# Hearty Journal vs GhostDiary

The clearest difference is update cadence: GhostDiary at fortnightly against Hearty Journal's every 3 months. GhostDiary also leads on ratings volume (181 vs 44) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Hearty Journal sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.49 per month and GhostDiary sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Hearty Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 44 and 181 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Hearty Journal's written reviews are positive against 87% of GhostDiary's.

Hearty Journal ships an update every 3 months, GhostDiary fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hearty Journal | GhostDiary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (44 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hearty-journal-diary-notes/id1423459636/reviews)** | [4.7 (181 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ghostdiary-mood-daily-diary/id6453941969/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 44 | **181** |
| Positive reviews | **92.1% of reviews** | 87.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 26 MB | 82 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hearty Creative Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1423459635) | [Yoonjik Cho](https://appshunter.io/developer/1699502339) |

## What reviewers say

### Hearty Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hearty-journal-diary-notes/id1423459636)

Capture and preserve precious memories through diary writing. Personalize entries with text, stickers, photos, and a variety of fonts. Securely back up your journal across devices with cloud synchronization.

**Highlights:** Ad-free writing experience, Cross-platform journaling, 4-digit passcode security, Cloud backup and sync, Export posts as PNG or text, Customizable book and post titles, Over 1,000 stickers and 20+ fonts

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 溫度日記 VIP版 | $4.49 | per month |


### GhostDiary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ghostdiary-mood-daily-diary/id6453941969)

Easily record your daily life and emotions with cute ghost characters. Track your mood, organize entries by emotion or theme, and gain insights into what affects your feelings. Features include password protection and daily fortune cookies for mindfulness.

**Highlights:** Mood tracking with ghost characters, Daily diary entries with icons and photos, Emotional statistics and analysis, Categorized memos and diaries, Daily fortune cookies for mindfulness, Password protection for privacy, Customizable design themes

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| free-ads-year | $9.99 | per year |
| sky background | $0.49 | one-time |
| Summer Ghost | $0.99 | one-time |
| ghostcat | $0.99 | one-time |
| Ghostdog | $0.99 | one-time |
| GhostBear | $0.99 | one-time |
| Ghost Astronaut | $0.99 | one-time |
| Notebook ghost | $0.99 | one-time |
| FlowerGhost | $0.99 | one-time |
| Graduated ghost | $0.99 | one-time |
| Big Eyed Ghost | $0.99 | one-time |
| Skinny Ghost | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hearty Journal free?

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

### Is GhostDiary free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Hearty Journal or GhostDiary?

Hearty Journal is rated higher. Hearty Journal averages 4.9 out of 5 from 44 ratings, while GhostDiary averages 4.7 from 181 ratings.

### Do Hearty Journal or GhostDiary have ads?

Neither Hearty Journal nor GhostDiary shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hearty Journal or GhostDiary?

Hearty Journal ships an update every 3 months, and GhostDiary fortnightly. Most recently, Hearty Journal was updated on October 23, 2026 and GhostDiary on October 24, 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.*