The Pencil Planner Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Pencil Planner in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Pencil Planner
The Insider’s Guide
Handwritten planner for iPad and iPhone layered over your calendar
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among daily planner apps, read from Pencil Planner’s own pages.
Made by Wasdesign, LLC · checked Oct 9, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Pencil Planner’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Pencil Planner’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 17 of the 69 other daily planner apps we grade
Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro is an iPad and iPhone planner made for writing by hand with Apple Pencil. It shows the events from the calendars connected to the device and lets you write over and around them in day, week, month and year layouts, with handwritten or typed notes linked to dates. A limited version is free, and a Pro Access subscription unlocks all features along with cloud backup and sync.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Pencil Planner, taken from its own pages and our grades.
You pick up the Pencil and write, with your events pulled in from the calendars already on your device.
- 1
Best for handwriting your plans on an iPad
It's iPhone and iPad only, backup goes only to the vendor's cloud, and the free version is limited without saying where.
- 2
Paid plans start at $1.67 a month when paid by the year
As its pricing page puts it: $4.99 per month, or $19.99 per year.
- 3
There is a free plan
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.
- 4
It runs on iOS
iOS.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 17 of 69
That is against the other daily planner apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Your call
A daily planner at its plainest is today's tasks laid along a timeline.
Pencil Planner at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $4.99 per month, or $19.99 per year
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- iOS
- Made by
- Wasdesign, LLC
- Category
- Daily Planner Apps
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
- Store rating
- 4.6 on the App Store, 12,544 ratings
The report card
Best for handwriting your plans on an iPad
Pencil Planner puts your calendar on the iPad screen and lets you write over it with an Apple Pencil: priorities in the margin, a time block round a meeting, a sketch. Pro is $19.99 a year on the App Store, though the vendor's own page says $24.99. It's iPhone and iPad only, backup goes only to the vendor's cloud, and the free version is limited without saying where.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | Pro is $19.99 a year on the US App Store, which is $1.67 a month when the cheaper quarter of this category starts at $3.99. One wrinkle: the vendor's own upgrade page quotes $24.99 a year, and there's no lifetime purchase. |
| Free plan and trial | C | A limited version is free to use, but the vendor never publishes which features or how many entries that covers. Pro is sold as unlimited entries, storage and devices with cloud backup, so the caps are there and you find them by hitting them. |
| Features | C | It does its one thing completely: handwriting over your calendar in day, week, month and year layouts, with pens, highlighters, partial erasing and notes linked to dates. But that's a smaller job than a planner. Apple Reminders lists are shown here and edited elsewhere, and backup goes only to the vendor's own cloud. |
| Ease of use | B | 4.64 from about 12,500 App Store ratings, just under our line for an A. You pick up the Pencil and write, with your events pulled in from the calendars already on your device. |
| Platforms and integrations | D | One operating system: iPhone and iPad, with a Mac app still listed as upcoming on the vendor's roadmap. It does show iCloud, Google, Outlook and Yahoo calendars once they're added in the device's own Calendar settings, plus Apple Reminders lists. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Pencil Planner is for
- Fits if you own an iPad and an Apple Pencil and want to write your week out by hand
- Works for keeping handwritten notes on top of your real calendar events
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you'd want it on a Mac, Android or the web, as it's iPhone and iPad only
- Not for you if you want backups in iCloud, Dropbox or Google Drive, as only the vendor's own cloud is offered
- Tight if you're staying free, since the free version is limited and the vendor doesn't say how
- Watch out: the vendor's page quotes $24.99 a year for Pro while the US App Store lists $19.99, and there's no lifetime option
- Too light for task lists, as Apple Reminders lists show here but get edited elsewhere
Good to know
Good for
- 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
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$1.67
A month to start, paid by the year. There is a free plan too
Pencil Planner has a free plan. Paid plans start at $4.99 per month, or $19.99 per year.
A limited version is free to use, but the vendor never publishes which features or how many entries that covers.
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.
The free plan
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.
Read from apps.apple.com on Oct 9, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on apps.apple.comOther 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.
Stated on pencilplanner.app
What the app costs elsewhere
Each country’s App Store price for “Pro Yearly”, against $19.99 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.
| Country | Price there | In dollars | Against the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | ₺144,99 | $2.95 | 85% less |
| Brazil | R$ 82,90 | $16.56 | 17% less |
| Philippines | ₱ 1,050.00 | $16.71 | 16% less |
| Indonesia | Rp 309ribu | $17.28 | 14% less |
| Australia | $32.99 | $23.03 | 15% more |
| Germany | 21,99 € | $24.64 | 23% more |
| Mexico | $459.00 | $25.22 | 26% more |
| United Kingdom | £19.49 | $25.77 | 29% more |
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: iOS
Handwritten planner for iPad and iPhone layered over your calendar. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: notes, tasks, calendar.
But that's a smaller job than a 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.
Where it runs
- iOS
What it works with
- Apple Calendar
- Apple Reminders
- Google Calendar
- Outlook
- Yahoo Calendar
Pencil Planner is made by Wasdesign, LLC.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
17/69
Other daily planner apps it is graded above
Pencil Planner's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 17 of the 69 other daily planner apps we grade, and level with 17.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 54 of 69) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $1.67 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $4.17 for the category: 4 of the 52 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 6 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 70 daily planner apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Pencil Planner’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 54 of 69
- CFree plan and trialAbove 6 of 69
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 69
- BEase of useAbove 37 of 69
- DPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 69
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 57 daily planner apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Pencil Planner is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Your call
A daily planner at its plainest is today's tasks laid along a timeline.
You could make the core of Pencil Planner for yourself: calendar, notes and tasks. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. At $19.99 a year it costs less than the weekend it would take to replace, which is the argument for keeping it.
What you could make
- Calendar, notes and tasks: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Apple Calendar, Apple Reminders and Google Calendar among them.
- Hooks into the device itself: Apple Pencil and handwriting.
What this rests on. Pencil Planner’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Artful Agenda, PlanWiz, Moleskine Planner, Goodnotes and Penbook
The 5 tools Pencil Planner is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.0GPA
Artful Agenda
Free trial · from $39.99/yr
Digital planner styled like a paper agenda, synced to your calendars.
- Pencil Planner has a free plan. Artful Agenda does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Artful Agenda lists a web app.
- Only Artful Agenda lists macOS, Windows and Android apps.
- 2.4GPA
PlanWiz
Free plan · from $3.99
Template-based digital planner, journal and habit tracker.
- Only PlanWiz lists Android and macOS apps.
- Pencil Planner also covers notes and calendar.
- PlanWiz also covers daily notes, templates, habit tracking, goals and mood tracking.
- 2.4GPA
Moleskine Planner
Free plan · from $3.99/mo
Calendar and task planner for Apple devices from Moleskine.
- Only Moleskine Planner lists a macOS app.
- Pencil Planner also covers notes.
- Moleskine Planner also covers time blocking.
- 3.6GPA
Goodnotes
Free plan · from $11.99/yr
Handwritten notes, PDF markup and whiteboards with an AI assistant.
- Only Goodnotes lists a web app.
- Only Goodnotes lists macOS, Android and Windows apps.
- Goodnotes can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- 2.4GPA
Penbook
Free plan · from $4.99
Handwriting notebooks and live planners for iPad and iPhone.
- Penbook can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Pencil Planner also covers tasks and calendar.
- Penbook also covers daily notes and templates.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Pencil Planner free?
Pencil Planner has a free plan. A limited version of the app is free to use.
How much does Pencil Planner cost?
Pencil Planner lists 3 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Pencil Planner work on?
Pencil Planner is available on iOS.
Does Pencil Planner offer any discounts?
Pencil Planner publicly lists the following: About 67% less on the yearly plan; $10 off the first year for buyers of the original app.
How is Pencil Planner rated?
Pencil Planner's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.6 out of 5 from 12,544 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
Does Pencil Planner have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Pencil Planner is listed for iOS.
Does Pencil Planner have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Pencil Planner is listed for iOS.
Is Pencil Planner open source?
Pencil Planner is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 9, 2026.
What does Pencil Planner integrate with?
Pencil Planner's listing names Apple Calendar, Apple Reminders, Google Calendar, Outlook and Yahoo Calendar.
Who makes Pencil Planner?
Pencil Planner is made by Wasdesign, LLC.
What are the alternatives to Pencil Planner?
The closest alternatives to Pencil Planner in our directory are Artful Agenda, PlanWiz, Moleskine Planner, Goodnotes and Penbook.
How does Pencil Planner compare with other daily planner apps?
Pencil Planner's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 17 of the 69 other daily planner apps we grade, and level with 17.
Is Pencil Planner good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Pencil Planner A for value for money. Its paid plans start at $1.67 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $4.17 for the category: 4 of the 52 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Pencil Planner?
A daily planner at its plainest is today's tasks laid along a timeline.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Pencil Planner’s own pages on Oct 9, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Pencil Planner's own pages on 9 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-03-23.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Wasdesign, LLC. Prices change, so check pencilplanner.app before you buy.
- pencilplanner.app
- pencilplanner.app/support/faq/
- pencilplanner.app/support/pro-vs-original/
- pencilplanner.app/support/data-and-sync/
- pencilplanner.app/support/calendars/
- pencilplanner.app/reminders-how-to/
- pencilplanner.app/upgrading-from-v1/
- pencilplanner.app/roadmap/
- apps.apple.com/us/app/pencil-planner-calendar-pro/id1505638148
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Pencil Planner, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/pencil-planner
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Pencil Planner: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 9, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/pencil-planner
Know someone choosing between daily planner apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/pencil-planner/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded daily planner apps after Pencil Planner, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Daily Planner Apps Insider's GuideEvery one of the 70 daily planner apps we grade, compared
- Hero Assistant Insider's GuideDaily assistant app combining calendar, to-dos, habits and notes3.4 GPA
- LiveIt Insider's GuidePersonal organizer joining planner, journal, notes and habits3.4 GPA
- Open Sunsama Insider's GuideSelf-hostable daily planner with time blocking and an MCP server3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Pencil Planner’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Pencil Planner is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Wasdesign, LLC. Prices and plans change: check pencilplanner.app before you buy.