Comparison

DAILY NOTE vs Zen

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

Head to head
About

DAILY NOTE

Capture your daily thoughts and memories with this digital journal. Easily write entries, add photos, and customize your experience with various themes. Organize and find your notes effortlessly through calendar views and search.

Highlights
  • Easy and fast writing
  • Attach photos
  • Customizable themes
  • Calendar view for notes
  • Searchable content
  • Backup and restore
  • Password and biometric lock
Features
Read full description

Write today's diary [ DAILY NOTE Features ] ● Easy and fast writing ● Attach photos when writing ● Support for various themes (font, background) ● Read your all notes in calendar ● Monthly / Tag / Overview ● Type words to search contents ● Backup / Restore function ● Password & Biometric lock

About

Zen

This minimal journaling app helps you build a daily habit of recording your thoughts and experiences. It offers a simple, line-by-line entry system, calendar synchronization, and security features like password and biometric unlock. Organize entries with tags for easy retrieval.

Highlights
  • Effortless line-by-line recording
  • Calendar synchronization for context
  • Daily notification reminders
  • Minimalist and intuitive design
  • Password and biometric security
  • Tag-based organization and search
Read full description

Zen is the minimal diary app. Zen was developed based on the developer's own struggles of not being able to continue any diary. - Effortlessly Record If you try to write perfectly, you will not know where to start. Zen allows you to keep a diary in a simple and easy manner by recording what happened in fragments, line by line, just like a note. Even on days when you are tired, you can keep a diary as if it were a note, making it easy to continue to keep a diary every day. Of course, you can also record detailed information. - Calendar Sync Zen automatically displays your schedule for the day by connecting to your calendar. This makes it easy to look back on the day and smoothly start writing in the diary. Even if you forget to keep a diary for a few days, you can easily keep a diary by checking the day's schedule. - Make Journaling a Habit Receiving notifications at a set time every day will support in making journaling a habit. - Minimal We paid special attention to the design because it is an app that you use every day. The minimal design allows you to keep track of your daily activities intuitively without getting lost in the operations. - Wabi-sabi Wabi-sabi is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. We are not perfect. So we don't need to write perfect sentences. Just write what you think. The essence is short. That's why Zen has a limit of 280 characters. - Security You can set a password when you start the app to further enhance your privacy. You can also unlock the app with fingerprint or face-ID. - Organize with Tags You can add keywords or categories related to your diary as tags. This allows you to efficiently manage and search diary entries using tags. Don’t worry, just write. --- Our Story There are many diary apps in the world, but I couldn't master any of them because they are all too complex. So, I decided to create my own minimal diary app that only includes the bare minimum necessary features. The only thing this app can do is to record and look back on daily events. I am constantly updating the app so that people who are looking for a simple diary app like me can be satisfied with it. I would be happy if this app can be of any help in your life. I wish for your life to be enriched. Terms of Use: https://tinylab-apps.web.app/TermsOfService/ja.html Privacy Policy: https://tinylab-apps.web.app/PrivacyPolicy/ja.html

Screenshots

DAILY NOTE4 screens
Zen4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: DAILY NOTE at 310 against Zen's 3. DAILY NOTE also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3). Zen's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. DAILY NOTE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Zen sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DAILY NOTE holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DAILY NOTE has 310 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DAILY NOTE ships an update every 3 weeks, Zen every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
DAILY NOTE versus Zen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDAILY NOTEZen
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (310 ratings) — better4.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews83.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings310 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeryoungjin seoRyunosuke Nagase

Customer experience

DAILY NOTE

All ratings310 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.8%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews452 reviews
Positive83.4%
Neutral8.0%
Negative8.6%

Zen

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

DAILY NOTE

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional app crashes
  • Inconsistent behavior when saving notes
  • Delayed or missing notification alerts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for bullet points, bold, and italic text
  • Implement iCloud/Google Drive sync for cross-device access
  • Allow creation of multiple notes per day
  • Introduce a dark mode option
  • Provide more font and color customization options

Zen

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

DAILY NOTE

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99
2 purchases

Zen

Subscriptions2
  • PREMIUM - MONTHLY14 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • PREMIUM - ANNUAL14 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is DAILY NOTE free?
DAILY NOTE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Zen free?
Zen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DAILY NOTE or Zen?
DAILY NOTE is rated higher. DAILY NOTE averages 4.6 out of 5 from 310 ratings, while Zen averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do DAILY NOTE or Zen have ads?
Both DAILY NOTE and Zen show ads.
Which is updated more often, DAILY NOTE or Zen?
DAILY NOTE ships an update every 3 weeks, and Zen every 10 days. Most recently, DAILY NOTE was updated on November 2, 2026 and Zen on November 3, 2026.

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