Own your e-ink notes.
Search, share, and export anywhere you want.
AI-powered OCR, real-time cloud sync, exports to Notion and Obsidian, and a built-in MCP server so Claude (and any AI assistant) can read your handwritten notes on demand.
No credit card required · 7-day Power trial
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Connect your cloud storage
Sign up and connect Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive in one click. Select the folder where your tablet saves its notes.
Write the way you always have
Use your e-ink tablet normally. Boox, reMarkable, Supernote — any device that syncs notes as PDFs to cloud storage works.
Penlo picks up your notes automatically
The moment a new or updated PDF lands in your watched folder, Penlo detects it in real time. No manual triggers.
AI reads your handwriting
Google Gemini Vision handles cursive, messy handwriting, mixed languages, and multi-page documents. No daily cap.
Your notes land wherever you need them
Notion as a structured page, your Obsidian vault as Markdown, your inbox as a formatted email, or all three at once. Everything you've written is searchable from the Penlo dashboard.
Features
Everything your e-ink tablet should have shipped with
Instantly searchable
Search across every word you've ever written, from any notebook, from any date. Powered by Postgres full-text search — fast, accurate, and private.
Real-time cloud sync
Connect Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Penlo watches your folder and picks up new or updated notes the moment they land.
Industry-leading OCR
Google Gemini Vision processes each page image and returns full text with word-level coordinates. Unlimited pages, no daily cap.
Access your notes from Claude and other AI assistants
Connect Penlo to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, or any AI tool that speaks the Model Context Protocol. The assistant reads your handwritten notes on demand — by calling Penlo directly during the conversation.
Claude
Download the .mcpb extension, double-click, paste your API key. Claude Desktop searches your handwritten notes in any conversation.
ChatGPT
Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans support custom MCP servers. Add Penlo in Settings → Connectors with one config snippet.
Cursor
Reference your handwritten notes from inside your editor. Drop a JSON snippet into your MCP config and Penlo tools appear in chat.
Any MCP client
Anything that speaks the Model Context Protocol works with Penlo. Same JSON config, same three tools.
Download the Penlo MCP for Claude Desktop
Search, reference, and reason over your handwritten notes from any conversation.
Intelligent text cleanup
Three post-OCR passes, each independently toggleable. Turn on all three for polished output. Turn off all three for raw OCR text. You choose.
AI summaries and auto-tagging
Every synced notebook gets an AI-generated summary andauto-suggested tags. Review, edit, or let them apply automatically.
Email export
Email your note in any format — original PDF, searchable PDF, Markdown, or plain text. Works on auto after each sync or manually triggered.
Notion export
Push notebooks as Notion pages or database entries. On re-sync, existing pages update in place — never duplicated.
Searchable PDF
Every note gets a searchable PDF with an invisible OCR text layer. Open it in any reader and search your handwriting like typed text.
Obsidian export
Markdown files with YAML frontmatter land in a subfolder inside your sync folder. Open it as an Obsidian vault — notes appear instantly with backlinks and graph view support.
--- title: "Meeting notes — Q2 planning" date: 2026-03-12 tags: [strategy, planning, q2] summary: "Discussion of Q2 OKRs, headcount plans, and go-to-market priorities." source: penlo ---
Outbound webhooks
Configure a URL to receive a POST request every time a note finishes processing. The payload includes notebook title, full OCR text, AI summary, auto-suggested tags, page count, and processing timestamp.
Optional HMAC-SHA256 signing. Works with Make.com, Zapier, n8n, or any HTTP endpoint. Power tier only.
REST API
Two authenticated endpoints for programmatic access:
GET /api/v1/notebooksGET /api/v1/notebooks/:idBearer API key auth. Keys hashed before storage. Power tier only.
Shareable links
Generate a public link for any notebook. Recipients see the OCR text and a page thumbnail — no Penlo account required. Revoke the link instantly from the notebook viewer.
Compare
See how Penlo stacks up
 |  |  |  Penlo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sync | ||||
| Platforms | iOS & Android Mobile only; no desktop app | iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | Web (any browser) No install required. Works on any device. |
| Sync destinations | Onyx Cloud + Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive | reMarkable Cloud + Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive Third-party cloud requires Connect subscription | Supernote Cloud + Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox | Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive Watches any folder. Works with BOOX, reMarkable, Supernote — or any device that outputs PDFs. |
| Works across brands | BOOX only | reMarkable only | Supernote only | Any device Switch hardware anytime without changing your workflow. |
| Sync trigger | Manual or on close | Continuous background sync | Manual or on close | Real-time, webhook-based Fires the moment a PDF lands in the watched folder. |
| View & browse notes | View notes via QR code scan or sync | Full notebook view and organisation | Full notebook view and organisation | Dashboard with summaries, tags, and search |
| OCR & handwriting recognition | ||||
| Handwriting-to-text | On-device; up to 300 uses/day Moderate accuracy; not processed by companion app | On-device via MyScript Good accuracy; ~30 languages; lasso-select to convert | On-device; real-time recognition TXT and DOCX export; accuracy varies | Unlimited AI-powered OCR Google Gemini — handles cursive, messy handwriting, and mixed languages. No daily cap. |
| Text cleanup after OCR | — | — | — | AI post-processing Joins broken lines, fixes spelling and grammar, normalises formatting. Each step individually toggleable. |
| Search handwritten notes | Keyword search on device Not available in BOOX Assistant app | In-app search with Connect subscription | In-app search in real-time recognition notes | Cross-notebook full-text search Search all OCR'd content across every notebook, from every device. |
| AI processing | ||||
| AI summaries | — On-device AI Assistant exists on BOOX hardware, not in companion app | — | — | Auto-generated on every sync 2–3 sentence summary per notebook, visible on hover in the dashboard. |
| Auto-tagging | — | — | Manual tags only | AI-suggested tags Inferred from note content on every sync. Apply automatically or review manually. |
| Chat with your notes | — | — | — | Penlo AI — built-in chat Ask questions across your entire notebook library. No external AI client or setup required — answers are grounded in your OCR'd note content. |
| Export | ||||
| PDF export | PDF (via device) | PDF, PNG, SVG | PDF (via device or Partner app) | Searchable PDF OCR text layer embedded — Ctrl+F, select text, and copy-paste from any reader. |
| Word / plain text | — | — | TXT and DOCX via on-device OCR | Markdown (.md) and plain text (.txt) Auto-written to your sync folder alongside the original PDF on every sync. |
| Notion export | — | — | — | Native Notion push Sub-pages or structured database entries. Updates in place on re-sync — no duplicates. |
| Obsidian export | — | — | — | Markdown + YAML frontmatter Title, date, tags, vault URI, aliases. Appears instantly with backlinks and graph view support. |
| Email delivery | Manual share only | Manual share only | Manual share only | Automatic or on-demand Deliver original PDF, searchable PDF, Markdown, or plain text to any address. |
| Integrations & automation | ||||
| API access | — | — | — | REST API Retrieve notebooks, OCR content, tags, and summaries programmatically. |
| Webhooks | — | — | — | Outbound webhooks with HMAC signing Fires on every sync. Connect to Make.com, Zapier, n8n, or any HTTP endpoint. |
| Automation platforms | — | — | — | Make.com, Zapier, n8n Trigger any downstream workflow the moment a notebook is processed. |
| AI assistant access | ||||
| Use notes in AI | — | — | — | Native MCP integration Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, and any MCP-compatible assistant can search your handwritten notes directly. No copy-paste, no file uploads. |
| Claude Desktop install | — | — | — | .mcpb extension Download the Penlo bundle, double-click, paste your API key. Claude searches your notes in any conversation. |
| Tools exposed | — | — | — | search_notes, find_notebook, list_recent_notes Full-text search across OCR content, lookup by title or filename, and recent-notebook listing. |
Pricing
Start free, upgrade when you need more.
Free
20 OCR pages per month and manual sync. Enough to try Penlo with your real workflow.
- 20 OCR pages / month
- AI-powered OCR
- Searchable PDFs
- 1 cloud connection
- Manual sync
7-day Power trial included
Get started freePro
500 OCR pages, real-time auto-sync, and the full export suite.
- Everything in Free
- 500 OCR pages / month
- Real-time auto-sync
- Notion & Obsidian export
- AI summaries
- Cross-notebook search
- Unlimited cloud connections
- Email delivery
7-day Power trial included
Start free trialPower
Unlimited OCR, AI assistant access, and full API.
- Everything in Pro
- Penlo AI — chat with notes
- MCP — Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor
- Unlimited OCR pages
- REST API access
- Webhooks (Make, Zapier, n8n)
- AI auto-tagging
- Priority OCR processing
- Batch re-OCR
7-day Power trial included
Start free trialSetup in under 5 minutes
Penlo runs in the background — getting started should take minutes, not an afternoon.
Start freeCreate your account
Sign up with email or Google. No credit card required.
Connect cloud storage
Go to Settings → Sources. Connect Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive via OAuth. Select the folder where your tablet saves notes.
Import existing notes
Penlo scans the folder and processes everything it finds.
Configure destinations
Connect Notion, set your Obsidian vault folder, add an email address, or enable Markdown export. Choose which destinations fire automatically.
Also try our Chrome Extension
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- Clean, ad-free reading
Frequently asked questions
What is Penlo?
Penlo is a web app that connects to your cloud storage and automatically processes your e-ink tablet notes the moment they sync. It reads your handwriting using AI, turns it into searchable text, and sends your notes to Notion, Obsidian, or your email — no manual steps required.
Which e-ink tablets does Penlo work with?
Any tablet that saves notes as PDFs to Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive — which includes Boox, reMarkable, Supernote, and most other e-ink devices. Penlo watches your cloud folder, so it works with any device that syncs there.
Do I need to do anything after a note is written?
No. Once you've connected your cloud storage and selected a folder, everything is automatic. Close a notebook on your device, wait a few seconds for it to sync, and Penlo takes it from there.
How does the OCR work?
Penlo uses Google Gemini Vision, a multimodal AI model, to read your handwriting. It handles cursive, messy handwriting, mixed languages, and multi-page notes. No daily usage cap — every note is processed in full.
Can I search my handwritten notes?
Yes. Every note Penlo processes is indexed and searchable from the dashboard. You can search across every word you've ever written, from every notebook, from any date — full-text, not just titles or tags.
What are the pricing plans?
Free includes 20 OCR pages per month. Pro is $10/month for 500 pages and all export destinations. Power is $18/month for unlimited pages, API, webhooks, and automation integrations. Every new account gets a 7-day Power trial, no card required.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every new account starts with a 7-day Power trial — no credit card required. Full access to every feature so you can test the complete workflow before deciding.
Is my data private?
Penlo is built on Supabase hosted in the EU. Your notes are stored in Postgres with row-level security — every query is restricted to your account at the infrastructure level. Cloud credentials are never stored. API keys are hashed. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest.