# Minimal | Notes vs Journal & Diary

The clearest difference is monetization model: Journal & Diary at freemium against Minimal | Notes's subscription. Minimal | Notes's advantage is ratings volume (294 vs 22) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.1). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Journal & Diary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Minimal | Notes against 4.8 for Journal & Diary. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Minimal | Notes has 294 ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Minimal | Notes's written reviews are positive against 86% of Journal & Diary's.

Minimal | Notes ships an update monthly, Journal & Diary fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Minimal | Notes | Journal & Diary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (294 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-notes/id1442727443/reviews) | **[4.8 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-and-diary-memoiri/id6445867241/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **294** | 22 |
| Positive reviews | 81.3% of reviews | **85.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Freemium** |
| Size | 59 MB | 31 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Timeless](https://appshunter.io/developer/1183067513) | [Mohammad Elzahaby](https://appshunter.io/developer/1287110591) |

## What reviewers say

### Minimal | Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-notes/id1442727443)

This app offers a distraction-free writing environment inspired by meditation. It features collaborative writing, note expiration, and the ability to publish notes as websites. Organize tasks with integrated to-do lists and sync across all your Apple devices.

**Highlights:** Note Lifetime reminders, Collaborative writing, Publish notes as websites, Todo lists sync with Calendar, Beautiful formatting, Sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimal Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Minimal Annual | $49.99 | per year |
| Minimal Family Plan | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent note-taking app
- 👍 Beautiful and simple design
- 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
- 👍 Customizable appearance and formatting
- 🚀 Responsive and helpful developer

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Lack of password protection or locking for notes
- 💰 Expensive subscription model

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when using certain formatting or pasting content
- Syncing issues between iOS and macOS versions
- Incompatibility with older macOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add ability to insert images or attachments
- Improve iCloud sync reliability
- Implement a folder-based organization system
- Add a word/character count feature


### Journal & Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-and-diary-memoiri/id6445867241)

This app provides a simple and intuitive platform for daily journaling and mood tracking. Its minimalist design focuses on capturing memories without distractions, allowing users to easily record thoughts and monitor emotional patterns over time.

**Highlights:** Daily journaling with minimalist design, Automatic grouping of entries by date and time, Emoji-based mood tracking, Reflection on memories over time, Intuitive and polished user experience

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| memoiri+ | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| memoiri+ | $2.99 | per month |
| memoiri+ | $24.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Minimal | Notes free?

Minimal | Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Journal & Diary free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Minimal | Notes or Journal & Diary?

Journal & Diary is rated higher. Minimal | Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 294 ratings, while Journal & Diary averages 4.8 from 22 ratings.

### Do Minimal | Notes or Journal & Diary have ads?

Neither Minimal | Notes nor Journal & Diary shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Minimal | Notes or Journal & Diary?

Minimal | Notes ships an update monthly, and Journal & Diary fortnightly. Most recently, Minimal | Notes was updated on October 20, 2026 and Journal & Diary on October 6, 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.*