Comparison

Quick Daily Journal vs Simple CBT

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

Head to head
About

Quick Daily Journal

This app simplifies daily journaling with a card-based system for text, photos, and voice notes. Build a consistent habit with streak tracking and gentle reminders, all while ensuring your privacy with local storage and optional iCloud sync.

Highlights
  • One card per day
  • Text, photo, and voice note capture
  • Calendar view
  • Streak tracking
  • Marble Collection for consistency
  • Local and iCloud sync
  • Export and backup
Features
Read full description

Journal makes daily writing effortless and rewarding. Instead of an empty page, you create one beautiful card per day—add text, photos, or a quick voice note and move on. A focused design, calendar view, and gentle streak reminders help you build a consistent journaling habit you’ll actually keep. Your progress comes to life with a tasteful Marble Collection that celebrates each day you show up. The marbles are here to make your journey of journaling simple and rewarding. Think of them as small celebrations of your consistency, each one represents a day you chose to reflect and grow. Privacy comes first. Your entries are stored on your device and can sync securely with iCloud - no accounts, no tracking, and you’re always in control. * One card per day: a calm, clutter‑free way to journal * Text, photo, and voice note capture in seconds * Calendar view to revisit memories at a glance * Streak tracking with optional reminders * Minimal, elegant design that stays out of your way * Powerful search to find entries fast * Optional iCloud sync and export for peace of mind * Marble Collection: a subtle visual celebration of consistency Free Features * Daily card with rich text * Add a photo to entries * Calendar and timeline browsing * Habit streak and gentle notifications * Local, private storage Quick Daily Journal Pro Unlock premium features for power users and long‑term preservation: * Multiple photos per entry * Voice notes * iCloud sync across your devices * Edit previous days and backfill entries * Export & backup (PDF/Text) for archiving * Search filters Journal is designed to make writing feel light, private, and sustainable, so your best days don’t get lost and the tough ones find clarity. Privacy Policy: https://kevz.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-Quick-Daily-Journal-24b5bac81189807d90bdd92c913ce8bc?source=copy_link Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Simple CBT

This app offers a minimalist journal to help users identify and overcome negative thought patterns. It guides users through a simple process to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress, with features like badges for motivation and PDF export for sharing entries with therapists. All data is stored locally for enhanced privacy.

Highlights
  • Minimalist design
  • Earn fun badges
  • View top distortions
  • Share journal entries
  • Supports dark and light mode
  • Local data storage
  • PDF export
Features
Read full description

Simple CBT is a minimalist cognitive behavioral therapy journal to help people become aware and break free of negative thought patterns. Simple CBT main features at a glance: • Minimalist design • Quick mood check-ins to track how you feel throughout the day • Custom feelings and situation tags to make your journal truly personal • Mood calendar to visualize your emotional patterns over time • Interactive micro exercises to practice identifying and challenging cognitive distortions • On-device AI perspective to get feedback on your journal entries (requires Apple Intelligence) • Earn fun badges for hitting milestones • View your top distortions and trends • Quick thought dumps for when you need to get thoughts out fast • Share your entries as PDFs • Custom themes to personalize your experience • iCloud sync to keep your data across devices • Supports dark mode (and light mode) • Available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese • All your journal entries and app data are stored locally on your device Simple CBT was built with a clear design to help you worry less and live more. By using a simple 6-step process, you will quickly be on your way to being more mindful. This will help you to become mentally prepared to overcome daily anxiety, depression, and stress. Track your mood with quick check-ins and see your patterns on a calendar view. Practice spotting cognitive distortions with interactive micro exercises. To assist you to stay motivated and build a healthy habit, you will earn badges for hitting milestones. These badges also help to promote gratitude which can improve happiness. The more entries you add, the more insights you can gain from seeing which cognitive distortions you are commonly falling into. To make the process easier when you are pressed for time or too caught up in the moment, there is a draft feature which allows you to start creating an entry and save it at anytime to be completed later. For those times when you just need to get your thoughts out quickly, use the thought dump feature to write freely without going through the full CBT process. You can also create your own custom feelings and situation tags to organize entries in a way that feels natural to you. In the event that you are working with a therapist, and they would like to have a copy of your entries, you can export each entry as a PDF to share. Your privacy is a priority. All your journal entries and app data are stored locally on your device, with optional iCloud sync to your private account. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based practice. While CBT is most effective in treating people with anxiety or depression it could also help with: • Panic • Stress • Phobias • Schizophrenia • Sleeping Disorders • Eating Disorders • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD) • Bipolar Disorders • Sexual Disorders Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is something that everyone can benefit from and can be done without this Simple CBT app such as by using a diary and following the steps. With that said, if you believe you can benefit from using this app but don't have the money to afford it, please reach out to us at simplecbtapp@gmail.com. Privacy Policy - https://www.squeakbyte.com/simple-cbt-privacy-policy Terms & Conditions - https://www.squeakbyte.com/simple-cbt-terms-conditions If you face any bugs or have an idea for a new feature please fill out the form at: https://www.squeakbyte.com/simple-cbt

Screenshots

Quick Daily Journal4 screens
Simple CBT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Quick Daily Journal at weekly against Simple CBT's every 2 months. Quick Daily Journal also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). Simple CBT's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and rating (4.8 vs 4.4). On price, review sentiment, 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. Quick Daily Journal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Simple CBT sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simple CBT holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simple CBT has 40 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Quick Daily Journal's written reviews are positive against 89% of Simple CBT's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Quick Daily Journal ships an update weekly, Simple CBT every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Quick Daily Journal versus Simple CBT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuick Daily JournalSimple CBT
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (7 ratings)4.8 (40 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.4% of reviews89.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings740 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB22 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperKevin HallKevin David Tanner

Customer experience

Quick Daily Journal

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%

Simple CBT

All ratings40 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.3%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Quick Daily Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$49.99
14 purchases

Simple CBT

Subscriptions4
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$8.991 Month
  • Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time10
  • Custom Feelings Library$0.99
  • Custom Tags Library$0.99
  • Export Multiple Entries$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Customize Notifications$0.99
  • Entry Revision History$0.99
  • App Lock$0.99
  • Theme Collection$0.99
  • Plus Pack$4.99
  • Pro Lifetime$89.99
  • Pro Lifetime$149.99

Questions

Is Quick Daily Journal free?
Quick Daily Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple CBT free?
Simple CBT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Quick Daily Journal or Simple CBT?
Simple CBT is rated higher. Quick Daily Journal averages 4.4 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Simple CBT averages 4.8 from 40 ratings.
Do Quick Daily Journal or Simple CBT have ads?
Neither Quick Daily Journal nor Simple CBT shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Quick Daily Journal or Simple CBT?
Quick Daily Journal ships an update weekly, and Simple CBT every 2 months. Most recently, Quick Daily Journal was updated on October 24, 2026 and Simple CBT on October 24, 2026.

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