Comparison

Scrivener vs Penstar mobile

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

Head to head
About

Scrivener

This app is a comprehensive writing tool designed for long-form manuscripts. It allows users to compose text in any order, manage research materials alongside their writing, and export to various formats. It supports flexible outlining and restructuring of content.

Highlights
  • Manuscript composition in sections
  • Research material integration
  • Flexible outlining and reorganization
  • Export to multiple formats
  • Interactive tutorial
  • Project-wide search
Features
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“The biggest software advance for writers since the word processor.” —Michael Marshall Smith, bestselling author Typewriter. Ring-binder. Scrapbook. Scrivener combines all the writing tools you need to craft your first draft, from nascent notion to final full stop. Tailor-made for creating long manuscripts, Scrivener banishes page fright by allowing you to compose your text in any order, in sections as large or small as you like. Got a great idea but don’t know where it fits? Write when inspiration strikes and find its place later. Grow your manuscript organically, idea by idea. Whether you plan or plunge, Scrivener works your way: meticulously outline every last detail first, or hammer out a complete draft and restructure later. Or do a bit of both. All text sections in Scrivener are fully integrated with its outlining tools, so working with an overview of your manuscript is only ever a tap away, and turning Chapter Four into Chapter One is as simple as drag and drop. Need to refer to research? In Scrivener, your background material is always at hand. Write a description based on a photograph. Reference a video or PDF. Check for consistency with an earlier chapter. On the iPad, open two documents side-by-side; on the iPhone, flip between research and writing with just two taps. Once you’re ready to share your work with the world, simply compile everything into a single document for printing, or export to popular formats such as Word, PDF, Final Draft or plain text. You can even share using different formatting, so that you can write in your favorite font and still keep your editor happy. FEATURES Get Started • Interactive tutorial project • Keep each manuscript and supporting materials in a self-contained project • Import Word, RTF, Final Draft and plain text files • Easily split imported text into separate sections Get Writing • Write your manuscript in sections of any size • View all sections as a single text using the “Draft Navigator” (iPad only) • Quickly navigate sections using the “binder” sidebar • Format with fonts and presets • Comments, footnotes, links and highlights • Simple bullets and lists • Insert images • Pinch-zoom to resize text • Full-screen mode (iPad only) • Typewriter scrolling mode keeps typed text center-screen (iPad only) • Write a screenplay using scriptwriting mode • Live word and character counts • Set word and character count targets • Find and replace • Customizable keyboard row provides quick-access buttons for formatting, navigation and punctuation • Comprehensive keyboard shortcuts for external keyboard users • Dark mode Find Your Structure • Write in any order and reorganize later • Write a synopsis for any text section and see it in the outline • Expand, collapse and drill down into sections of your project • Rearrange sections as index cards on the corkboard (iPad only) • Project-wide search • Track ideas using labels and status • Apply custom icons to your sections Refer to Research • Import research material such as image, PDF and media files • View research files or other sections right alongside your writing (iPad only) • Every section has its own notes area for jotting down ideas • Supports multitasking split screen mode (supported devices only) Share Your Work • Compile to a single document for sharing or printing • Use different formatting in your exported or printed document • Export to Word, RTF, Final Draft, PDF or plain text • Convert rich text to Markdown for sharing with Markdown apps • Create and email zipped backups of your projects Work Anywhere • Use Dropbox to sync between devices and with the macOS and Windows versions of Scrivener* • Copy projects between devices via iTunes * Requires a Dropbox account (not compatible with iCloud). SUPPORT You can contact us at ios.support@literatureandlatte.com, visit our forums at http://www.literatureandlatte.com/forum, or find us @scrivenerapp on Twitter.

About

Penstar mobile

This app allows you to access and manage your notes and calendars from your Penstar eNote device. It provides convenient access to your digital notes and schedule anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Access eNotes on mobile
  • Sync calendars
  • Anytime, anywhere access
  • Note management
Read full description

Anytime, anywhere, whenever you want! Supports the notes and calendars you write on your Penstar eNote

Screenshots

Scrivener4 screens
Penstar mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Penstar mobile at Free against Scrivener's $23.99. Penstar mobile also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (57% vs 46%). Scrivener's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.2) and ratings volume (2.6K vs 6). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Penstar mobile is free to download; Scrivener costs $23.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Scrivener holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Scrivener has 2.6K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of Scrivener's written reviews are positive against 57% of Penstar mobile's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scrivener ships an update every 3 months, Penstar mobile fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Scrivener versus Penstar mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScrivenerPenstar mobile
Price$23.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (2.6K ratings) — better3.2 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews45.6% of reviews57.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.6K — better6
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLiterature & LattePenstar Innovation Inc.

Customer experience

Scrivener

All ratings2,595 ratings
Positive77.6%
Neutral6.9%
Negative15.6%
Written reviews722 reviews
Positive45.6%
Neutral16.8%
Negative37.7%

Penstar mobile

All ratings6 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%

In-app purchases

None

Scrivener

No in-app purchases

None

Penstar mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Scrivener free?
Scrivener costs $23.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Penstar mobile free?
Penstar mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Scrivener or Penstar mobile?
Scrivener is rated higher. Scrivener averages 4.2 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Penstar mobile averages 3.2 from 6 ratings.
Do Scrivener or Penstar mobile have ads?
Neither Scrivener nor Penstar mobile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scrivener or Penstar mobile?
Scrivener ships an update every 3 months, and Penstar mobile fortnightly. Most recently, Scrivener was updated on October 29, 2026 and Penstar mobile on October 23, 2026.

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