Best Journal vs Simple Diary, Journal, Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Best Journal
This app allows users to record their lives through a digital diary, notebook, and memo function. It offers a wide range of templates, stickers, and fonts to personalize entries, along with free typesetting and drawing tools. Privacy is a key focus, with all data stored locally and under user control.
- Digital diary and notebook
- Exquisite templates
- Massive materials (wallpapers, stickers, tapes)
- Free handwritten fonts
- Free typesetting
- Doodle and drawing tools
- Privacy-focused local storage
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Best Journal is a diary hand account app recording life. You can use it to write diaries, read books, make memos, travel strategies, beauty tips, etc. [massive materials] Exquisite templates - many exquisite templates, direct use, welfare of the disabled Massive materials - Super many wallpapers, stickers, tapes and other materials Free fonts - dozens of handwritten fonts for you to write [simple creation] Free typesetting - drag and drop pictures and text at will, free typesetting Doodle at will - bring your own brush and tape functions, and draw at will We value your privacy and will not store any of your personal data. They are completely under your control. Best Journalmakes your life more happy and comfortable.
Simple Diary, Journal, Notes
This app offers a straightforward and aesthetically pleasing way to maintain a daily journal. Designed for users seeking simplicity, it avoids complex settings for an intuitive and stress-free journaling experience.
- Simple daily diary keeping
- Easy-to-use interface
- Beautiful and clean design
- Intuitive management
- Stress-free journaling
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○ For people like this ・People who just want to keep a daily diary in a simple way. ・People who want to use a simple but easy to use diary. ・People who are tired of using diary with complicated settings. ○ Simple and beautiful design It is designed to be a simple and easy-to-use diary. It has become such a sophisticated design that "pull" rather than "add" the function. It is an application that embodies "simple is best". ○ Easy to use Thanks to its simple design and no extra features, you can use the app intuitively. You can manage your diary in a fun and stress-free manner.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Simple Diary, Journal, Notes at 4.8 against Best Journal's 3.9. Simple Diary, Journal, Notes also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 52%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Best Journal's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Simple Diary, Journal, Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simple Diary, Journal, Notes has 172 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Best Journal's written reviews are positive against 86% of Simple Diary, Journal, Notes's.
Best Journal ships an update every 2 months, Simple Diary, Journal, Notes fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Best Journal | Simple Diary, Journal, Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (29 ratings) | 4.8 (172 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 51.7% of reviews | 86.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 29 | 172 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nanjing LeMeng Network Technology Co., Ltd | Futoshi Niiho |
Customer experience
Best Journal
Simple Diary, Journal, Notes
Bugs and requests
Best Journal
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Simple Diary, Journal, Notes
Reported bugs
3 issues- Entries disappearing without explanation
- Crashes or freezes after recent update
- Issues with photo attachment and display
Requested features
6 requests- Allow editing of existing entries
- Display time of each entry
- Ability to change font style
- Option to print or export diary entries
- Calendar view with ability to navigate between months
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- Ability to add tags or categories to entries
In-app purchases
Best Journal
No in-app purchases
Simple Diary, Journal, Notes
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Best Journal free?
Is Simple Diary, Journal, Notes free?
Which has better reviews, Best Journal or Simple Diary, Journal, Notes?
Do Best Journal or Simple Diary, Journal, Notes have ads?
Which is updated more often, Best Journal or Simple Diary, Journal, Notes?
Other comparisons
