Comparison

Diarly vs PencilDiary

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

Head to head
About

Diarly

A private journaling app that allows users to record daily thoughts, moods, and memories. It offers features like mood tracking, journal prompts, and secure password protection. The app helps users build a personal timeline of their life, one entry at a time.

Highlights
  • Private journaling and diary
  • Mood tracking and insights
  • Journal prompts and templates
  • Password protection and encryption
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Photo, video, and audio attachments
Features
Read full description

You don't need a free hour or the right words to keep a journal. Start with five minutes and one honest sentence. Write with your first coffee, on the train home, or in the quiet before sleep. A journal grows the same way a life does: one ordinary day at a time. Diarly is a private journal, diary, and notes app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Each entry becomes part of a personal timeline you can search, revisit, and keep. DAILY JOURNAL, DIARY, AND PRIVATE NOTES Use Diarly as a daily journal or diary, a gratitude journal, a travel journal, a mood diary, a photo journal, a voice journal, or private notes with a password. Create separate journals, or keep dated entries and undated notes together. Diarly Free includes one journal with unlimited entries and media. Add photos, videos, drawings, audio, tags, locations, weather, and calendar details. Write in Markdown and organize notes, lists, ideas, plans, and quotes. MOOD TRACKER AND JOURNAL INSIGHTS The built-in mood tracker makes it easy to log how you feel. You can also save your mood and feelings to Apple Health. Mood Calendar and Insights show how your logged moods change over time, gently highlighting lighter or heavier stretches without judging what they mean. Diarly can be used as a private mental health journal for writing about thoughts, feelings, stress, or anxiety. It is a journaling and reflection tool, not a medical or mental health tracker. JOURNAL PROMPTS, TEMPLATES, AND DAILY WRITING Journal prompts and reusable templates make daily journaling easier to begin. Build a journal template with a prompt, weather, location, calendar events, today's photos, or Apple Health details such as sleep, steps, and workouts. These optional details can support a sleep journal, fitness journal, or health journal without analyzing your health. The Today view gives you a quick glimpse of your journal through a customizable feed of recent entries, mood check-ins, writing suggestions, quotes, tags, calendar events, and On This Day memories. Reminders, writing goals, and journal streaks help you return without making the diary another chore. FIND AND REVISIT YOUR MEMORIES Search finds entries and notes by words, tags, moods, and dates. Timeline and Calendar organize daily entries by date. Map shows travel journal entries saved with a location. Gallery gathers journal photos, videos, and drawings. On This Day recalls earlier years. PRIVATE DIARY WITH PASSWORD AND ICLOUD SYNC Your journal stays on your device. Premium syncs your diary through your personal iCloud Drive. There is no separate account to create, and we never store your journal on our servers. Lock the app with a password, Face ID, or Touch ID for free. Premium adds encryption for the text of your entries and private notes. The app is built exclusively for Apple devices. One Premium subscription covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch and adds iCloud sync, multiple journals, encryption, themes, export formats, and the AI Assistant. IMPORT, EXPORT, AND KEEP YOUR JOURNAL Import journals from Apple Journal, Day One, Journey, Stoic, Evernote, Markdown, and CSV. Export your journal to Markdown, PDF, Rich Text, and HTML so your writing remains readable outside the app. AI+ is a separate optional subscription. It lets you transcribe audio journal entries into text and use OCR to extract text from photos. Your journal remains yours, whether you write a daily diary, track moods, collect memories, or keep private notes. Help Guides → https://diarly.app/help Privacy Policy → https://diarly.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA) → https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PencilDiary

This app provides a daily handwritten journal experience with a new page automatically generated each day, organized by date. It offers seamless light and dark mode adaptation with smart color inversion for optimal readability and a minimalist design for focused reflection.

Highlights
  • New page generated daily, organized by date
  • Automatic light and dark mode with color inversion
  • Pure handwriting input with Apple Pencil support
  • Minimalist and distraction-free interface
  • Ideal for personal growth and reflection
  • No manual sorting or folder management
Features
Read full description

Pencil Diary is the only handwritten journal app that gives you a new page every day, automatically organized by date. Whether you're jotting down daily reflections, tracking your moods, ADHD, every note is instantly saved and accessible by date—so you never have to manage folders or files. With seamless light and dark mode adaptation, your notes automatically invert colors to match your iPad’s theme. This ensures that your handwritten text remains readable and aesthetically consistent, no matter when or where you write. If you love writing by hand with an Apple Pencil, Pencil Diary is your perfect digital alternative to a traditional journal. KEY FEATURES: 1. New Page Every Day, Organized by Date - Automatically starts a fresh blank page every day—just like a real notebook. - No need to create or sort notes—your entries are stored by date for easy browsing. - Go back and review past notes without clutter or folders. 2. Auto Light & Dark Mode With Smart Color Inversion - When switching modes, your handwritten notes automatically adjust, ensuring perfect contrast - In light mode, notes appear on a white page in dark mode, they seamlessly invert for a comfortable nighttime writing experience 3. Pure Handwriting —No Typing, No Distractions - Write naturally with Apple Pencil —no keyboards, just a real pen-on-paper feel. - Perfect for journaling, planning, mood tracking, or creative sketching. - Supports freehand drawing, doodling, and note-taking. 4. Minimalist & Aesthetic Design - A clean, distraction-free interface to help you focus on your thoughts. - Inspired by artful agendas, aesthetic planners, and mindful journaling techniques. 5. Ideal for Personal Growth & Reflection - Use it as a gratitude journal, mood tracker, self-care planner, or time management tool. - Great for stoic journaling, mental health tracking, and personal development. - WHY CHOOSE PENCIL DIARY? Most journaling apps rely on templates, stickers, or typing. Pencil Diary is different. A fresh page every day — just open the app and start writing. No manual sorting — everything is saved by date. Automatic light & dark mode — your notes adapt perfectly. Handwriting only — for a truly paper-like experience on iPad. No clutter — just a simple, elegant space for your thoughts. If you love handwriting, daily journaling, and a clean, distraction-free experience, Pencil Diary is the perfect app for you. Start Your Journaling Journey Today!

Screenshots

Diarly4 screens
PencilDiary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Diarly at 1.5K against PencilDiary's 41. Diarly also leads on device support (4 vs 2). PencilDiary's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 85%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Diarly sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and PencilDiary sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Diarly against 4.8 for PencilDiary. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Diarly has 1.5K ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Diarly's written reviews are positive against 100% of PencilDiary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Diarly ships an update fortnightly, PencilDiary every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Diarly versus PencilDiary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDiarlyPencilDiary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings)4.8 (41 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better41
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.018
Further details — not scored
Size281 MB214 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKrzysztof NowakRABBITEYE LAB LLP

Customer experience

Diarly

All ratings1,475 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews923 reviews
Positive84.7%
Neutral7.0%
Negative8.2%

PencilDiary

All ratings41 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Diarly

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Entries disappearing after app updates
  • Inability to password protect individual journals

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to add reminders and notifications
  • Option to organize entries into folders
  • Support for Markdown formatting and backlinking
  • Improved export and backup functionality

PencilDiary

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Diarly

Subscriptions5
  • Monthly AI+$1.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium7 Days trial$24.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Premium Journal – Yearly Plan7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Yearly Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
4 purchases

PencilDiary

One-time4
  • Premium$29.99
  • LifeTime$39.99
  • Premium$49.99
Show 1 more
  • LifeTime$59.99

Questions

Is Diarly free?
Diarly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PencilDiary free?
PencilDiary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Diarly or PencilDiary?
PencilDiary is rated higher. Diarly averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while PencilDiary averages 4.8 from 41 ratings.
Do Diarly or PencilDiary have ads?
Neither Diarly nor PencilDiary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Diarly or PencilDiary?
Diarly ships an update fortnightly, and PencilDiary every 2 weeks. Most recently, Diarly was updated on November 10, 2026 and PencilDiary on November 4, 2026.

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