Penbook
Handwriting notebooks and live planners for iPad and iPhone
What is Penbook?
Penbook is a handwriting notebook and planner app for iPad and iPhone from Pencil Research. Notebooks are built from more than 400 kinds of stationery, including Live Paper planners that show the current date, time and connected calendars, and PDFs can be imported for annotation. One notebook is free for as long as you like; Penbook Premium, sold as a yearly subscription or a lifetime purchase, removes that limit.
Penbook has a free plan. Paid plans start at $4.99 - $39.99 per in-app item (basis not shown); $49.99 lifetime. See every plan
Good for
- People who keep planners, journals or bullet journals on an iPad
- Students who want subject paper such as Cornell, graph or chemistry
- Annotating PDF planners and worksheets with Apple Pencil
Worth knowing
- The free version is limited to a single notebook; unlimited notebooks and exports need Penbook Premium.
- The US App Store lists Penbook Premium at several amounts from $4.99 to $39.99 without stating the billing period for each.
- Penbook is built for iPhone and iPad. There is no Android, Windows or web version, and the App Store marks the Mac build as not verified for macOS.
- The Penbook 8 Live Paper engine appears only on iOS 27 or iPadOS 27, and only in newly created books.
Key features
- Live Paper planners
- Stationery that updates itself: a day planner with a live timeline, a weekly planner that shows connected calendars, and monthly and yearly planners that track the current date.
- Over 400 stationery types
- Ruled, graph, dot, Cornell, music staff, chemistry, storyboard and engineering paper among others, with adjustable density, margins and layout. Each page of a notebook can differ.
- Apple Pencil inking
- Writing with Apple Pencil, a stylus or a finger, with shape recognition and a lasso that resizes, recolors, reflows and straightens ink or copies handwriting out as text.
- PDF import and export
- PDFs import as notebooks or as custom stationery, selected pages can be dropped into notes, and a notebook or the whole library exports as vector PDF.
- Handwriting search and Siri
- Handwritten notes can be searched for words or phrases. Siri can find something in a notebook or take a note that lands in the Inbox notebook.
- On-device AI and page history
- With Apple Intelligence, to-dos written on a page become Reminders without notes leaving the device, and each page keeps a local history that can be rewound.
Penbook pricing
- Starts at
- $4.99 - $39.99 per in-app item (basis not shown); $49.99 lifetime
- Free plan
- All of Penbook's stationery and writing features in a single notebook, free for as long as you like. More notebooks and exports need Penbook Premium.
- Free trial
- 7-day free trial when upgrading with the yearly Penbook Premium subscription.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Every stationery type and writing feature in one notebook, with no time limit. |
| Penbook Premium | $4.99 - $39.99per item on the US App Store; billing basis not shown | Unlimited notebooks and exports plus new stationery and covers. Described as a yearly subscription, but the listing shows several amounts without periods. |
| Penbook Premium Lifetime | $49.99one-time in-app purchase on the US App Store | The same Premium features as a single purchase with no renewal. |
Read from apps.apple.com on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Penbook before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Lifetime licensePenbook Premium as a lifetime purchase
Penbook Premium can be bought as a one-time in-app purchase in place of the yearly subscription. The US App Store lists Penbook Premium Lifetime at $49.99.
Stated on apps.apple.com
How people rate the Penbook app
4.6
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars78%
- 4 stars10%
- 3 stars5%
- 2 stars2%
- 1 star5%
45,437 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 9, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Works with
Penbook alternatives
- Penbook vs Goodnotes
Free plan · from $11.99/yr
- Penbook vs Notability
Free plan · from $14.99/yr
- Penbook vs Noteshelf
Free plan · from $7.99 one-time
- Penbook vs Noteful
Free plan · from $6.99 one-time
- Penbook vs CollaNote
Free plan · from $13.90 one-time
Common questions
Is Penbook free?
Penbook has a free plan. All of Penbook's stationery and writing features in a single notebook, free for as long as you like. More notebooks and exports need Penbook Premium. Paid plans start at $4.99 - $39.99 per in-app item (basis not shown); $49.99 lifetime.
How much does Penbook cost?
Penbook lists 3 plans. Free: $0. Penbook Premium: $4.99 - $39.99 per item on the US App Store; billing basis not shown. Penbook Premium Lifetime: $49.99 one-time in-app purchase on the US App Store. Prices were read from apps.apple.com on Oct 9, 2026.
What platforms does Penbook work on?
Penbook is available on iOS.
Does Penbook offer any discounts?
Penbook publicly lists the following: Penbook Premium as a lifetime purchase.
How is Penbook rated?
Penbook's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.6 out of 5 from 45,437 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 9, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.
Does Penbook have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Penbook is listed for iOS.
Does Penbook have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Penbook is listed for iOS.
Is Penbook open source?
Penbook is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 9, 2026.
What does Penbook integrate with?
Penbook's listing names iCloud, Apple Reminders and Siri. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Does Penbook have a free trial?
Yes. 7-day free trial when upgrading with the yearly Penbook Premium subscription.
Who makes Penbook?
Penbook is made by Pencil Research (User Camp Inc.).
What are the alternatives to Penbook?
The closest alternatives to Penbook in our directory are Goodnotes, Notability, Noteshelf, Noteful and CollaNote. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Penbook.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.