Comparison

Reflection vs DayNote

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

Head to head
About

Reflection

This AI-powered journal provides personalized coaching and insights based on your daily entries. It allows you to write, speak, or scan your thoughts, and then ask your journal questions to gain deeper self-understanding. Track your growth with mood insights and reviews.

Highlights
  • AI Coach replies to entries
  • Ask your journal questions
  • Voice journaling with transcription
  • Scan handwritten pages
  • Mood and emotion insights
  • 100+ guided journals and prompts
  • Private and encrypted entries
Features
Read full description

Reflection is a journal that writes back. Write or speak about your day, and Reflection's AI Coach replies right inside your entry with a question that helps you go a layer deeper. Over time your journal becomes something you can ask: what has been weighing on you, what brings you joy, how your mood has shifted since spring. NEW IN REFLECTION 7 A complete redesign. The journal is calmer and more spacious, with nine color themes, a rebuilt Coach, one + button for everything you add to an entry, and Focus Mode for longer sessions. It's faster, too. A COACH IN EVERY ENTRY • Instant Chat: press Enter and the Coach replies on the next line. • Go Deeper, Get Perspective, Coach Me and Action Items when you want more. • Voice Call (Premium): talk it through out loud. When you hang up, the conversation is written into your entry. ASK YOUR JOURNAL ANYTHING Search by meaning, not only by keyword. Ask "What have I been grateful for lately?" and get an answer drawn from your own entries, with the dates you wrote them. WRITE, SPEAK OR SCAN • Voice journaling with accurate transcription • Scan a handwritten page into text • Add photos, and catch up on missed days from your camera roll • Templates and daily prompts for when you don't know where to start SEE HOW YOU'RE GROWING Mood and emotion insights, writing streaks, and weekly, monthly and annual reviews that show where your head has been. 100+ GUIDED JOURNALS AND PROMPTS Gratitude, anxiety, self-care, shadow work, relationships, work and more, including multi-day programs like the 14-day Reflect & Reset. A fresh prompt is waiting on your Today page each morning. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Your entries are encrypted • Lock the app with Face ID or a PIN, and keep single entries private • Your entries are never used to train AI models • Turn AI off entirely, or exclude any entry from it • Export your journal as PDF, CSV or JSON whenever you like EVERYWHERE YOU WRITE iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web, all in sync. "This app manages to do what many others in this category don't: make AI features that actually feel useful." (App Store review, July 2026) FREE TO START Journal for free, with AI Coach replies each day and insights after every entry. Reflection Premium adds unlimited AI and voice, Voice Call, all 100+ guides, all nine themes, App Lock, export and unlimited sync. Reflection is a tool for self-reflection. It is not a substitute for professional mental health care. Questions or feedback: hello@reflection.app Terms: https://www.reflection.app/tos Privacy: https://www.reflection.app/pp

About

DayNote

This guided journaling app prompts users with four daily questions to encourage reflection on learning, achievements, positive experiences, and areas for improvement. It helps users build a personal knowledge base for growth by recording thoughts and memories over time.

Highlights
  • Four daily reflection questions
  • Guided journaling prompts
  • Personal growth tracking
  • Memory collection
  • Learning and achievement logging
Features
Read full description

Welcome to DayNote. Our goal with DayNote is to help you discover something lost during the day - the moment to pause and answer some of life's most important questions. As a guided journal, DayNote becomes a place where thoughts are recorded and collected as answers to four significant questions. These questions are: What did you learn? What did you achieve? What were your good experiences? What can I improve? And that's all you have to do. Preferably daily, but if not, as often as you can, answer these questions to the best of your ability. Over time, as you create journal entries, a wealth of knowledge tailored to your experiences will grow and become increasingly valuable to your personal growth. With DayNote, remember what you learnt, be proud of your achievements and reminisce positive memories. You may read more about our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy here: Terms of Service: https://goo.gl/qKXvYk Privacy Policy: https://www.zaminiti.com/daynote-privacy-policy

Screenshots

Reflection4 screens
DayNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Reflection at 90% against DayNote's 50%. Reflection also leads on ratings volume (1.1K vs 10) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). DayNote's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Reflection sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and DayNote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reflection holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reflection has 1.1K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Reflection's written reviews are positive against 50% of DayNote's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Reflection versus DayNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReflectionDayNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better4.4 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1K — better10
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size121 MB87 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperJournal Better Inc.Zaminiti Pty Ltd

Customer experience

Reflection

All ratings1,115 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral4.2%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews581 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral5.3%
Negative4.6%

DayNote

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Reflection

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Keyboard covering screen on smaller devices
  • Inability to delete or edit entries

Requested features

3 requests
  • More customization options (fonts, themes, etc.)
  • Handwriting/Apple Pencil support
  • Improved web/desktop app experience

DayNote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Reflection

Subscriptions6
  • Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Premium (Monthly)$8.001 Month
  • Launch Special (Annual)7 Days trial$35.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Premium (Annual)7 Days trial2 variants$47.991 Year
  • Premium (Annual)1 Month trial$47.991 Year
  • Premium (Annual)7 Days trial$69.001 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime Premium Special$124.99
  • Premium (Lifetime)$249.99
2 purchases

DayNote

Subscriptions2
  • DayNote Premium (1 Month)$1.491 Month
  • DayNote Premium (1 Year)$8.991 Year

Questions

Is Reflection free?
Reflection is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DayNote free?
DayNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Reflection or DayNote?
Reflection is rated higher. Reflection averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while DayNote averages 4.4 from 10 ratings.
Do Reflection or DayNote have ads?
Neither Reflection nor DayNote shows ads.

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