Parchment vs Pencil Planner
We give Parchment a 2.4 GPA and Pencil Planner a 3.0, out of 4.0. Parchment grades higher on platforms. Pencil Planner grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Parchment
Daily page joining Apple Calendar, Reminders and a dated note
Pencil Planner
Handwritten planner for iPad and iPhone layered over your calendar
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAParchmentFair | 3.0GPAPencil PlannerVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$4.99, once, covers iPhone, iPad and Mac, and Family Sharing stretches it to six people. No subscription. That's less than one month of a typical planner. | 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 | FNothing is free. There's no free version and no trial listed, so the $4.99 comes before you get to see your own day in it. | 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 | BOne page a day with events, due reminders and a dated note, plain-words entry like "Lunch tomorrow at noon", Apple Pencil handwriting on iPad, one search across the lot, and version history. It does that one thing fully. But it has no task list or calendar of its own, and no link to Apple Notes or Obsidian. | 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 | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. There's nothing to move over, since it shows the Reminders and Calendar you already have. | 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 and Mac, built on Apple Calendar, Reminders, iCloud, Shortcuts and Siri. All Apple, and it'll stay that way: the maker says it can't support Android or Windows because it depends on those Apple services. | 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 | a daily page over 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: Parchment and Pencil Planner. How we grade
Where they differ
- Parchment starts at $4.99 one-time purchase. Pencil Planner starts at $4.99 per month, or $19.99 per year.
- Pencil Planner has a free plan. Parchment does not.
- Only Parchment lists a macOS app.
- Parchment can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Parchment also covers Markdown, daily notes and natural-language input.
At a glance
| Parchment | Pencil Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 one-time purchase | $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 | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Christopher Lawley | Wasdesign, LLC |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Parchment
- People who keep events in Apple Calendar and tasks in Apple Reminders
- Keeping a dated daily note or work log beside the day's agenda
- Buyers who want to pay once: $4.99 covers iPhone, iPad and Mac
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
Parchment
- Apple platforms only: the vendor says it cannot support Android or Windows because it depends on Apple Reminders, Calendar and iCloud.
- There is no free version or trial listed; the app is a $4.99 paid download.
- Google or Exchange calendars appear only once the account is set up in Apple Calendar; Parchment does not manage accounts itself.
- The vendor says it does not integrate with Apple Notes or Obsidian; notes leave the app through export.
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
Parchment
- One page per day
- Calendar events and due or overdue reminders appear above the daily note for that date, so the agenda and the writing share one view.
- Apple Reminders and Calendar data
- Tasks are Apple Reminders and events come from the system calendar. Completing a task or updating an event in Parchment changes it in Apple's apps too.
- Natural-language entry
- The agenda's plus button accepts phrases such as "Lunch tomorrow at noon" for an event or "task Submit invoice Friday at 5pm" for a reminder.
- Typed and handwritten notes
- Daily notes take Markdown headings and lists. On iPad a note can switch to handwriting with Apple Pencil, and those pages stay visible on iPhone and Mac.
- Search and version history
- One search covers typed notes, recognized handwriting, events and reminders. Each daily note keeps saved versions that can be restored.
- Widgets, Shortcuts and export
- Home and Lock Screen widgets show the agenda, Shortcuts actions add text or open a date, and the journal exports as TXT, PDF or a Markdown Text Bundle.
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
Parchment
Parchment$4.99
one-time purchase
A single purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac, with Family Sharing for up to six people. The vendor says there is no 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
Parchment
- Other savings
Family Sharing for up to six people
The vendor's site says the one-time purchase can be shared with up to six people through 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.
