Penbook: Pencil Notebook Reviews

by Maximum Bugs

I wrote a review a bit ago giving 3 stars an a list of everything wrong with it, those problems really mess with the whole experience and I’m finding even more problems, 3 biggest problems is zoom, copy and paste, and lasso feature. When zooming it almost immediately unzooms you, before it was a decently rare thing but now it’s non stop. Copy and paste’s problem is when pasting is almost guaranteed it will paste on a random page instead the one you on, this always was a big problem and common but most definitely happens even more the more you use Penbook . Lasso problem is just that sometimes it highlights completely differently then what you said to, zooming out typically fixes that tho, if not restarting Penbook , this problem never happened until recently. It’s not a problem with my device as it ONLY happen on this app. I would give this 0 stars honestly if I could, there’s so much wrong with it that there’s no upside to using Penbook .

by Ihatemylifesooooooooomuch

I love the concept and all of the tools are lovely not to mention the beautiful cute little stickers. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑹𝑺 𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑲 𝑨𝑴𝑨𝒁𝑰𝑵𝑮. But an issue I encountered is that it is way too glitchy. For example I am using the ruler and I click on one of the various writing utensils to change the one I am currently using 𝗕𝗔𝗠 my ruler location gets changed after five years of trying to place it in the perfect spot. Additionally maybe I am using a sticker and I click undo because I made a mistake or something
else 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. Also using the ruler is just a hassle and you could say “ᒍᑌᔕT ᗪOᑎT ᑌᔕᗴ Tᕼᗴ ᖇᑌᒪᗴᖇ Yᗩ ᗪᑌᑎᑕᗴ” I could but straight lines are hard and literally every art app has a ruler. Also I know that it isn’t my device causing this. In all it is too glitchy to handle and I would rather us Zinnia. Although I would love to use it if it was less glitchy and simpler. In conclusion great tools & stickers but horrible quality and execution. Thank you if the developer actually read this because a lot of them never reply to the lower reviews. But it’s an amazing app it just needs a few fixes. Thank you!

by StayFrostE

Penbook has several sparks of brilliance and the vast array of notebook types far outstrip what I’ve seen in other notebook apps. Unfortunately, Penbook has several issues that make me switch to other apps to get actually work done. Issues: First, using the Apple Pencil to navigate the UI is frustrating. Several touch/tap zones(like when switching tools) are too tight are require multiple taps to activate. Second, I have to use my finger to activate UI elements because of the poor touch zones when using an Apple Pencil , but even some buttons are still are very hard to use when using a finger. Like the edit button when trying to delete pages. Annoyances: First, The text based “stickers” don’t account for background color, so if you use black notebook “paper” the sticker labels still have black text. Second, I want to disable both the swipe down gesture and swipe up gesture, I keep activating them on accident. Third, When adding a sticker, you have to manually press the layer button to leave “edit?“ mode. Tapping outside the sticker should just do that. Outside of those things I’ve listed. Notebook management is nonexistent . You can’t group notebooks nor and you can only view your list of notebooks in a 50/50 view with an open notebook. I want a dedicated view that shows notebooks. And on the very low list of things is a fountain pen option as a tool.

by Smilinggirld

I have generally cored Penbook . However, this new update allows you to switch drawings or signs to whatever Penbook thinks is the perfect version of what you were trying to do. This B great in theory, except it happens when your finger rests on the page, even if it's a really old page. So, I keep finding random rectangles on parabolic drawings in my notes, and because it got changed so much later than I wrote them originally, I no longer know what my math notes are trying to communicate. And, when I'm trying to actually use the feature, it misreads what Sam trying to draw it turns my ovals into weird lines and my lines into boxes or ovals, and my boxes into lines. And it's not predictable. It's driving me crazy!

Otherwise, I like being able to export to a pad, and I like the way the pages and graphical interface look. I also like the shading attributes of the drawing tools.

by BigOldeDoinks69

Hello this app team and and others reading this review.

I really enjoy Penbook in many regards, and prefer it to the native iPadOS Notes app. However, there are a few quality of life features that I earnestly desire, and feel that lack of said features distracts from my overall usage and enjoyment of Penbook.

Here they are:

1) I use an iPad ninth generation. The performance of this app, relative to the iPadOS notes app, is noticeably more laggy. Scrolling through pages, and writing, does not feel as though it runs at the refresh rates my device is capable of (the notes app is “smoother”).
2) I wish Penbook responded to light and dark mode on my iPad. When I open up journals with a white background at night, I don’t want to look at them after a few minutes. The native notes app will toggle this for me automatically, and I wish there was a way for me to do the same in this app.
3) When you are on the last page of your journal, it would make sense for the forward arrow to just create a new page, rather than a different button for that.
3a) I feel like the date at the top should not appear until you write something down on the page. That way, with the create new Page mechanic currently, you could spam a bunch of new pages without feeling like they’re all dated on the day you made them.

Thanks for reading, and keep up the good work!

by Big-D Gali

I searched through many different note taking apps and settled on this one. I like it overall and purchased the full version (had the $ to spare), with hopes that the current features are expanded upon & the issues fixed.

Pros:
Aesthetically pleasing
Simplistic drawing mechanics
Countless page options available
Decent pen color options

Cons:
- shrinking any of the “avocado toast” pics freezes Penbook . Considering the full version price paid, it’s not a decent sign to see bugs unfixed.
- the drawing mechanic, when zoomed in, acts a bit wonky & a bit spotty. This doesn’t happen on the good notes, but I chose the aesthetics of Penbook over GN’s.
- (personal) I wish there was a way to only show the notebooks I created in a bookshelf-like way & not have to stare at the “featured books” that you can add. That would be a pretty neat look.

Overall:
Like I said, I chose Penbook over the others, because of the aesthetic look and easy maneuverability through the features. While I am glad I bought it, I really hope things are expanded upon. If so, I’ll update my review.

If not, I’ll move on & accept my regret. Either way, I’ll enjoy Penbook .

by Hello Kitty Meb

I fell in love with Penbook and so I decided I was going to pay for it as I use it for everything. It has amazing features, amazing templates etc. However, I just have one major problem

It always blocks or empties out pages

When I go on, sometimes the template disappears on some pages and it is completely random most of the time. Then when you are trying to organize your pages, your pages go completely blank all together, but still have the lines on them. They basically looked like new templates, until i tapped on them and could see my notes. I might have to use a different app in the meantime to take my notes as this gets pretty tedious, but im looking forward to hopefull coming back in the future and using it again if it gets fixed! :)

by FrenchFryAddict

this app is amazing. I’ve been looking for a place where my ADD brain can explode. Penbook gives me that versatility with the variety of page templates. They have thought of just about everything. I would love if it had a password option. I’m starting to use it for more personal thoughts and for writing stories and screenplays. I would be uncomfortable leaving it in Penbook if I could not safeguard it. It would be awesome if there could be some variety in writing utensils to include art brushes and highlighters. Finally, it would be incredible if Penbook had an adaptive feature that would allow you to search and it could find information in your books for you. Obviously that would require it to have the ability to read hand writing. It might be nice if we could also convert our handwriting to text with a touch of a button. As a writer I would love that feature! Overall I am happy with Penbook for general use.

by TryingMyBestt

I love Penbook! the free version only allows for one notebook, so I use it for my planner! It helps me ACTUALLY use one (I always say I will, and never do)! I only wish there were more stickers and washi tapes, or the ability to add in our own, or access frequently or recently used stickers.

The one actual flaw that I’ve found, is that every single time I try to resize a sticker that’s been rotated, Penbook freezes and crashes and doesn’t save the location or size of the sticker. The ONLY partial work around I’ve found, is to make each SMALL change one at a time, exiting the edit mode after every single small alteration, and even then, sometimes that doesn’t work [Note: both my iPad and app are up to date].

by J. Grimm

So many apps now that it gets to a point where unless there is a lot of urging by credible people my brain just lets out one big tired sigh just like everytime an app that wants to give more notifications which I’m already swamped with and must deny permission. Penbook is at a high number 14 productivity and recommended by Apple Store staff.

So why did I uninstall it so quickly? I was overwhelmed with the book creation buttons everwhere. I just wanted an easy guided intro and try the drawing. Seems good. If an app is good enough I don’t mind paying for it. But it looks too complicated to learn to risk finding out it’s not a fit in the end so I’ll stick to Procreate for drawing and real journal sketchbooks.

Good luck devs. By the way, I think you have some fake bad reviews in your recent reviews. Keep an eye open.

by Wiechman

I have just barely begun using this. So far so good. This ui feels like a fun paper notebook with many options. I like the calendar integration but don’t like that the writing for the appointments don’t align the same each time, specifically on the daily calendar sheets. Sometimes they are at the top, sometimes bottom, sometimes outside the appointment.

It would be nice if you could add dividers. And the ability to move a page by giving it a new page number instead of dragging it would be great.

I maybe doing it wrong but it would also be nice to have the pop up to select stationary happen when you hit the plus sign so you can pick what you want instead of automatically duplicating the previous page.

by Amberslove11

i came to your app as an engineering student looking for a good digital engineering paper option. I like the paper options that you put out and the page options that you offer. Your pen support is flawless and my page exports look amazing. i have a few suggestions that would make Penbook top notch. 1. ability to save favorite notebook styles for the book creation and delete defaults(i only want one type of engineering paper and your pre made books are just clutter. i also don’t want a whole paper package just one. it is irritating to find the engineering paper i want and then have to delete 5 or 6 pages every time i create a notebook. 2. notebook folders or library management, or the ability to select individual pages of a book for pdf export. i need one book per homework assignment with the current setup. 3. Basic shape drawing capability 4. ability to re-size selections 5. in app ability to crop imported pictures 6. ability to edit text or date or page number on engineering header pages and have header carry to additional pages (option at new page creation) 7. 8.5x11 sizing for pages so i can create the same size page if i’m on my phone or on my ipad in any orientation.

by YouGotAte

I use Penbook for everything from writing and computer science homework to project and vacation planning. There are lots of very useful page templates and more than enough colors and tools to fill a page with notes and diagrams. Pixel and stroke eraser modes and a quick and easy toolbar make getting my thoughts onto the iPad easy as can be; with little practice I got faster than I was with pen and paper. The combo of simplicity and feature set really stands out among the many notebook apps.

The only issue is managing the books and pages once you have them. Notebooks can’t be grouped and are just shown in a single row (with not enough cover options to distinguish them aside from a small label). Sorting pages inside a notebook is clumsy, and there is only one non-configurable grid to see the pages if you are trying to find something you wrote.

I would love to see folders for notebooks and the ability to use photos (or specific pages, not just the last-viewed one) as notebook covers. A dedicated landing page for Penbook could show the last pages from recent notebooks and also offer a grid of all notebooks with resizable icons. Within notebooks, a pop-up display like Kindles have for viewing other pages could allow for much faster cross-referencing pages than repeatedly scrolling through the grid between distant pages.

by Kanesha M

Penbook has almost everything I’ve been looking for in a planner. You can draw, add stickers, washi tape, and they have nice journal templates for whatever you may need. However, Penbook can get a little buggy when it comes to placing stickers I’ve noticed. It’ll just freeze in the middle of resizing them. Some things I wish to see is being able to resize drawings made with the Apple Pencil like you can do with stickers and also like an explanation for what’s in the paid version. I know there unlimited journals but what else? How do I know it’s worth it if I don’t know if I really need it you know? Otherwise I’m happy with Penbook and looking forward to using it more!

by Lonely515151

Penbook is wonderful - I use it for journaling, habit tracking, finances, personal inventory, and many other functions. I have some frustrations, though, so I’m hoping Penbook creators will see this review and consider the feedback.

1) I have specific color, pen, and sticker sets that I would like to use for each notebook, but every time I switch between notebooks I have to go through and make sure I get the right color and size for each thing. This actually was *easier* to deal with before the update that added more colors. I love having all the color options! But I wish I could have a colorscape set to each notebook.

2) It would be awesome to be able to just select a sticker that I’ve already placed and duplicate it without having to go back through the sticker library and fight with the one I want to *try* to get it to match the size of the others (I like to use stickers for to-do list boxes).

3) A smoothing/flow slider would be great. I frequently *want* to use the pen setting but the jiggle/unevenness drives me up the wall and I end up re-writing the same thing ten times before I’m happy with it.

Thanks for reading!

- a customer with OCD and like an 85% satisfaction rating

by Syanimp

I've only just barely started using Penbook but it's amazing. Perfect in every way? Probably not, but compared to the other apps I've tried, it's one of the best. The journals are super customizable and as someone who wants to eventually put together a web toon I appreciate being able to not only manually write my outline and scripts, but also being able to add pages like the storyboards or the blank/ lineless ones where I can sketch small ideas directly into Penbook instead of having to have the small doodles and panel planning separate in procreate. The tools also work very well for sketching and doodling.

So far I love it, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to improve on. I'll come back and edit my review should I encounter any terrible issues.

by Gina_624

I have been using Penbook for quite awhile now. I love it! I have multiple notebooks and works perfectly for what I need. I love that you can custom every page differently and then duplicate that particular page and save as a favorite to use in other notebooks. This is my go to for personal and work and keep things separately nicely.
One suggestion I would like to see, you have incorporated the calendar feature which I love and hate at the same time. Is it possible for a future update to incorporate specific calendars for specific notebooks? I don’t like if I add the calendar it goes on all my notebooks. I have multiple calendars for different reasons and would love to be able to specify which calendar I would like to see in certain notebooks.
Other than that, Penbook is great and use it everyday and have recommended to quite a few people. Thank you.

by Deedster22

I love Penbook so much! I really enjoy using it to study. I’m an engineering student and being able to access engineering paper on an iPad is amazing! I can’t wait to be able to upgrade to the full version so I can make multiple books and sort all my notes out. I appreciate that I can (as far as I can tell) have as many pages as I want, I can change individual pages for the individual need, and that I can place small graphs and stickers to help make my notes easily readable.

(Update) I love Penbook has added stickers and other things (wash tape) for free. It makes everything really nice to use. I’m still waiting to upgrade to the premium version (gotta wait until I afford it). The premium version is decently cheap, however, only running about $15 per year, or $50 for lifetime access (which I think is pretty cool).

Thank you so making such a good app! It would be kind of cool to be able to upload our own stickers or be able to access (maybe have people submit) relevant to different classes.

by Querieda

I’ve tried so many notebook apps but found none that I liked until I found this one. I found Penbook to be very simple to use the more you explore. Other apps I tried, I would’ve liked and kept if it wasn’t for their ridiculous pricing options but Penbook, I feel, has a fair pricing system; to each their own🙂 I love Penbook. I love that when I open Penbook , I can see the book I’ve created and the page turning is similar to an actual book.

I also love the little things like the stickers and the drawing sampler. I can tell whoever created Penbook was really thorough in their approach of how they wanted this notebook app to perform. Those little things in my opinion can make anything great. Keep it up👍🏻

by Chuchi712

This is my first time doing digital notes for school so I was on the look for a note taking app. I tried the free version before committing and I am obsessed with taking notes on it. I like that variety on pens types you can use and the ability to select specific shades of color. I bought the yearly subscription since unlimited notebooks and pdf downloading was a must to me. I also love that besides note taking I can do my journaling here using the different washi tapes, already made pages and fonts. The pre made notebooks are also very handy and I like the selection of pages depending on the purpose of the notebook; notes, journal, calendar (weekly, monthly and even yearly), diagrams and drawings. I like that I can create my own pages and favorite them so I can implement them later on other books. Overall great app and I’d recommend to anyone who rather have digital notes rather than a bunch of paperwork. 10/10

by 🐺🐟 The Lupine Fish 🐟🐺

I am obsessed with notebooks. I am so much so that I sometimes write stuff down on a notes app like this one before I mess one up by accident! Penbook is perfect for an extreme notebookholic like me.
Now I have not tried a lot of notes apps on which you are intended to write with your finger, but all the ones I HAVE tried have been lame-o. Either I can't zoom in, my handwriting looks terrible, or it's just...blah. This one stands out. Not only is it all-purpose and relatively easy to use, but the stickers are free and mostly nice. I could hardly believe there was washi tape!
I would say the only downside is that, in the free version, one can only have a single notebook at a time. Yet you can do a lot with a single notebook sometimes. (You have no idea.) Do not be misled by some of the worse reviews. Penbook is a gem, and I would give it Editor's Choice if I were an editor. But I'm not downloading Penbook for you; you are. Don't take my or their word for it. Just try it.
(PS, how do you delete a notebook, devs? Thank you.)

by Stuartkenney

I think this is the first review I've ever left of an app. I bought an ipad because I am realizing that as MUCH as I LOVE paper, I am going to need to adapt, especially with travel. I was drawn to good notes, One note and others - on a constant trial running each through their paces for what feels like weeks! I must say, however, nothing can compatre to this app. Sure its far from perfect, nothing is, BUT the team is constantly bringing out new features! The interface is simple, elegant, and the closest thing to writing on paper as possible. It syncs, sure... it's not perfect on a phone or mac, but it shouldn't be. The iPad is where it shines. Dang... thank you for helping me transition and maintain my analog side in a quickly transitioning digital world!!

by Ver961

I’m amazed at all the features and capabilities Penbook has. The developers did it right with this one. As someone who has tried so many different complicated journal, planner, and calendar apps this one combines all three with such a simple interface it was not hard to get the hang of quickly but if someone isn’t tech savvy they also included a very useful beginner’s guide. They have stickers and washy tape and notes you can use and I hope they’ll add more in the future. For what Penbook costs for a year it’s more than worth it. Speaking from experience I’ve paid double for mediocre interface with so many bells and whistles but didn’t have a stable base making it unusable. I would recommend you give Penbook a try you won’t be disappointed.

by Cassiofm

Penbook has the ONE thing all the other “main” note taking apps refuse to give us: full screen. And that makes ALL the difference. Not having other buttons or UI to distract you makes the experience of using this app a delight. It just feels like I’m using a real note to just scribble, take notes, draw, etc. it just feels so natural and nice. The gestures are also incredible intuitive. Part of me wants to hate Penbook since I already spent money and time in others but there is nothing not to like on this app. Well, maybe one thing, the library could do with some improving but I’m pretty sure that’s coming in future updates.

by ProJedi1234

I’ve been looking for a handwriting app for a long time, and finding something that matches my needs has been challenging. I always wanted to replace the need for carrying physical notebooks, but every app out there seems to love putting tons of UI all over the place. This was the first app I found that finally hides all the UI, and it truly feels like a replacement for a physical notebook. It’s also extremely full-featured and contains a fantastic selection of extras such as washi tape and even some special notebooks that make it seem like you’re getting a notebook from an actual store. This, combined with the fantastic price, makes this one of the best notebook replacement apps out there. There’s some UI that needs to be polished, especially around handling notebooks and organizing pages. Still, the fantastic note-taking experience makes it totally worth it.

by Dog Picosso

I just downloaded Penbook, and so far, it’s pretty great! Haven’t run across any issues. I know some people are complaining about how you can only have one notebook before you have to pay, but since you get all the features with that one notebook, I thinks it’s fine. Plus, how would they make any money? I’m still getting used to it, but loving it. Also, I’m am genuinely entertained by The witty replies from the developers to some of these comments. It’s nice to have an app where the people actually take in to consideration all the suggestions from users. Also- is there a feature to type instead of write? If not, I think that would help a lot :)

Update: ahh! Thanks so much =D

by BDP913

Honestly… I love Penbook. It makes it easy to organize and identify your information quickly and easily.

My only suggestion would be to add a second workspace. I have one general task that I use several notebooks for and I have other random things I don’t want to use that workspace for so it would be nice if I could make a “Work” workspace where personal books don’t appear and a “Personal” workspace where the work books don’t appear.

As of now, anything that doesn’t belong with what I’m doing through Penbook is all done in Apple notes. Not quite the same.

by Sleepy Rhom

I really wanted a note taking app that took up the whole iPad screen and I found it. Using an iPad mini doesn’t leave much space for bulky menus. Also the two finger undo is great. Overall Penbook is intuitive and The live papers are awesome, making it like a real planner. Now all it needs is the option to make shortcuts to open specific notebooks from the home screen and the ability to group notebooks (unless that’s already there and I just don’t know how to use it 😅). Overall awesome and worth the price already in its current version.

by Clurichaun

I really want to apologize to previous review stating there was no way to resize pictures uploaded to pages. I found the pdf with instructions and yes pictures can be resized. What also said in previous review was I really really hate subscription models and have been actively looking for replacement apps for many apps I use that have gone that way. In this case I appreciate you include a lifetime purchase and think this app is super special and well worth it :) So fun and customizable with great tools, paper, stickers and really every ability to let freak flag fly!