Comparison

PaperWords vs Daily Diary Notes

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

Head to head
About

PaperWords

Capture thoughts and memories with a simulated paper writing experience. Decorate notes with patterns, stickers, and photos to make recordings more personal and ceremonial. Generate unique images for social media sharing.

Highlights
  • Simulated paper writing experience
  • Decorate notes with patterns and stickers
  • Attach photos to notes
  • Generate personalized images for social media
  • Multiple writing modes
  • iCloud multi-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

The feeling brought by simulated paper. Write a few lines of text on a small note. Decorate with favorite patterns. Let the text become warmer. Make recording more ceremonial. What you can do too: Attach the photo to a small note. Decorate with stickers again. The photos have also become better looking! #Function [+] Written records: you can use it to write journals, diaries, poems, etc. [+] It can generate personalized pictures, which you can use to post on social platforms. [+] Three modes can be selected: Single-line Mode, Paper-piece Mode, Paper-photo Mode. [+] Various decorations, background colors, character colors and fonts for you to choose. [+] iCloud realizes multi device synchronization, and diary data will never be lost (iOS13 and above system support). #Suggestions [+] Email: ghymail@foxmail.com

About

Daily Diary Notes

Features
Read full description

A private diary that behaves like a real book. Paper has grain. Ink sits on the line. Leaves turn in 3D with weight and a whisper of haptics. Every volume is bound differently, with its own paper stock, its own ink and its own foil stamping on the cover. Nothing ever leaves your phone. No account. No sync. No server. No analytics. Your diary is a file on your device and nowhere else. BOUND, NOT TEMPLATED • Fourteen bindings: Midnight Velvet, Rose Gold, Sakura, Emerald Library, Vintage Parchment, Nordic Frost and more • Six paper textures and five rulings, from single line to dotted to blank • Foil-stamped titles, raised spine bands, silk ribbon markers • Bind as many volumes as you like, one for each part of your life WRITING THAT FEELS LIKE WRITING • Real page turns, with perspective, weight and haptics • Ink that sits on the ruled line rather than floating between • Write straight onto the paper, with no forms and no boxes • 42 prompts for the days you do not know where to start WHAT A DAY HOLDS • Mood and weather, place and tags • Photographs, and 32 decorations to place, drag and resize • Bookmark any page, favourite any entry • Per-page paper and ruling, when one entry wants its own FIND IT AGAIN • Search every volume at once, each result cut from its own book's paper • A calendar with a mood-coloured dot on every day you wrote • Streaks, word counts, a mood line and a 91-day heat map YOURS ALONE • Face ID or Touch ID lock • A daily reminder at whatever hour suits you • Export everything as plain text, whenever you want • Use your own photograph for the home screen and arrange it how you like Built entirely in SwiftUI, with no third-party code, no trackers and no ads.

Screenshots

PaperWords4 screens
Daily Diary Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Daily Diary Notes at none against PaperWords's 4. Daily Diary Notes also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months). PaperWords's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support 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. PaperWords sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Daily Diary Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PaperWords ships an update every 4 months, Daily Diary Notes every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PaperWords versus Daily Diary Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaperWordsDaily Diary Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer洪跃 管Official Vishwateja

In-app purchases

4 purchases

PaperWords

One-time4
  • Unlimited Storage$0.99
  • Single-line Mode$1.99
  • Paper-photo Mode$2.99
Show 1 more
  • PaperWords PRO$3.99
None

Daily Diary Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PaperWords free?
PaperWords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Daily Diary Notes free?
Daily Diary Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PaperWords or Daily Diary Notes have ads?
Neither PaperWords nor Daily Diary Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PaperWords or Daily Diary Notes?
PaperWords ships an update every 4 months, and Daily Diary Notes every 6 weeks. Most recently, PaperWords was updated on October 24, 2026 and Daily Diary Notes on October 9, 2026.

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