Comparison

Circle vs My Diary

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

Head to head
About

Circle

Read full description

Circle is a diary application that focuses on recording and quantifying daily experiences and reflections, presented through a timeline. Apple Watch users have additional functionality, such as the ability to read and track health data, set fitness goals, and view progress towards those goals. Without recording, there is no occurrence, and without quantification, there is no optimization. Many things that happen in life are worth recording, such as places visited, happy events, and precious moments. Even if things were happy and beautiful at the time, they will fade and be forgotten over time. Leaving words, photos, or videos in unforgettable moments can help us remember the bits and pieces of that time in the future, and that is the meaning of recording. As the old year passes and the new one approaches, we like to review the past and look forward to the future. Many times, after setting goals, we put them aside, and only in the annual review do we realize that time has passed and the goals still seem far away. What we need is to move towards our goals, see our own changes every now and then, and see where we have reached. If we find any deficiencies in the process of achieving our goals, we can do better through feedback loops, and that is the meaning of quantification. --- The Circle app uses HealthKit to collect and display data, such as displaying today's heart rate with a line chart, calculating weekly running distance with a bar chart, and showing progress towards this year's running goal with the Activity Rings. The Circle app itself does not upload or store user's private data, and all data is stored locally at the user's iCloud storage. --- User Support: https://usistem.com/en/page/support/ Privacy Policy: https://usistem.com/en/page/privacy/

About

My Diary

This app allows you to create a personal journal with text-only entries or entries with multiple photos. It automatically records weather and location, and you can add tags for easy organization. Entries can be edited for 10 minutes after publishing.

Highlights
  • Text-only entries
  • Entries with multiple photos
  • Add tags for organization
  • Automatic/manual weather recording
  • Automatic/manual location recording
  • 10-minute edit window after publishing
Features
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In DotDiary, you can follow your thoughts through a timeline and leave comments to chat with your past reflections. Create: โ€ข Text-only entries โ€ข Entries with multiple photos โ€ข Add tags for organization Record: โ€ข Weather automatically/manually โ€ข Location automatically/manually โ€ข Word count automatically DotDiary is your personal journal, made to capture your true self. After publishing an entry, you have 10 minutes to edit. Plus, tag your entries for easy sorting. Experience more thoughtful features waiting just for you.

Screenshots

Circle3 screens
My Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: My Diary at $0.99 against Circle's $14.99. Circle's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Circle costs $14.99 and My Diary $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Circle ships an update every 3 weeks, My Diary every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 5 level
Circle versus My Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCircleMy Diary
Price$14.99$0.99 โ€” better
Positive reviewsโ€”0.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks โ€” betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetizationโ€”Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 โ€” better16.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size16 MB21 MB
Age rating4++4
Developerๆ€€ๅ›ฝ ่ƒก็ญฑๅฝค ไฝ™

In-app purchases

None

Circle

No in-app purchases

None

My Diary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Circle free?
Circle costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is My Diary free?
My Diary costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Circle or My Diary have ads?
Neither Circle nor My Diary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Circle or My Diary?
Circle ships an update every 3 weeks, and My Diary every 6 months. Most recently, Circle was updated on September 18, 2026 and My Diary on September 14, 2026.

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