GitJournal vs MiniJournal private diary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
GitJournal
This app offers a private and portable note-taking experience, storing your entries in a Git repository of your choice. It supports offline access, folder categorization, and integration with static site generators. The app prioritizes user data control and is open-source.
- Offline note access
- Stores notes in Git repositories
- Supports GitHub, GitLab, and custom providers
- Markdown and plaintext note formats
- Categorize notes with folders
- Open source and free software
- Integrates with static site generators
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GitJournal is an open source note taking / journaling app built with privacy and data portability in mind. It stores all its notes in a standardised Markdown + YAML header format or plaintext. The notes are stored in a hosted Git Repo of your choice - GitHub / GitLab / Gitea / Gogs / Any Custom-provider. Features - - Offline First - All yours notes are available offline - No Account Required - Categorize your Notes with Folders - Open source / Free Software / FOSS - Can easily be extended and integrated with other Git tools - Can also be used to manage Hugo / Jekyll / Gatsby websites - No Ads Never need to import / export your notes, as you always have control of the data. Apps may come and go, but your notes will always be with you. Git has been chosen as a backend as self-hosting a Git server is much simpler than almost any other software, additionally there are already many commercial providers of Git. So you can choose who you want to trust with your notes. We currently don't support encrypting the notes, but it's something we're actively working on.
MiniJournal private diary
A private digital journal for capturing thoughts, memories, and daily events. It offers a secure and simple writing experience with no account required, and allows for rich entries with time, location, weather, and photos. Unlock all features permanently with a one-time purchase.
- Simple text journaling
- No account creation required
- One-time purchase for full features
- iCloud private storage
- Export entries as JSON
- Add time, location, weather, and photos
- Customizable icons and themes
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- Simple text journaling. - No signing up or account creation. - The price of a cup of coffee to unlock everything forever - no subscriptions. - All journal content is saved to your iCloud account privately. Secure and private just like the Notes app. - All entries can be exported as JSON - a format which can be read by humans, but also imported into other software in the future. Your journal should live as long as you do, and outlive any app or platform. - Entries are saved with time, location, and weather. Entries are displayed with photos taken on the same day from your device photo album. - Dozens of custom icons to keep your Home Screen just the way you want it. - Loads of Themes with different colors to choose from.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: MiniJournal private diary at Free against GitJournal's $3.99. MiniJournal private diary also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.1). GitJournal's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
MiniJournal private diary is free to download; GitJournal costs $3.99 up front. GitJournal sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and MiniJournal private diary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
MiniJournal private diary holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 9 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of GitJournal's written reviews are positive against 50% of MiniJournal private diary's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
GitJournal ships an update weekly, MiniJournal private diary monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | GitJournal | MiniJournal private diary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.1 (18 ratings) | 4.2 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.7% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 18 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vishesh Handa | Jamie Kelly |
Customer experience
GitJournal
MiniJournal private diary
In-app purchases
GitJournal
- Monthly Pay What You Want$1.991 Month
- Monthly, Pay What You Want$2.491 Month
- Monthly, Pay What You Want$3.491 Month
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- Monthly, Pay What You Want$4.491 Month
- Monthly, Pay What You Want$5.491 Month
- Monthly, Pay What You Want$6.491 Month
- Monthly, Pay What You Want$9.991 Month
- One Time Purchase$31.99
- One Time Purchase$35.99
- One Time Purchase$40.99
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- One Time Purchase$54.99
MiniJournal private diary
- Trial Unlock$1.99
Questions
Is GitJournal free?
Is MiniJournal private diary free?
Which has better reviews, GitJournal or MiniJournal private diary?
Do GitJournal or MiniJournal private diary have ads?
Which is updated more often, GitJournal or MiniJournal private diary?
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