# Chikuwa Diary vs Years Journal

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Years Journal at none against Chikuwa Diary's 2. Years Journal also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 4 weeks). Chikuwa Diary's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 73%). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Chikuwa Diary sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Years Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.

Chikuwa Diary ships an update every 4 weeks, Years Journal every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chikuwa Diary | Years Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | **83.3% of reviews** | 72.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 30 MB | 69 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tenta Shinojima](https://appshunter.io/developer/1506707649) | [Yutaro Kido](https://appshunter.io/developer/1723812412) |

## What reviewers say

### Chikuwa Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chikuwa-diary/id1506707650)

This app allows you to journal, track books and movies, and organize ideas using multiple notebooks. It offers automatic iCloud syncing for seamless access across devices and supports image attachments. Organize your life's moments and information effortlessly.

**Highlights:** Multiple notebooks for different themes, Book tracking with information retrieval, Movie recording and search, Collection feature for organizing information, Automatic iCloud notebook sync, Image attachment support, Widget support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chikuwa+ Plan for 1 months | $3.99 | per month |
| Chikuwa+ Plan for 6 months | $14.99 | per 6 months |


### Years Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/years-journal/id6475282813)

This app allows you to record your daily thoughts and emotions, and revisit past entries for the same date. You can attach photos, search your history, and enjoy a visually organized calendar view. Automatic backups and multi-device support ensure your memories are always accessible.

**Highlights:** Write and display journal entries, Attach photos to entries, Calendar view of entries, Search past entries, Automatic data backup, Multi-device viewing and editing, Dark mode and theme customization

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chikuwa Diary free?

Chikuwa Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Years Journal free?

Years Journal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Chikuwa Diary or Years Journal have ads?

Both Chikuwa Diary and Years Journal show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Chikuwa Diary or Years Journal?

Chikuwa Diary ships an update every 4 weeks, and Years Journal every 10 days. Most recently, Chikuwa Diary was updated on October 12, 2026 and Years Journal on October 13, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*