Comparison

Simpler vs Purple Diary

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

Head to head
About

Simpler

This prompt-based journal app makes reflection easy and fun. Capture moods, thoughts, and interests with guided questions, photos, videos, and voice-to-text entries. Personalize your diary and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Prompt-based journaling
  • Add photos and videos
  • Voice-to-text entry
  • Customizable diary cover
  • Daily reminders
  • Touch/Face ID lock
  • Calendar view
Read full description

Write, Reflect, Grow! Simpler Diary is a prompt-based diary with a unique and intuitive way to capture and collect your moods, thoughts, and interests. Start Writing with a Prompt --------------------------- Instead of a daunting blank page, Simpler Diary is designed to make journaling fun and easy. Not sure what to write? Simpler Diary will greet you with daily questions such as; “What did you do to achieve your goal(s) today?” or “What made you smile today?” All you have to do is answer with a simple word or a few sentences. You can also add photos, videos and emoticon (mood) to support your thoughts. Universal App -------------- Supports both iPhones and iPads. Automatically syncs data through iCloud. Your data will be available on all your Apple devices such as your iPhone and iPads. Use our Prompts or Create Your Own. ------------------------------------- Simpler Diary gives you the flexibility to make this diary yours. With each new entry, you’ll be greeted with a prompt and an emoticon to add how you’re feeling. You have the option to: 1. Answer the prompt. 2. Choose a different prompt. 3. Create your own prompt. 4. Choose a mood to describe your feeling. The concept behind Simpler Diary is to use different cards to capture your memories, moods, habits, and interests. Additional Features: -------------------- • Search diary entries. • Personalize your diary cover, by using a picture or different colors for each cover. • Add entries with your voice, speak into your diary and it'll convert your voice to text • Set daily reminders. • Add videos to your Dairy • Lock your diary with Touch/Face ID. • Add emoticon to your diary. • Customize your cards with a different color. • Ability to edit past entries. • No login of any kind is required. • Unlimited storage on all your iPhone/iPads. • Calendar view to track your history. • Add reminders to your diary entries. Free App ---------- Are you ready to share your experiences with your future self in the most delightful and personal manner? Our new prompt-based journal recorder app is all you need to keep a track of your life and keep on improving throughout all the years. Try the new Simpler - Media Diary, Journal today! Simpler Diary is a free app that, don't use Ads. Loving Simpler Diary? Please share the app and leave us a review.

About

Purple Diary

This app allows you to document your life through writing, adding photos, and tracking your daily mood. You can customize its appearance, organize entries with tags, and secure your private thoughts with a password lock. It's designed to be an intuitive digital journal for personal reflection and memory keeping.

Highlights
  • Daily journaling with text and photos
  • Mood tracking for emotional awareness
  • Customizable themes and appearance
  • Password protection for privacy
  • Calendar view of journal history
  • Tagging for easy search
Features
Read full description

Document your life, your way with Purple Diary. Write, record voice notes, add photos, customize, track mood for each day, and lock it with a password. It’s truly your intuitive, digital journal [available on iPhone, iPad and Mac] PERSONAL DIARY WITH A PASSWORD, MOOD TRACKER, IMAGE SUPPORT, SYNCING Sign up or use it without an account, and write journals daily in an easy way. Whether you are into bullet journaling or longer writing, Purple Diary is sure to become your favorite journal app. ■ QUICKLY ADD ENTRIES Our daily journaling app allows you to easily add entries. You can do plain text, or also enhance your entry with tags, mood, and photos. ■ RECORD VOICE NOTES Some days you would rather talk than write. Record an audio note inside your journal entry and transcribe it into text — so even a spoken thought becomes a diary entry you can search later. ■ CUSTOMIZE YOUR PRIVATE JOURNAL Personalize the app theme, color, font, as well as the diary appearance. For example you can show or not show images/tags/mood in your day journal feed. ■ ADD IMAGES Unlike most apps for journaling, Purple Diary allows you to add image for each entry and turn moments into beautiful memories. This also makes our private diary handy to use as a journey journal. ■ TRACK YOUR MOOD As you write your journal entry, you can also add mood for the day. This may help identify patterns and stay more aware of your emotional state. ■ VIEW JOURNAL HISTORY Overview your journal entry history on a beautiful calendar where the mood is also shown. ■ LOCK YOUR DIARY Set a PIN code in the settings section and protect your privacy. Have peace of mind knowing that no one can access your personal diary with a lock. ■ PURPLE DIARY APP FEATURES: - cross-platform offline & online diary with a lock - cute journal colors and UI that can be customized - add tags to search diaries with keywords - mood tracker - photo upload support - voice notes with transcription to text - diary calendar - search function – find entries by tags/keywords - customize the diary theme (dark/light theme, app color) - format the text - customize the diary appearance (images in feed, tags, mood, style, entries) - set notification reminders - import/export journal data entries - cross-platform availability If you are looking to make journaling a habit and replace a paper journal book, Purple Diary is your go-to choice. Whether you're a seasoned journaler or just starting, our diary app empowers you to document, reflect, and grow. ► Download and try Purple Diary for free today. Terms of Use: https://purplediary.app/terms Privacy policy: https://purplediary.app/privacy

Screenshots

Simpler4 screens
Purple Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Simpler at free against Purple Diary's free with in-app purchases. Simpler also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 85%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). Purple Diary's advantage is ratings volume (91 vs 16). 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. Simpler sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Purple Diary sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. 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 — 4.8 for Simpler against 4.8 for Purple Diary. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Purple Diary has 91 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Simpler's written reviews are positive against 85% of Purple Diary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simpler ships an update every 3 weeks, Purple Diary fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Simpler versus Purple Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplerPurple Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (16 ratings) — better4.8 (91 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better84.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1691 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB224 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWayne WilliamsLuka Katsadze

Customer experience

Simpler

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Purple Diary

All ratings91 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.1%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral3.8%
Negative11.5%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Simpler

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Pro$3.99
10 purchases

Purple Diary

Subscriptions7
  • Premium (Monthly)3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Premium (Monthly)3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Premium (Annual)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • Premium (Annual)7 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Premium (Annual)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Premium (Annual)7 Days trial$21.491 Year
One-time3
  • Premium (Lifetime)$32.99
  • Premium (Lifetime)$34.99
  • Premium (Annual)$39.99

Questions

Is Simpler free?
Simpler is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Purple Diary free?
Purple Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simpler or Purple Diary?
Simpler is rated higher. Simpler averages 4.8 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Purple Diary averages 4.8 from 91 ratings.
Do Simpler or Purple Diary have ads?
Neither Simpler nor Purple Diary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simpler or Purple Diary?
Simpler ships an update every 3 weeks, and Purple Diary fortnightly. Most recently, Simpler was updated on November 2, 2026 and Purple Diary on November 3, 2026.

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