Comparison

Simpletext vs Diary Lock

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

Head to head
About

Simpletext

This app offers a minimalist writing experience, focusing solely on plain text. It provides a distraction-free environment with beautiful typography and native performance across Apple devices. Ideal for those who want to concentrate on their words without unnecessary features.

Highlights
  • Zero clutter interface
  • Beautiful typography with professional fonts
  • Plain text only support
  • Fully native Apple app
  • Supports custom fonts
Features
Read full description

The Simplest Writing App for Mac, iPad and iPhone There are many writing apps for you to choose from today, so why bother with yet another one? Because Simpletext is simpler. Its single-minded commitment to simplicity means you’ll get a no-frills writing app that works well and looks great, forever. Simpletext started as a passion project because I couldn’t find what I was looking for. Most apps were trying to do too much and ended up bloated with features I never needed. So I built Simpletext based on a simple premise — what if there’s an app that refuses to do more, choosing instead to do just one thing, and do it well? For Simpletext, that one thing is writing. Why Simpletext? Most people would say Simpletext is lacking in features, and they’re right. In fact, Simpletext began the opposite way — by listing down everything I didn’t want in a writing app. The goal is to create a dumbed-down writing app that inspires you to do nothing else but write. In order to achieve this, I designed Simpletext around four cornerstone principles: 1. Zero Clutter Simpletext is unobtrusive. It provides a blank canvas to write with absolutely nothing to distract you from writing. There’s no visual clutter — the intent is to create a quiet space that helps you connect with your voice, get into the flow, and simply write. With zero clutter, Simpletext lets your words take centre stage. 2. Beautiful Typography Simpletext comes with three professional fonts for you to choose from, handpicked to provide the finest writing experience. They are: (1) Akkurat Mono by Lineto (Monospaced); (2) Graphik by Commercial Type (Sans Serif); and (3) Tiempos Text by Klim Type Foundry (Serif). And if you have a personal favourite font, you can use it in Simpletext too. 3. Plain Text Only Simpletext supports only plain text, which is fast, lightweight and platform-independent. It will never have formatting options, so your files will never be filled with unnecessary attributes. Plain text also ensures your files are always accessible on any device, now and in the future. 4. Fully Native Simpletext is a fully native app developed in Swift and runs natively on Apple silicon. It uses only Apple’s framework and UI components, just as they were intended to be used without any custom workarounds. This approach results in less code, less bugs and better overall performance. Here's What Others Have to Say “I just wanted to thank you for developing Simpletext. It’s perfect. I’ve enjoyed its simplicity and smoothness for quite some time, but now that I can use my favourite font in it (Sina Nova, free on Fontspring) it has truly become not just the best app to write in, but my favourite app period. Thank you for creating and maintaining it.” - Bart “This app does everything it says on the tin. It is not meant to do a lot, but what it does it does very well. It is well designed and suits well those who want to focus on writing and avoid dealing with formatting, proprietary file types and hidden saving locations. It produces and edits .txt files, which will probably be around for as long as there are computers, and saves them in plain sight. Five stars.” - Fernando “I’ve tried all sorts of writing apps but Simpletext is definitely the best of all. So grateful for your dedication and those productivity tips in the blog post are so good. Simpletext is such a joy to use.” - LWL Art Studio “A writing app that is as simple as stated, beautiful to write with and opens and closes wherever you want. Simple tweaks are easily accessible, if required, and only add to the minimalistic perfection. Good job.” - Tuntle Get Back to Basics In a world full of feature-rich, subscription-based apps, I wanted to create something that goes back to basics. Simpletext is intentionally simple, yet it has everything you need. It’s an app I use every single day. I hope you will too. Best wishes, Yeow Jin P.S. Simpletext comes with a promise — find out more at simpletext.app/promise

About

Diary Lock

Capture your thoughts, plans, and memories securely. This app offers rich text editing, voice notes, mood tracking, and smart reminders to help you organize your life and protect your private information.

Highlights
  • Rich text editor with formatting options
  • Voice note recording
  • PIN-protected individual notes
  • Daily mood tracking
  • Smart reminders and event scheduling
  • Drawing and image insertion
Features
Read full description

Your All-in-One Private Notes & Planner Write, organize, and protect your thoughts with powerful tools in one simple app. Rich Text Editor • Bold, italic, underline & strikethrough • Bullet & numbered lists • Multiple fonts • Highlight & text color options • Add stickers • Insert images • Organize with tags Voice Notes • Record audio directly inside notes • Capture ideas instantly • Perfect for meetings & quick thoughts Private & Secure • Lock individual notes with PIN • Protect personal journals • Keep sensitive information safe Mood Tracking • Set daily moods • Reflect on your emotions • Make journaling more meaningful Smart Reminders & Events • Create events with start & end time • Repeat options • Get notified on time • Stay on schedule More Creative Tools • Draw freely inside notes • Customize with colors • Clean & intuitive design • Organize by date & category Perfect for journaling, planning, studying, goal tracking, and daily organization. Simple. Powerful. Secure. Start with free features and upgrade anytime to unlock the full experience. If you subscribe to a “Pro” plan, payment will be charged to your iTunes account at the time of purchase confirmation. Any unused portion of a free trial (if offered) will be forfeited once you start a subscription. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and disable auto-renewal anytime in your Account Settings. Cancellations are not allowed during the active subscription period. For support or questions, please contact us at miraclefifth@gmail.com Privacy Policy - https://secret-diary-journal-lock.blogspot.com/2026/02/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use - https://secret-diary-journal-lock.blogspot.com/2026/02/terms-of-use.html EULA - https://secret-diary-journal-lock.blogspot.com/2026/02/eula.html If you enjoy using Secret Diary: Journal & Lock, please take a moment to rate us and share your feedback.

Screenshots

Simpletext4 screens
Diary Lock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Diary Lock at Free against Simpletext's $14.99. Diary Lock also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Simpletext's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On device support 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

Diary Lock is free to download; Simpletext costs $14.99 up front. Diary Lock sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Simpletext asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simpletext holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 23 and 5 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simpletext ships an update every 3 months, Diary Lock every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Simpletext versus Diary Lock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimpletextDiary Lock
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (23 ratings) — better3.8 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings23 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYeow Jin GanJay Lakhani

Customer experience

Simpletext

All ratings23 ratings
Positive73.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative17.4%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative13.3%

Diary Lock

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

None

Simpletext

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Diary Lock

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Pro Access$3.997 Days
  • Monthly Pro Access$9.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro Access3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro Access$39.99

Questions

Is Simpletext free?
Simpletext costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Diary Lock free?
Diary Lock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simpletext or Diary Lock?
Simpletext is rated higher. Simpletext averages 4.1 out of 5 from 23 ratings, while Diary Lock averages 3.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Simpletext or Diary Lock have ads?
Diary Lock shows ads; Simpletext does not.
Which is updated more often, Simpletext or Diary Lock?
Simpletext ships an update every 3 months, and Diary Lock every 2 weeks. Most recently, Simpletext was updated on November 2, 2026 and Diary Lock on November 6, 2026.

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