Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Fast Pencil

Do it yourself publishing done fast done right.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Fast Pencil launched in 2014; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   8pen▲84

   Writing made fast, natural and fun.

   2014 · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Red Pen▲120

   Effing Fast Feedback

   2013 · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Stencil▲344

   The fastest way to create and share visual content

   2016 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   The Sketchbook Project▲87

   A crowd-sourced library of Sketchbooks

   2014 · its alternatives →

5. 5
   PencilCase▲74

   An iPhone and iPad app maker and private publishing platform

   2014 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Notebooks▲74

   Get feedback easier and iterate faster

   2016 · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Marquee▲81

   Easier, Faster, more Beautiful Publishing (pre-launch)

   2014 · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Apple Pencil▲222

   Completely familiar. Entirely revolutionary.

   2015 · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Swiftly▲68

   Small design jobs done fast

   2014 · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Penflip▲119

    A social writing platform

    2013 · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Pencil VS Pixel - Making a product with Scout Books & XOXO▲55

    Making conference guidebooks from idea to finish.

    2016 · its alternatives →

12. 12
    CMYK▲89

    Real-time design feedback from your own network

    2014 · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Pencil▲10

    Georgeous Pencil for Paper App

    2014 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Quick▲70

    Add text to photos fast

    2014 · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Bullet Journal▲86

    An analog note-taking system for the digital age

    2014 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Velocity▲109

    Read faster, one word at a time

    2013 · its alternatives →

17. 17
    FoldingText▲83

    Plain text productivity for geeks

    2014 · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Inkshares▲101

    Crowdfunded Book Publishing

    2014 · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Typewrite▲103

    Real-time collaborative writing

    2014 · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Lean Pub▲81

    Publish Early, Publish Often

    2014 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Sketch▲109

    Professional digital design for Mac.

    2014 · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Spreed▲66

    Speed reading in Chrome

    2014 · its alternatives →

23. 23
    PostScripting▲111

    Proofreading and editing done right

    2015 · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Pencil▲97

    An intelligent writing environment for novelists.

    2018 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →