Finalist vs Pencil Planner
We give Finalist a 3.2 GPA and Pencil Planner a 3.0, out of 4.0. Finalist grades higher on features and platforms. Pencil Planner grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Finalist
Day-per-page planner for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch
Pencil Planner
Handwritten planner for iPad and iPhone layered over your calendar
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAFinalistVery good | 3.0GPAPencil PlannerVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $59.99 once for life on the US App Store. The yearly price is about $2.50 a month, against a typical $8. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. | APro is $19.99 a year on the US App Store, or $4.99 a month. A typical planner asks about $7.99 every month, so the yearly plan is a fraction of that. One wrinkle: the vendor's own upgrade page quotes $24.99 a year. There's no lifetime purchase. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's no free plan. It's a free download with a trial for new users, and the developer suggests a week without giving an exact length. The App Store listing doesn't say what still works if you never pay. | BA limited version is free to use, but the vendor doesn't publish which features or how many entries it includes. Pro is described as unlimited entries, storage and devices with cloud backup and sync, so expect caps on those. |
| Features | AOne page a day for tasks, events, reminders, habits and a journal. A timeline for time blocking. Notes with notebooks and tags, and an Obsidian vault can plug in as a notebook. Plan My Day drafts a schedule for you on the device. | BIt does one thing and does it properly: handwriting over your calendar in day, week, month and year layouts, with pens, highlighters, partial erasing and notes linked to dates. But Apple Reminders lists are only shown here, not edited, and backup is to the vendor's own cloud alone. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 480 App Store ratings. There's no account to create, because it syncs through your own iCloud. | A4.6 from about 12,500 App Store ratings. If you can use a paper planner you can use this: pick up the Pencil and write. Your events are already there from the calendars on your device. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro, tied into Apple Calendar, Reminders, Health and Shortcuts. All Apple. No web, Windows or Android version, and the Watch app needs watchOS 26. | DiPhone and iPad only, which we grade the same as an app that's Android only. A Mac app is on the vendor's roadmap as upcoming. It shows iCloud, Google, Outlook and Yahoo calendars once they're added in the device's Calendar settings, plus Apple Reminders lists. |
| Best for | one page a day for Apple Calendar and Reminders | handwriting your plans on an iPad |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Finalist and Pencil Planner. How we grade
Where they differ
- Finalist starts at $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year (US App Store). Pencil Planner starts at $4.99 per month, or $19.99 per year.
- Pencil Planner has a free plan. Finalist does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Finalist lists a macOS app.
- Finalist can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Finalist also covers daily notes, time blocking and habit tracking.
At a glance
| Finalist | Pencil Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year (US App Store) | $4.99 per month, or $19.99 per year |
| Free plan | None | A limited version of the app is free to use. The vendor's pages do not list the limits; Pro Access is described as unlimited entries, storage and devices with cloud backup and sync. |
| Free trial | Free to download with a free trial for new users; the developer suggests a week but states no exact length | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Diversion Marketing Inc | Wasdesign, LLC |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Finalist
- People who rely on Apple Calendar and Reminders and want one page per day
- Paper-planner users who want a journal and habit tracker beside their tasks
- Obsidian users who want dated tasks in Markdown files to show up in a planner
Pencil Planner
- iPad users who want to handwrite a planner with Apple Pencil
- People who want handwriting layered over a digital calendar
- Paper-planner users moving to a tablet
Worth knowing
Finalist
- Apple platforms only: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro. The site lists no web, Windows or Android version.
- The App Store listing says full functionality needs a subscription or the lifetime purchase, and does not say what works without one.
- The Apple Watch app requires watchOS 26, and the 4.1 release notes say Siri and Plan My Day need iOS 27.
- Prices are the US App Store in-app purchase amounts; the vendor's own site does not publish a price list.
Pencil Planner
- iPhone and iPad only. The vendor's roadmap lists a Mac app as an upcoming feature.
- The free version is limited and the vendor does not say where the limits fall. There is no lifetime purchase, only monthly and yearly plans.
- Planner data is stored on the vendor's own Pencil Planner Cloud. There is no iCloud, Dropbox or Google Drive backup option.
- The vendor's upgrade page quotes $24.99 a year for Pro, while the US App Store lists Pro Yearly at $19.99.
Key features
Finalist
- Daily page
- Tasks, calendar events, reminders, habits, weather and journal entries share one page per day, in two designs with a layout editor and saved presets.
- Timeline time blocking
- Drag untimed tasks onto an hourly grid as tentative blocks, resize or move them, then tap Accept to write the times into the tasks. Free time collapses into bands.
- Apple Calendar and Reminders
- Events and reminders appear in the day and can be managed from either app. A task can be converted into a reminder or an event and back.
- Notes and Markdown folders
- A Notes tab has notebooks, tags and search. A folder of Markdown files, including an Obsidian vault, becomes a notebook, and tasks in those files become Finalist tasks.
- Habits and journal
- Habits repeat automatically with streaks and a yearly heatmap. The journal takes photos and daily goals and reads activity data from Apple Health.
- Capture and Plan My Day
- Capture turns a photo, screenshot or pasted text into dated tasks, and Plan My Day drafts a schedule on the timeline. Both run on Apple's on-device models.
Pencil Planner
- Handwriting on the calendar
- Plans are written directly over and around calendar events with Apple Pencil, Logitech Crayon or a finger, including priorities, time blocks and sketches.
- Day, week, month and year layouts
- With the Version 2 layouts, schedule handwriting is shared between the Day and Week views, and a day's highlights also appear in the Week and Month views.
- Calendar events from the device
- Events come from the accounts connected in the iPad or iPhone Calendar settings, so iCloud, Google, Outlook and Yahoo calendars appear once added there.
- Apple Reminders lists
- The Version 2 Day tab shows lists from Apple Reminders next to the schedule. Lists are still added and edited in the Reminders app.
- Linked notes
- Handwritten or typed notes can be linked to a date or a calendar event, organized in folders and pinned. Handwritten notes take blank, lined or dot-grid pages.
- Drawing tools
- Pens, pencils and highlighters have adjustable colors and thickness. Handwriting can be moved, erased by whole stroke or in part, and zoomed for precise writing.
Plans
Finalist
Finalist Pro Weekly$2.99
per week
Full functionality billed weekly, as listed among the in-app purchases on the US App Store.
Finalist Pro Monthly$4.99
per month
Full functionality on a monthly subscription. The vendor says one subscription covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
Finalist Pro Yearly$29.99
per year
The same subscription billed once a year, as listed on the US App Store.
Finalist Pro Lifetime$59.99
one-time purchase
A single in-app purchase for lifetime access instead of a subscription.
Pencil Planner
Free$0
A limited version of the planner. The vendor does not publish exactly which features or how many entries it includes.
Pro Monthly$4.99
per month
Pro Access to all planner features, with unlimited entries, storage and devices plus cloud backup and sync.
Pro Yearly$19.99
per year
The same Pro Access billed once a year, as listed among the in-app purchases on the US App Store.
Ways to pay less
Finalist
- Annual discount
About 50% less on the yearly plan
The US App Store lists Finalist Pro Monthly at $4.99 and Finalist Pro Yearly at $29.99. Twelve monthly payments come to $59.88, so the yearly plan costs about 50% less.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime access for $59.99
Finalist Pro Lifetime is a one-time in-app purchase listed at $59.99 on the US App Store. The vendor says one license covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
- Other savings
Apple Family Sharing supported
The App Store listing states that Finalist supports Apple Family Sharing.
Pencil Planner
- Annual discount
About 67% less on the yearly plan
The US App Store lists Pro Monthly at $4.99 and Pro Yearly at $19.99. Twelve monthly payments come to $59.88, so the yearly plan costs about 67% less.
- Other savings
$10 off the first year for buyers of the original app
People who bought the earlier Pencil Planner & Draw Calendar app can email support for a promo code worth $10 off their first year of Pro.
