Comparison

daybook. vs Grid Diary

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

Head to head
About

daybook.

This app combines a calendar with journaling features to help you record your life. It automatically tracks your steps and visited locations, allowing you to create a visual diary with photos and notes.

Highlights
  • Calendar synchronization
  • Customizable design themes
  • Automatic step counting
  • Automatic location tracking
  • Photo and journal entries
  • Map view of visited locations
Features
Read full description

Daybook is a beautiful calendar & journaling app. Record your life as you live it. ◎Calendar - Calendar including synchronizing to Google and other calendar. - To sync Google calendar, use "Settings" app. Tap "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" in top menu of Settings app, then tap "Add account". ◎Design Themes - 13 design themes. - Custom design theme - you can use your own photo as background. ◎Step counter - Daybook counts your steps automatically (pedometer). - This functionality uses Health Kit. ◎Location - Daybook capture your visit location automatically. - See where you have visited on the map and write a journal. - The places you visit are automatically recorded. ◎Photo & Journal - Daybook shows your photo of the day. - You can write journal easily. ◎In-App Purchase - Custom design theme is paid feature.

About

Grid Diary

This app offers a guided journaling experience to foster personal development and mindfulness. It helps users build positive habits, manage stress, and enhance various aspects of their lives through customizable prompts and unique layouts.

Highlights
  • Prompted journaling with custom questions
  • Unique grid and mandala layouts
  • Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly planning
  • Supports various journaling methods
  • Mindfulness and self-care focus
  • Stress and anxiety alleviation techniques
Features
Read full description

Introducing Grid Diary: More than just a journaling app, it's your comprehensive personal development system. Embark on a personal growth journey that covers all aspects: • Embrace mindfulness & self-love • Establish morning & evening routines • Enhance personal health & wellbeing • Develop self-care habits • Alleviate stress and anxiety through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy • Acquire new skills • Boost productivity • Strengthen relationships • Ignite creativity ...and so much more. At Grid Diary, we understand that personal development is a holistic endeavor, not a singular pursuit. Grid Diary empowers you to create a diary system that goes beyond simple daily entries. By utilizing features such as custom prompts, tags, and categories, you can build a personalized framework for cultivating happiness and developing positive habits such as proactivity, optimism, and gratitude. Use Grid Diary to unlock the true power of keeping a diary and start your journey towards a happier, healthier you. # Feature Highlights • Prompted Journaling: Guided Self-Reflections Avoid writer's block with our question library or customize your own prompts for deeper self-reflection. • Unique Grid Format: Elegant and Comprehensive Organize all that matters to you on a single page with our customizable grid layout, fostering a holistic personal development system. • Mandala Layout: Journal like a Mind Map Our 9-grid Mandala-inspired layout, featuring a fixed center, emulates the artful representation of life's organization and connection to the cosmos. Journaling becomes intuitive and mirrors the way our minds work. • Day/Week/Month/Year Dimensions: Create Your Own Rituals Establish rituals that anchor you in time, crafting a framework for planning, acting, and reviewing on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. • Compatibility with Various Journaling Methods Whether you prefer morning diaries, success diaries, manifestation journals, or bullet journals, Grid Diary's flexibility accommodates your preferred approach. Discover the transformative power of Grid Diary and unlock your full potential today! # Don't Just Take Our Word for It "New Apps We Love" - Apple "If you've wanted to journal but don't know where to start, meet Grid Diary. Swappable prompts in a lovely, flexible grid format invite you to record and reflect on life's happenings - from noting your habits and goals to sharing affirmation and gratitude." - Google "Grid Diary is a good option for journal writers pressed for time or inspiration." - The New York Times --- As a dedicated three-person team, we believe that privacy is paramount for a journaling app. With no venture capital or advertisers backing Grid Diary, our long-term development relies solely on our members' paid subscriptions. We never sell your data to third parties for profit. # Note about Health App integration: After you have authorized access to health data, you can insert information such as steps or activity energy into your diary. Additionally, you can save your journaling time as mediation minutes to Health app. Grid Diary won't use your health data for other purposes. Privacy Policy https://griddiaryapp.com/support/privacy Terms of Service https://griddiaryapp.com/support/terms

Screenshots

daybook.3 screens
Grid Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: daybook. at free with in-app purchases against Grid Diary's subscription. daybook. also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Grid Diary's advantage is review sentiment (48% vs 22%) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. daybook. sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Grid Diary sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

daybook. ships an update monthly, Grid Diary every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 5, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
daybook. versus Grid Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterdaybook.Grid Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.6 (963 ratings) — better
Positive reviews22.2% of reviews48.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—963 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size95 MB80 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMASAYUKI WADASumi Interactive

Customer experience

daybook.

Written reviews9 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral44.4%
Negative33.3%

Grid Diary

All ratings963 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews495 reviews
Positive48.3%
Neutral9.3%
Negative42.4%

Bugs and requests

daybook.

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Grid Diary

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Entries disappearing or not syncing properly
  • Password reset functionality not working
  • Subscription issues and inability to access premium features
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add Apple Pencil support
  • Improve sync reliability across devices
  • Provide more customization options for layouts and fonts
  • Integrate with other productivity apps and calendars
  • Implement a one-time purchase option
Show 1 more
  • Allow randomized daily prompts

In-app purchases

2 purchases

daybook.

One-time2
  • Remove Ad.$2.99
  • daybook Premium$2.99
4 purchases

Grid Diary

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Monthly3 Months trial$4.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Annual6 Months trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is daybook. free?
daybook. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Grid Diary free?
Grid Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do daybook. or Grid Diary have ads?
Neither daybook. nor Grid Diary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, daybook. or Grid Diary?
daybook. ships an update monthly, and Grid Diary every 2 weeks. Most recently, daybook. was updated on September 5, 2026 and Grid Diary on September 25, 2026.

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