Comparison

Three Good Things Journal vs Gratitude Forest

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

Head to head
About

Three Good Things Journal

This app helps increase happiness and positivity by prompting users to record three good things that happened each day. It aims to retrain the brain to focus on the positive aspects of life, fostering a more optimistic outlook.

Highlights
  • Daily gratitude journaling
  • Focus on positive experiences
  • Simple user interface
  • Gamification for engagement
  • Rewire brain for positivity
Features
Read full description

Named in The Washington Post's "7 science-backed things to do on your phone that are better than just scrolling." The gratitude journal for people who don't journal. Write down three good things that happened today. That's the whole practice, and it takes about a minute. No account to create. No ads, ever. Your journal stays completely private, always. "A terrific iPhone app which utilizes a study-backed method to help you focus on the positive." — Tal Ben-Shahar, positive psychology lecturer and author "A low-effort approach to gratitude journaling that even the most diary-averse can get on board with." — TapSmart WHY IT WORKS The three good things exercise comes from positive psychology, where it has been studied for two decades. Taking a minute at the end of the day to notice what went well builds a habit of seeing the good already in your life. They don't have to be big. A good conversation, a favorite meal, a walk outside, a small win, or a quiet moment is enough. FEATURES • Write three good things each day • Add photos and videos to remember the day • Look back through your history by list or calendar • Mark favorite days you want to find again • Set a daily reminder at a time that suits you • Customize the look and feel of your journal • Build a daily streak and unlock achievements A JOURNAL WORTH REREADING Over time it becomes something to read back through: ordinary days you'd otherwise have forgotten, in your own words. "I started this in Covid lockdown in Melbourne — have now completed 1957 days… nearly 6000 good things acknowledged. Life is good when you look for it." — App Store review I first made Three Good Things nearly ten years ago because I wanted this practice to feel simple and easy to return to. I hope it can become a small part of your day. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://threegoodthingsapp.com/privacy/

About

Gratitude Forest

Cultivate mental strength by visually journaling your gratitude. Plant seeds that grow into trees, bearing fruit for each thankful entry. This gamified approach helps reduce stress and foster optimism.

Highlights
  • Visual gratitude journaling
  • Plant and grow gratitude trees
  • Collect magic fruits
  • Build mental strength
  • Reduce stress and negative thinking
  • Schedule counseling calls
Read full description

Gratitude forest is the very first phase of One S'more, our gamified mental health app. Essentially, Gratitude Forest is a place to record and store everything you’re thankful for, whether it’s a person, a kind act, or a positive detail in your everyday life. It's a fun way to create a visual journal of all the blessings in our life, which is more powerful than just thinking about it or a text-based journal. Every month, you will receive a seed that you can plant and let it grow into a gratitude tree. Each day that you input anything you are thankful for, a magic fruit will appear on your tree. Over time, you will amass a forest full of gratitude trees and fruits, which is a visual reminder of all the good things in life. The reason we pick Gratitude Forest to be our first phase is that gratitude is such a powerful practice for mental strength, especially considering how little time it takes each day. The simple habit of reflecting on what you’re grateful for regularly can decrease stress and negative thinking and help you lead a more optimistic and joyful life. Within our apps, you can also schedule paid counseling calls with our trained listeners. Soon, you will be able to power up and unlock features by completing challenges such as maintaining the gratitude streak, etc. We are adding more game elements and mental health practices that we are currently testing and building for you. The next feature to be released is a mental health Toolbox, which consists of different activities that can help you cope with different situations. Why play One S'more? 1. Building more mental muscle can prevent mental health issues before they even start. Plus, It can help you to better deal with problems in life and simply have a more joyful life. 2. Game elements help motivate people to adopt healthy habits consistently until seeing results. 3. The most effective way to boost well-being is to be a part of a community that you can both receive support from and contribute to.

Screenshots

Three Good Things Journal4 screens
Gratitude Forest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Gratitude Forest at none against Three Good Things Journal's 1. Gratitude Forest also leads on iOS requirement (15.2 vs 26.0). Three Good Things Journal's advantage is ratings volume (1.9K vs 9) and review sentiment (93% vs 69%). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Three Good Things Journal sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Gratitude Forest asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Three Good Things Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Three Good Things Journal has 1.9K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Three Good Things Journal's written reviews are positive against 69% of Gratitude Forest's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Three Good Things Journal ships an update every 2 weeks, Gratitude Forest every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Three Good Things Journal versus Gratitude Forest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThree Good Things JournalGratitude Forest
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.9K ratings) — better4.6 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews92.9% of reviews — better69.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1.9K — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAsher DaleYulibar Husni

Customer experience

Three Good Things Journal

All ratings1,931 ratings
Positive96.3%
Neutral2.5%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews154 reviews
Positive92.9%
Neutral2.6%
Negative4.5%

Gratitude Forest

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral15.4%
Negative15.4%

Bugs and requests

Three Good Things Journal

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • History/past entries not accessible
  • App crashes or freezes on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to add more than 3 entries per day
  • Option to sync across devices
  • Export/print past entries
  • Password protection

Gratitude Forest

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Three Good Things Journal

Subscriptions1
  • Premium$4.991 Month
None

Gratitude Forest

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Three Good Things Journal free?
Three Good Things Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gratitude Forest free?
Gratitude Forest is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Three Good Things Journal or Gratitude Forest?
Three Good Things Journal is rated higher. Three Good Things Journal averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Gratitude Forest averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do Three Good Things Journal or Gratitude Forest have ads?
Neither Three Good Things Journal nor Gratitude Forest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Three Good Things Journal or Gratitude Forest?
Three Good Things Journal ships an update every 2 weeks, and Gratitude Forest every 10 days. Most recently, Three Good Things Journal was updated on October 24, 2026 and Gratitude Forest on October 24, 2026.

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