Message Writer℠, Attach pictures/videos to gifts, Create and share wish lists, Cloud-based idea board, Bookmark favorite websites

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Project Life free?

Project Life is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Penless free?

Penless is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Project Life or Penless?

Penless is rated higher. Project Life averages 4.4 out of 5 from 496 ratings, while Penless averages 4.7 from 46 ratings.

### Do Project Life or Penless have ads?

Neither Project Life nor Penless shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Project Life or Penless?

Project Life ships an update every 3 weeks, and Penless every 3 months. Most recently, Project Life was updated on October 21, 2026 and Penless on October 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*