Comparison

Grid Diary vs DotDay

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

Head to head
About

Grid Diary

This app offers a guided journaling experience to foster personal development and mindfulness. It helps users build positive habits, manage stress, and enhance various aspects of their lives through customizable prompts and unique layouts.

Highlights
  • Prompted journaling with custom questions
  • Unique grid and mandala layouts
  • Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly planning
  • Supports various journaling methods
  • Mindfulness and self-care focus
  • Stress and anxiety alleviation techniques
Features
Read full description

Introducing Grid Diary: More than just a journaling app, it's your comprehensive personal development system. Embark on a personal growth journey that covers all aspects: • Embrace mindfulness & self-love • Establish morning & evening routines • Enhance personal health & wellbeing • Develop self-care habits • Alleviate stress and anxiety through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy • Acquire new skills • Boost productivity • Strengthen relationships • Ignite creativity ...and so much more. At Grid Diary, we understand that personal development is a holistic endeavor, not a singular pursuit. Grid Diary empowers you to create a diary system that goes beyond simple daily entries. By utilizing features such as custom prompts, tags, and categories, you can build a personalized framework for cultivating happiness and developing positive habits such as proactivity, optimism, and gratitude. Use Grid Diary to unlock the true power of keeping a diary and start your journey towards a happier, healthier you. # Feature Highlights • Prompted Journaling: Guided Self-Reflections Avoid writer's block with our question library or customize your own prompts for deeper self-reflection. • Unique Grid Format: Elegant and Comprehensive Organize all that matters to you on a single page with our customizable grid layout, fostering a holistic personal development system. • Mandala Layout: Journal like a Mind Map Our 9-grid Mandala-inspired layout, featuring a fixed center, emulates the artful representation of life's organization and connection to the cosmos. Journaling becomes intuitive and mirrors the way our minds work. • Day/Week/Month/Year Dimensions: Create Your Own Rituals Establish rituals that anchor you in time, crafting a framework for planning, acting, and reviewing on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. • Compatibility with Various Journaling Methods Whether you prefer morning diaries, success diaries, manifestation journals, or bullet journals, Grid Diary's flexibility accommodates your preferred approach. Discover the transformative power of Grid Diary and unlock your full potential today! # Don't Just Take Our Word for It "New Apps We Love" - Apple "If you've wanted to journal but don't know where to start, meet Grid Diary. Swappable prompts in a lovely, flexible grid format invite you to record and reflect on life's happenings - from noting your habits and goals to sharing affirmation and gratitude." - Google "Grid Diary is a good option for journal writers pressed for time or inspiration." - The New York Times --- As a dedicated three-person team, we believe that privacy is paramount for a journaling app. With no venture capital or advertisers backing Grid Diary, our long-term development relies solely on our members' paid subscriptions. We never sell your data to third parties for profit. # Note about Health App integration: After you have authorized access to health data, you can insert information such as steps or activity energy into your diary. Additionally, you can save your journaling time as mediation minutes to Health app. Grid Diary won't use your health data for other purposes. Privacy Policy https://griddiaryapp.com/support/privacy Terms of Service https://griddiaryapp.com/support/terms

About

DotDay

This minimalist app helps you track your year with a single dot each day. Visualize your progress, manage important dates, and record daily habits to build a beautiful timeline of your memories.

Highlights
  • Daily dot marking
  • Year progress visualization
  • Anniversary and D-Day management
  • Routine and schedule tracking
  • Memory timeline creation
Features
Read full description

DotDay is a minimalist lifelog that captures each day as a single dot. • Mark your day with a dot Visualize how far you've come in the year and how much is left. Easily express your emotions, condition, or memories with one simple mark. • Manage anniversaries & D-Days Never miss a special day again. Stay on top of upcoming events and count down to what matters. • Track routines and daily schedules Record your habits or one-time events with ease. Manage your lifestyle naturally and mindfully. • Build your timeline of memories Dots gather to tell your unique story. Each dot becomes a quiet reflection of your journey. DotDay helps you preserve your life beautifully and simply.

Screenshots

Grid Diary4 screens
DotDay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: DotDay at 100% against Grid Diary's 48%. DotDay also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). Grid Diary's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). On price and 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

Both are free to download. Grid Diary sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. DotDay asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grid Diary ships an update every 2 weeks, DotDay monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Grid Diary versus DotDay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrid DiaryDotDay
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (963 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews48.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings963 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSumi InteractiveWaitcle

Customer experience

Grid Diary

All ratings963 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews497 reviews
Positive48.3%
Neutral9.3%
Negative42.5%

DotDay

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Grid Diary

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Entries disappearing or not syncing properly
  • Password reset functionality not working
  • Subscription issues and inability to access premium features
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add Apple Pencil support
  • Improve sync reliability across devices
  • Provide more customization options for layouts and fonts
  • Integrate with other productivity apps and calendars
  • Implement a one-time purchase option
Show 1 more
  • Allow randomized daily prompts

DotDay

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Grid Diary

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Monthly3 Months trial$4.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Annual6 Months trial$29.991 Year
None

DotDay

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Grid Diary free?
Grid Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DotDay free?
DotDay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Grid Diary or DotDay have ads?
DotDay shows ads; Grid Diary does not.
Which is updated more often, Grid Diary or DotDay?
Grid Diary ships an update every 2 weeks, and DotDay monthly. Most recently, Grid Diary was updated on November 6, 2026 and DotDay on October 31, 2026.

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