Plan forward. Reflect backward. Create freely.
A fresh start for the new year: Penjo helps you set goals, plan ahead, and keep a clear, organized journal you’ll enjoy returning to every day.
Penjo is a Pencil-first journal and daily planner with Apple Calendar & Reminders, iCloud sync, and secure Face/Touch ID. Each day opens as a clean sheet for your notes, with powerful on-device handwriting search and creative image tools like background removal, stickers, and instant frames.
Why Penjo
PLAN & ORGANIZE
• All in one: Journal, planner, daily notes, and habit logs together.
• Calendar & Reminders: Check today at a glance, add tasks, and stay on schedule. (Also supports Google Calendar and Exchange.)
• Views that fit your routine: Day, Week, and Month for planning; List & Reader for fast, distraction free browsing of past entries.
• Day vs. List modes: In Day Mode, the next item is the next date and journals open on today’s sheet. In List Mode, the next item is the next nonempty day and journals open to the List/Reader view.
• Sync: iCloud keeps iPad, iPhone, Mac, and visionOS up to date.
• Privacy: Lock private journals with Face ID or Touch ID.
CREATE
• Pencil first: Write, sketch, annotate. Add text, images, shapes, and map cards.
• Personalized tool picker: Create your own set of pens and pencils, reorder tools, and switch fast.
• Scribble text entry: Write with Apple Pencil to enter typed text quickly in text fields.
• Auto-straighten lines: Draw a line and make a tiny cross-mark. Penjo instantly straightens it for cleaner diagrams, arrows, and layouts.
• Create as you go: Background removal, clip with shapes, flip, stickers, instant frames (Image Playground supported where available).
FIND & REUSE
• Find and reuse: On device text recognition lets you search handwriting and text in images, and Copy as Text converts selected handwriting to typed text on your clipboard.
• Flexible pages: Add or remove pages automatically, insert or collapse space; choose dot, grid, or lined paper.
• Copy or move sheet: Duplicate or move any sheet to another day or journal, perfect for reusing templates.
PERSONALIZE & ACCESS
• Personalize: Custom names, covers, and colors; drag & drop to reorder journals.
• Color Bookmarks: Mark day notes with colored bookmarks and filter your journal by color to quickly find related notes, themes, or topics.
• Widgets: Jump to today’s notes and trackers from your Home Screen.
• Export and share: Export pages or full journals as PDF to archive, print, or share.
Penjo Unlimited
Unlock unlimited journals & pages, full iCloud sync, enhanced Calendar & Reminders, and protected journals. Family Sharing available on monthly plans.
Roadmap highlights
Apple Journaling Suggestions • Collections • Custom Covers and more
Support
penjoapp.com • support@penjoapp.com
Privacy Policy: https://penjoapp.com/penjoappprivacy
Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Seriously, just get it and pay for it to help support future development. It’s only in its infancy and yet it is exactly what I have been looking for. All the google calendar entries on each daily page which you can note, text, annotate and add images via paste or drag/drop slideover from files to your heart’s delight. Event details on tap. New calendar entries. Dynamically updating for new events. Weekly and monthly views. I have been seeking a google calendar/planner/journal iPad integration that will allow me to doodle and draw attention visually to important entries in my Google calendar — and Penjo, while still rudimentary — checks all the boxes (especially as regards drag/drop images from files as I have built an extensive clip art library). There is another app that came close, but it’s functionality for the use of outside images was cumbersome and pedantic. Another popular planner app promises “Google Calendar sync,” but delivers only a manual linking to each event. Nooooo time for that! Drag/drop was the game-changer here for me, as was the blank canvas. I know the developers have many updates in store and I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with. However as a visual artist, I have to point out that their app icon could use some polishing. It looks like it was created as an after-thought — and potential purchasers may believe the same of the app without trying it. Just my own two cents.
Developer Response
Thank you for your detailed review and for recommending Penjo! We’re glad to hear that the app is meeting your expectations, especially with features like drag-and-drop, close integration of calendar events and the ability to annotate them. We appreciate your feedback on the app icon as well and will keep it in mind as we continue to refine our designs to better reflect the quality of Penjo.Your insights are incredibly helpful as we continue to develop and improve the app. We have many exciting updates planned, and we can't wait for you to see what’s coming next!Thank you again for your support and for sharing your thoughts. If you have any more suggestions or need assistance, please feel free to reach out.
Start Journaling Now!!
9ros
i wanted to update my review now that apple journal is on ipad, there are people who may need convincing that this app is the best. if you want FULL control of your layout- photos, lined paper, all system fonts, this is the app you want. the newer list mode is a small but effective change. ive started other subjects and a bullet journal with 4-month spreads. and yes, as some other users have mentioned i also have a folder of png "stickers" to decorate, and it makes it feel like a physical journal. ive even designed washi tape for my bullet journal. this app makes it so enjoyable, its life changing! for now, the only thing apple journal has over penjo is voice memos, if thats important to you. "effects" photos crashes the app, i recommend using a shortcut or removing backgrounds yourself. ONLY negative i have. so , START JOURNALING in 2026!!! thank you penjo for being such a responsive & innovative team. original review: this is everything i could want in a digital journal. i started using this app at the beginning of the year. i've been journaling almost every day. when night mode came out, it was like christmas for me. the experience typing with a bluetooth keyboard is still not perfect, it brings the text all the way to the bottom of the screen when i'm typing somewhere else. not a big deal but a bit inconvenient. (edit:fixed!) something i would love to see is the option to simply have numbered pages in a journal instead of it being organized by date. i find it difficult to use this app for subjects other than daily journaling. (fixed again!) still 5 stars though by far. great app.
Developer Response
Thank you so much for taking the time to update your review and for sharing such detailed feedback. It truly means a lot to us. Reading that Penjo feels “life changing” is incredibly motivating for our team.We’re also really glad you noticed that several of the points from your original review have been addressed. Your feedback genuinely helps shape how Penjo evolves.Regarding the crash when using photo effects, thank you for pointing this out clearly. This is definitely not expected behavior, and we would really like to fix it as quickly as possible. If you’re willing, could you please share a few details with us? You can reach us at support@penjoapp.com. Even small details help a lot.Thank you again for your kind words, creativity, and for recommending Penjo to others. We’re excited to keep making journaling better together, and yes, let’s start journaling in 2026.
This is the one!
Clipseangel
I have been looking for a note taking app that has the same fountain pen as the one in Apple’s notes. I have gone through sooo many and paid for more just to get the “pro” versions and they all were disappointing. But lo and behold, Reddit to the rescue! I couldn’t believe this little app had my beloved fountain pen! I gave them my money immediately! I have been using them since, faithfully. My writing is flawless and doesn’t distort like Apple notes app after hours of case study reviews. I have just two suggestions. Allow for the ability to lock our screen. I am sure zooming the page in and out is useful for some tasks, but for just writing or journaling, it does move more than I like when my arm hits the screen or my hand makes contact during writing. I have seen others with that function and it is wonderful keeping the page at the size you want and stable. Second, I may be missing this, I honestly may be missing the first suggestion, as in the ability exists and I am overlooking it but, I would love to have all of the Apple Pencil options, esp. the highlighter. If I am overlooking these things, I would love to be directed to them. Other than that, chef’s kiss! 10/10 no notes!!
Developer Response
Thank you very much for your through review and kind words. Happy to hear that Penjo meets your expectations. Regarding the zoom lock, it is a great idea and we immediately decided to include it in the next update and here it is!. Penjo v3.6.14 now includes zoom locking. When set from the context menu in the note, the zoom will be fixed to that current level to reduce the effect of possible palm touch. Thanks again for the suggestion. Regarding the all pencil options. You can switch between the default and favorite one from the pen icon on the right in tool picker. You can add remove pencils to your favorite toolpicker. Feel free to check FAQ in penjoapp.com or contact us last support@penjoapp.comThanks again for your kind words and suggestions.
Perfect
✨Pokki✨
I’ve been looking for a journal app for a while now that didn’t try to be anything but a journaling app and when I came across this, I was overjoyed. It’s intuitive, it’s clean, it’s minimalist, and it puts you and not in app purchases at the forefront. Using this app reminds me of my black paper notebook and gel pens I used as a kid way back in the early 00s and it feels just as magical as 8 year old me remembers. I always have my iPad with me and having access to a digital journal that feels like a physical one has done wonders for my mental health and my therapist loves it too. I cannot sing the praises of this app loud enough or highly enough. Do yourself a favor and download this if you need a space to let it all out emotionally, creatively, or professionally. This is hands down the best journal app I’ve ever used. Goodnotes can take its pay to write model and kick rocks. This is incredible.
Developer Response
Thank you so much! We're so happy Penjo brings back those magical childhood journaling memories. It means a lot to hear it's been helpful for your mental health too. This is exactly why we built it - to be that simple, clean space for your thoughts. Thanks for the kind words!
This update brings a few bug fixes and performance improvements.
Version 3.6.16
The developer, Zafer ARICAN, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More
Supported Features
Dark Interface
Differentiate Without Color Alone
Information
Seller
Zafer ARICAN
Size
18.7 MB
Category
Productivity
Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 17.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.