# Diary vs Thinky

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Diary at none against Thinky's 4. Diary also leads on ratings volume (1.7K vs 95). Thinky's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Thinky sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Diary asks for nothing beyond the download.

Thinky holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Diary has 1.7K ratings behind it against 95, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Diary's written reviews are positive against 84% of Thinky's.

Diary ships an update every 5 months, Thinky every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Diary | Thinky |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (1.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diary-journal-with-password/id1259894631/reviews) | **[4.7 (95 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thinky-mindful-journal/id1484067196/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.7K** | 95 |
| Positive reviews | 80.9% of reviews | **84.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 28 MB | 49 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | **10.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Aurel Criste](https://appshunter.io/developer/1190603157) | [Thinky Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1484067195) |

## What reviewers say

### Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diary-journal-with-password/id1259894631)

This app provides a secure and beautiful space to record your thoughts, plans, and life moments. Protect your entries with a password and enjoy a customizable interface with features like image support and PDF export.

**Highlights:** Password protection with PIN, Add/edit/remove images, Search functionality, Export entries to PDF, Customizable color and font styles, Reminders, Auto-lock for privacy

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome app
- 🔒 Password protected
- 👍 Customizable font, color, and theme
- 💡 Ability to add photos
- 💡 Ability to set reminders

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Entries disappear without warning
- 🐛 Password issues, unable to reset
- 🐛 Scrolling/jumping text when writing longer entries
- 🔋 Excessive ads
- 🐛 Unable to recover deleted entries

**Reported bugs**

- Password not working consistently
- Entries disappearing or not saving properly
- Scrolling/jumping text when writing longer entries
- Inability to recover deleted entries

**Requested features**

- Backup and sync across devices
- More customization options (fonts, colors, backgrounds)
- Ability to export entries
- Night mode/dark theme
- Voice-to-text entry


### Thinky

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thinky-mindful-journal/id1484067196)

This app offers a secure and simple way to journal your thoughts and feelings. It automatically classifies your mood, provides writing prompts, and allows for cloud backup. Track your emotional patterns with visual graphs and set reminders to build a consistent journaling habit.

**Highlights:** Automatic mood classification, End-to-end encryption, Writing prompts, Cloud backup and sync, Photo attachments, Daily reminders, Visual mood graph

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Coffee-sized tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Sandwich-sized tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Pizza-sized tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| A very generous tip | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- ✨ Visually appealing design
- 🧠 Helps with self-reflection
- 🔒 Passcode protection available
- 💡 Tracks moods effectively

**What reviewers complain about**

- 📝 Strict word limit (250 characters)
- 🤔 Difficulty navigating to past dates
- 📱 No iPad specific version
- 🔔 Reminders not always working
- ❓ Privacy key issues preventing login

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when navigating to past dates
- Privacy key not working for login
- Wind down and bedtime alerts not working

**Requested features**

- Increase word limit
- Ability to export entries
- Tagging entries for search
- Add a return button for new lines
- Bullet points feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Diary free?

Diary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Thinky free?

Thinky is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Diary or Thinky?

Thinky is rated higher. Diary averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Thinky averages 4.7 from 95 ratings.

### Do Diary or Thinky have ads?

Both Diary and Thinky show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Diary or Thinky?

Diary ships an update every 5 months, and Thinky every 2 weeks. Most recently, Diary was updated on November 2, 2026 and Thinky on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*