Penbook review
A stationery-rich notebook for Apple users who write by hand and annotate PDFs.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Nov 2026
Penbook is a digital notebook for handwritten notes, planners, journals, and study notebooks on Apple devices. It suits people who prefer writing with Apple Pencil, another stylus, or a finger, and want more control over page design than a plain notes page offers. The app supports iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Apple Vision, and includes notebook sharing. Its focus is a customizable paper-like workspace rather than a general-purpose note system.
Stationery and page tools are central to the experience: Penbook offers more than 400 stationery types and layouts, lets users adjust layouts, colors, and covers, and can turn imported PDFs into notebooks for annotation and editing. Handwritten notes can be searched for words or phrases, while shape recognition can snap strokes to shapes. Daily, weekly, and yearly planners can display live calendar information, with Apple Calendar and iCloud listed as integrations. These features make it a fit for users who want handwriting, planning, and PDF markup together; people seeking AI features should look elsewhere, as Penbook does not include them.
The free plan can be used indefinitely but is limited to one notebook at a time. Penbook Premium is offered as a yearly subscription, adding unlimited notebook creation and export, access to new stationery and covers, and regular app updates. A separate Premium Lifetime in-app purchase provides premium features for a one-time payment. Since the paid options are presented without a clearly mapped price in the listing, buyers should check the in-app purchase terms for their region. Choose Penbook if a stationery-rich Apple notebook is the priority; choose another app if you need broader platform coverage or more than one free notebook.
Questions about Penbook
Is there a free trial of Penbook? Yes: a 7-day free trial.
What does Penbook run on? iOS and macOS. It runs as a mobile app and as a desktop app.
What does Penbook integrate with? 2 integrations: Apple Calendar and iCloud.
Who is Penbook built for? Solo users and small businesses (our editorial estimate).
Penbook pros and cons
- Where it wins
- More than 400 stationery types and layouts, with customizable pages and covers
- PDF imports support notebook-style annotation and editing
- Search handwritten notes and sync devices using iCloud
- Where it doesn't
- The free plan allows only one notebook at a time
- Unlimited notebooks and export require a Premium purchase
- Its listed platforms are limited to Apple's ecosystem
Penbook fact sheet, pricing and score →
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