Comparison

Monotter vs Pure Diary

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

Head to head
About

Monotter

This private life-logging app allows you to record brief, diary-like texts that are never shared online. Your entries form a personal timeline, with features like search, location tracking, and status prefixes to organize your thoughts and activities.

Highlights
  • Private life-logging
  • Timeline view of entries
  • Powerful search by hashtag, place, rating
  • Automatic location tracking
  • Status prefixes for tasks
  • Calendar export for events
  • Todo management with checkboxes
Features
Read full description

Monotter is a private life-logging app that lets you jot down and store brief, diary-like texts—never shared online. Your accumulated notes form a Timeline, and each individual note is called an Entry. Keep your thoughts and activities securely recorded for personal reflection. • Powerful Search: Filter entries by hashtag, place, or rating • Location Tracking: Automatically record where you make an entry and name places to auto-label future entries at the same location • Status Prefixes: Prepend /start, /end, /todo, or /done to mark “start”, “end”, “todo”, or “done” states • Calendar Export: Export paired /start–end entries as events to iOS Calendar • Todo Management: Display a checkbox on to-do entries—tap to mark as done • Rating System: Tap to rate entries and sort your timeline by date or rating Features: • Apple Watch Support: Add entries from your watch and launch via a complication • Siri Shortcuts: Automate entries with voice, NFC tags, or time-based triggers • Widget: Show your latest or highest-rated entry on the home screen Unlock the 1,000-entry limit with an in-app purchase.

About

Pure Diary

Read full description

Pure is a simple photo diary: give today a title, add one photo, and write. Your entries stay on your iPhone. No account, no sign-up, no feeds. WRITE • A clean page with a title, the date and time, and room to write as much as you like • A short writing prompt on the home screen when you don't know where to start • Every new entry starts with a cover picture. Keep it, swap it for your own photo, or remove it PHOTOS • Pick a photo from your library and crop it freely • 11 built-in filters: Vivid, Mono, Sepia, Retro, Tonal, Chrome, Noir, Fade, Cool, Warm and Soft Blur • Your original photo is kept, so you can change the filter later LOOK BACK • Entries are grouped by month, newest first • Detailed view shows photo cards; Concise view shows titles only • Search titles and text to find an old day in seconds • Open any entry to edit it, or delete the ones you don't need PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your diary and photos are saved on this device only. Pure has no account system and does not upload your entries to any server. Because everything is stored locally, deleting the app also deletes your diary. Pure is supported by ads. Terms of Use (Apple standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Monotter4 screens
Pure Diary3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pure Diary at Free against Monotter's $1.99. Pure Diary also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). Monotter's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Pure Diary is free to download; Monotter costs $1.99 up front. Monotter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pure Diary sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Monotter ships an update every 2 months, Pure Diary every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Monotter versus Pure Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMonotterPure Diary
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmallmakeYIZE LIAO

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Monotter

One-time1
  • Monotter Unlock$1.99
2 purchases

Pure Diary

Subscriptions2
  • Professional user/month$0.991 Month
  • Professional user/year$7.991 Year

Questions

Is Monotter free?
Monotter costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Pure Diary free?
Pure Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Monotter or Pure Diary have ads?
Pure Diary shows ads; Monotter does not.
Which is updated more often, Monotter or Pure Diary?
Monotter ships an update every 2 months, and Pure Diary every 9 days. Most recently, Monotter was updated on November 3, 2026 and Pure Diary on November 8, 2026.

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