Comparison

Sunset Micro Journal vs Reflect

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

Head to head
About

Sunset Micro Journal

Capture your thoughts quickly with a micro journal. Express emotions using animations, create custom templates, and organize entries with drag-and-drop sections. Personalize your journal and keep entries private with passcode or biometric locks.

Highlights
  • Quick bullet point entries
  • Mood animations
  • Customizable templates
  • Drag-and-drop organization
  • Personalized journal themes
  • Passcode and biometric lock
Read full description

Sunset is a micro journal that helps you capture your thoughts and stay organized. FEATURES Write Quick Bullet Points - Write quick entries anytime, anywhere Express Your Emotions - Use happy and sad animations to express your moods and feelings Create Templates - Write entries fast with your own templates Organize Your Entries - Put your entries into sections and subsections by drag-and-drop Create Your Own Journal - Customize your journal with your favorite colors, prompts, etc Write In Private - Lock your private entries with passcode, TouchID or FaceID * The duration of every period of Monthly Subscription is 1 month. The duration of every period of Yearly Subscription is 1 year. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms of Use: http://sunsetmicrojournal.com/terms.html

About

Reflect

This app provides a guided journaling experience to help you capture thoughts and feelings, fostering self-awareness and a more positive outlook. It intelligently guides your reflections with structured topics and questions based on proven psychological methods.

Highlights
  • Guided reflection topics and questions
  • Daily check-ins with yourself
  • Library of self-reflection topics
  • Shift to a positive mindset
  • Improve mental health
  • Develop new perspectives
Features
Read full description

- "When you do reflect it is really a chance to let out your feelings and not have to hide . I do this everyday and every night because then when I wake up I’m not stressed and when I got to bed I’m calm and feeling better about myself, so I really recommend this app and it works." - "This is a very relaxing app! It can help reflect on what you have done, that day. Overall, I love this app! Thank you for making this amazing app." - "It’s a lovely way to go from a negative dialogue to a more positive one" - "Helped me a lot in looking inside and finding the root to most of my problems. Amazing app." Reflect is a personal reflective journal that intelligently helps you to capture your thoughts and feelings and enables you to shift to a more positive outlook. Be more centered and self-aware. Discover new ways to be more loving, authentic and courageous. With Reflect Journal you get into the habit of checking in with yourself, daily. Note down how you're feeling. Take the time to think deeper about what is important to you. Reflect intelligently guides your reflections with structure, topics and questions. This one-of-a-kind app uses proprietary model of behavioral competencies to guide you. The model is based on methods and practices from solution-focused coaching, leadership development theories, CBT and positive psychology. Journaling is one of the best tools you can use to connect with yourself and clear your mind. With Reflect journal you get the benefits of a mindful journaling practice: • Get topics with questions for reflection • Get insights on what matters to you now • Empower your actions everyday • Discover positive outlook on everyday life situations • Learn to be grateful. • Be more present and live with purpose • Liberate from negative thought and behavioral patterns • Develop and cultivate new perspectives and attitudes • Gain clarity and self-confidence • Connect thoughts, feelings, and behaviors • Take more control over your live • Put things in different perspectives • Shift from a negative to a positive mindset • Improve your mental health Reflect Journal can also be used as a tool for self-help and self-improvement. Reflect journal enables you to: • Daily checking in with yourself Get into the habit of paying attention to your thoughts and feelings daily. • Dive deeper Get intelligently suggested reflection topics to ask yourself deeper questions. • Library of topics for self-reflection with questions and inspirations Get an ever-growing collection of powerful topics and questions. Have space to write your thoughts, notice your feelings, and consider new behaviors. Use the guided reflective questions to discover new perspectives and approaches to life situations. SUBSCRIPTION PRICING AND TERMS Reflect journal offers two auto-renewing subscription options, for Reflect Premium: Monthly - $5.99 per month Annual - $17.99 per year - Stay at home offer Reflect Premium provides: • Unlock and use the full set of journaling topics. • Get new journaling topics added regularly. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Reflect journal also offers a Lifetime subscription which is paid for by a one-off upfront payment of $79.99 with unlimited access to the Full Library of journaling topics forever. These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. Read the terms and conditions here: https://www.ensparkle.app/terms-of-use Read the privacy policy here: https://www.ensparkle.app/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Sunset Micro Journal4 screens
Reflect4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Sunset Micro Journal at free with in-app purchases against Reflect's subscription. Sunset Micro Journal also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (11.2 vs 15.0). Reflect's advantage is review sentiment (77% vs 52%) and rating (4.6 vs 4.4). On price, ratings volume, 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. Sunset Micro Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Reflect sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reflect holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 160 and 358 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Sunset Micro Journal's written reviews are positive against 77% of Reflect's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sunset Micro Journal ships an update every 3 days, Reflect every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Sunset Micro Journal versus Reflect: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSunset Micro JournalReflect
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (160 ratings)4.6 (358 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.0% of reviews77.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings160358 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWayDCEnsparkle OOD

Customer experience

Sunset Micro Journal

All ratings162 ratings
Positive85.8%
Neutral6.2%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive52.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative28.0%

Reflect

All ratings360 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.4%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive77.0%
Neutral13.1%
Negative9.8%

User reviews

Sunset Micro Journal

From 160 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and minimalistic design
  • 👍 Great for journaling thoughts
  • 👍 Easy to use and organized
  • 👍 Useful for tracking tasks/to-dos
  • 👍 Multiple journals for separate things

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App freezes frequently
  • 🐛 Cannot type/enter text
  • 🐛 Syncing/backup issues lead to data loss
  • 🐛 No landscape mode support
  • 🐛 Requires payment for save/restore

Reflect

From 358 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💭 Excellent guided journaling prompts
  • 🤖 Impressive AI chat companion feature
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive user interface
  • 📱 Clean, polished design
  • 🆓 Generous free version

Room to improve

  • 💰 Premium features behind paywall
  • 🐛 App crashes and data loss issues
  • 📱 No iPad or landscape mode support
  • 🔒 Ambiguous privacy policy
  • 🖊️ Limited text formatting options

Bugs and requests

Sunset Micro Journal

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App freezes up
  • Cannot type anything
  • Syncing does not work
  • Shows wrong year for entries
  • App freezes and does not allow movement or tapping
Show 4 more
  • App only works on airplane mode and freezes
  • Deleted app due to screen orientation issue
  • DNS error when clicking a link
  • App freezes and cannot scroll

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add photos to entries
  • Landscape orientation support
  • Ability to sync/transfer entries
  • Ability to log in or save entries
  • More customizable text features (underline, strikethrough)
Show 6 more
  • A 'today' view
  • More flexible organizing options
  • Support for Macs
  • More color options for categories
  • Add videos to journal entries
  • Explore unique features to differentiate from other journal apps

Reflect

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • App crashes mid-entry causing data loss
  • Text input invisible on iOS 17
  • AI chat feature not loading/working
  • Cannot close chat interface properly
  • Return key doesn't create line breaks
Show 2 more
  • Password and security feature issues
  • App crashes and freezes during use

Requested features

14 requests
  • Blank note/free writing mode without prompts
  • Ability to change entry dates retroactively
  • Image attachment capability for entries
  • Cross-device sync with login feature
  • iPad and landscape mode support
Show 9 more
  • Multiple emotion selection for daily check-in
  • Intensity slider for emotions
  • More emotion options to choose from
  • Additional color schemes and fonts
  • AI chat summary feature
  • Password/passcode protection
  • More journal prompt variety
  • Ability to close AI chat properly
  • Feature request submission mechanism in-app

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Sunset Micro Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$18.991 Year
3 purchases

Reflect

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Sunset Micro Journal free?
Sunset Micro Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reflect free?
Reflect is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sunset Micro Journal or Reflect?
Reflect is rated higher. Sunset Micro Journal averages 4.4 out of 5 from 160 ratings, while Reflect averages 4.6 from 358 ratings.
Do Sunset Micro Journal or Reflect have ads?
Neither Sunset Micro Journal nor Reflect shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sunset Micro Journal or Reflect?
Sunset Micro Journal ships an update every 3 days, and Reflect every 6 weeks. Most recently, Sunset Micro Journal was updated on November 2, 2026 and Reflect on November 2, 2026.

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