Reflection vs Diary.Chat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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
Diary.Chat
This app helps you track your mood and thoughts with AI-powered insights and tailored prompts. Build a journaling habit with fun features and review daily summaries to understand your emotional patterns and improve mental well-being.
- Tailored journaling prompts
- AI-driven mood and thought analysis
- Daily summaries of emotional patterns
- Gamified habit building (reminders, streaks, achievements)
- Secure and private data storage
- Voice recording and image support
Read full descriptionHide full description
TAILORED PROMPTS With tailored prompts, DiaryChat guides you to explore your feelings, making it more than just a daily journal, it's your personal mood tracker. AI INSIGHTS Get actionable insights from your AI journal that reveal patterns in your mood and thoughts, helping you improve your mental health. DAILY SUMMARIES Track your progress with DiaryChat daily summaries, which analyze your mood, emotions, and recurring themes in your daily journal. JOURNALING MADE FUN Build a daily journal habit with DiaryChat, where reminders, streaks, and achievements turn journaling into a rewarding experience. RESPECT PRIVACY Your reflections are private. Your journal entries, voice recordings, and images are stored securely. You can delete your data anytime.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Diary.Chat at none against Reflection's 9. Diary.Chat also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). Reflection's advantage is ratings volume (1.1K vs 1) and device support (4 vs 1). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Reflection sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Diary.Chat asks for nothing beyond the download.
Diary.Chat holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reflection has 1.1K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Reflection ships an update every 3 weeks, Diary.Chat every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Reflection | Diary.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.1K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 90.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 121 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 17+ |
| Developer | Journal Better Inc. | Underscore LLC |
Customer experience
Reflection
Diary.Chat
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
Diary.Chat
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Reflection
- Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Premium (Monthly)$8.001 Month
- Launch Special (Annual)7 Days trial$35.991 Year
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- 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
- Lifetime Premium Special$124.99
- Premium (Lifetime)$249.99
Diary.Chat
No in-app purchases







