Comparison
Penlog vs Penjo
Penjo and Penlog start from the same idea: a handwritten journal on iPad with one page per day and your calendar on it. Penjo is the more complete personal journal, and it runs on iPhone and Mac too. Penlog is built for people whose day also lives in software: it reads your notation, carries your tasks forward, and lets Notion and your AI agents read the page.
Side by side
| Penlog | Penjo | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A handwritten daily journal, one page per day, in a single journal. | A handwritten journal and planner, one page per day, with multiple journals and a list mode. |
| Handwriting recognition | Reads your notation: a bullet is a task, a dash is a note, an X is done. Also transcribes the page. | Makes handwriting searchable and copyable as text. Does not read notation. |
| Where your handwriting is read | On Penlog's servers, by a vision model. | On your device. |
| Tasks | Handwritten tasks carry forward to the next day until you cross them off. | Apple Reminders in the week and month views, plus habit marking. |
| Calendar | Events from your iPad's calendars on the day's page, read-only. | Apple, Google, and Exchange events on the page, and you can edit them in the app. |
| Notion | Two-way sync with Pro. Crossing a task off on paper completes it in Notion. | None. |
| AI agents | MCP server with Pro, so Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP agent can read and search your pages and add tasks. | None. |
| Extras | Paper styles and Face ID lock. | Photos with background removal, Home Screen widgets, Journaling Suggestions, and shareable templates. |
| Platforms | iPad only, iPadOS 18 or later. | iPad, iPhone, Mac, and Vision Pro. |
| Price | Free to write in. Pro is $8.99/month or $89.99/year, with a 14-day free trial. | Free for 14 daily entries. $2.99/month, $19.99/year with a 7-day trial, or $39.99 once. |
When to choose Penjo
- You want your journal on iPhone and Mac as well as iPad.
- You want a lower price or a one-time purchase.
- You want your handwriting recognized on your device, never on a server.
- You journal with photos and widgets, or keep several journals.
- You want to edit calendar events from inside your journal.
When to choose Penlog
- You want what you write as a task to stay a task and carry forward until you cross it off.
- You run your work in Notion and want handwritten tasks to land there.
- You want Claude, ChatGPT, or your own agents to read your journal and add to it.
- You want a journal that other software can read, not only a place to write.
Can you use both?
You could, but most people will pick one daily page. If the journal is mainly personal, Penjo is a lovely choice. If your daily page is where your work gets planned, Penlog is built for that.
Free to write in. See what Pro adds, or read the FAQ.
Penjo details checked September 2026 against: penjoapp.com , App Store listing . Prices and features change, so check their site for current plans. Penjo is a trademark of its owner. Penlog is not affiliated with it.
More comparisons: Penlog vs Goodnotes · Penlog vs Notability