Comparison

Personal Diary (Journal) App vs Journal!

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Personal Diary (Journal) App

This app provides a simple and secure digital space for journaling. It offers passcode and biometric protection, iCloud sync across devices, and the ability to add photos, moods, and weather to your entries. It's designed to be an accessible and ad-free journalling experience.

Highlights
  • Passcode & biometric protection
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Import photos into entries
  • Set mood and weather
  • Daily writing reminders
  • VoiceOver support
  • Dark Mode
Features
Read full description

"When all you want is the digital equivalent of a paper diary, this is the perfect one." - goyyboy "Loving the lighthearted feel of this deceptively powerful app." - plinkplok "Good and accessible with VoiceOver" - Allan.summers Need a simple, free, and easy-to-use journalling app? Meet Personal Diary! With no advertisements, limitations, nor any upfront cost, Personal Diary is your simplest and best journalling tool yet. Easily access all your entries in all your devices with iCloud Sync. Write diary entries without worrying that someone will peek at what you wrote, with passcode & biometric protection. Forgot about your diary? The app can 'summon' you back with a friendly nudge. You can also import as many photos as you wish into your entries. As an optional addition, you can set your mood, and add weather and tags to an entry. Notable Features: - Numeric passcode lock (any number of digits). - Unlock using Touch ID or Face ID on supported devices. - Auto-saves as you type. - Simple & easy to use. - Sync data between devices via iCloud Drive. - Ability to pick a mood and weather of the day. - Mood & weather can be automatically chosen. - Import photos to your entries. - Select a theme to suit your style. - Dark Mode for better night use. - VoiceOver fully supported. - Simple Rich Text editing supported. - Optimized for multitasking on iPad. - Full support for physical keyboards, trackpad, and mice. - watchOS keyboard support on Series 7+, and FlickType keyboard support for legacy watch models. - Fully compatible with all modern iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch* models. - Daily notifications for writing in your diary. - No advertisements & absolutely FREE! :D *Some features may not be available on the Apple Watch. Primary editing and viewing functions, such as the Timeline interface and entry editor, are available on the watch. Don't forget to let me know what you think of Personal Diary by leaving a review on the App Store! Reviews and ratings help and let other users find this app. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to send a feedback; I might be able to help! :) Warning: - Please do not forget your password. If you forget your password and your identity cannot be verified, you may not be able to access your data. This app allows you to tip/donate to directly support the development of this app through in-app purchases. No new features will be provided when you tip, it's just to support the app's development if you would like to. Selecting a Small/Medium/Large Tip will initiate a one-time payment for tipping. A Continuous Tip is an automatic-renewal subscription to tip every month, and will renew automatically every month unless it's turned off or cancelled (through your account settings) at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. For this, your Apple account will be charged when payment is confirmed, and charged for auto-renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the selected price. You may locate our terms at https://legal.wern.cc/app/terms and privacy policy at https://legal.wern.cc/app/privacy.

About

Journal!

This app allows users to create a digital journal with daily notifications and custom hours. You can add titles and full text entries, ensure every day has a title, and set reminders for future dates. Entries can be shared with friends or transferred to other devices.

Highlights
  • Daily notifications with custom hours
  • Add titles and full text entries
  • Ensure daily title entries
  • Reminders for future dates
  • Share entries with friends
  • Transfer data to other devices
Features
Read full description

-you can set daily notifications with custom a custom hour. -the interface is simple and easy to use. -add titles directly from the notifications. -extend titles and add full text entries. -you have the ability to make sure the you added a title to every day in the year. -you can add reminders to future dates. -you can share your list with friends or transfer it to another device.

Screenshots

Personal Diary (Journal) App4 screens
Journal!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Personal Diary (Journal) App at 87% against Journal!'s 43%. Personal Diary (Journal) App also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and device support (5 vs 3). Journal!'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Personal Diary (Journal) App sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Journal! asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Personal Diary (Journal) App holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 106 and 51 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Personal Diary (Journal) App's written reviews are positive against 43% of Journal!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Personal Diary (Journal) App ships an update every 5 weeks, Journal! every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Personal Diary (Journal) App versus Journal!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPersonal Diary (Journal) AppJournal!
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (106 ratings) — better4.0 (51 ratings)
Positive reviews87.4% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings106 — better51
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWern Jie LimJacob Hanna

Customer experience

Personal Diary (Journal) App

All ratings104 ratings
Positive82.7%
Neutral9.6%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews183 reviews
Positive87.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative7.7%

Journal!

All ratings50 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral14.0%
Negative16.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral21.4%
Negative35.7%

Bugs and requests

Personal Diary (Journal) App

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Entries sometimes disappear or fail to load
  • Passcode/Touch ID not working reliably
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Unexpected crashes when opening the app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to password protect individual entries
  • Implement calendar view for better navigation
  • Allow adding videos and other media types
  • Improve search capabilities with advanced filters
  • Provide better data backup and export options

Journal!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Personal Diary (Journal) App

Subscriptions1
  • Continuous Tip$1.991 Month
One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
None

Journal!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Personal Diary (Journal) App free?
Personal Diary (Journal) App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Journal! free?
Journal! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Personal Diary (Journal) App or Journal!?
Personal Diary (Journal) App is rated higher. Personal Diary (Journal) App averages 4.4 out of 5 from 106 ratings, while Journal! averages 4.0 from 51 ratings.
Do Personal Diary (Journal) App or Journal! have ads?
Neither Personal Diary (Journal) App nor Journal! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Personal Diary (Journal) App or Journal!?
Personal Diary (Journal) App ships an update every 5 weeks, and Journal! every 3 weeks. Most recently, Personal Diary (Journal) App was updated on November 2, 2026 and Journal! on November 2, 2026.

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