Comparison

Waffle vs Ember

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

Head to head
About

Waffle

This app facilitates shared journaling for couples, families, and friends to deepen connections. Users can share daily updates, photos, and videos, and answer prompts to get to know each other better. It offers a private space to document memories and strengthen relationships.

Highlights
  • Shared journaling for groups
  • Photo and video sharing
  • Daily prompts to foster connection
  • Customizable journal covers
  • Private and secure entries
  • Relationship strengthening tool
Features
Read full description

Waffle is the #1 shared journal app for staying connected and getting to know your partner, family, friends, or anyone you care about better. By journaling together on Waffle, you and your journal members will feel seen, heard, and loved. THE BEST SHARED JOURNAL APP Waffle lets you practice self-care together with your favorite people. Journaling consistently can be hard on your own, but it's easier and more fun together, like sharing a warm, fluffy waffle. Share photos and videos to tell them about your day, record memories, and capture the little things that might otherwise be forgotten—all in one journal. STAY UPDATED LIFE UPDATES "Documenting our married life together -- the highs, lows, and little things in between" - Amber "I love when I get notifications" - Karla No matter how far apart you are or how busy your day is, Waffle lets you take intentional moments to connect. Open the Waffle app at the end of the day, unwind, and share your story. If you thought about them during the day, let them know in your journal entry! WAFFLE TIME "When my friend says "Waffle time, people!" at the end of the day, my face lights up" - Lucy "Especially helped my girlfriend to recenter at the end of the day and see the many good parts of life that are easily drowned out." - Herman WAFFLE OF THE DAY QUESTIONS "Get to know each other better even though we've been married for 20 years" - Faith "It's a form of therapy. Brought me and my sister closer than ever." - Rita Waffle of the Day questions are designed to strengthen your relationships. By answering them each day, you and your journal members will get to know each other better. It helps you understand what's on their mind and lets them know what's on yours. Waffle makes sharing easy, with no pressure, in a relaxed and non-confrontational way. AESTHETIC JOURNAL COVERS "Allowed me and my mom to connect on a deeper level" - Cecilia "Allows me to vent in a constructive way" - Isabella Your everyday tool should be pretty and aesthetically pleasing. Choose the cover that lifts your spirits the most. Waffle can help you if you are: • A long-distance couple • A military family staying connected during deployment • Looking to make therapy sessions more effective by sharing your day-to-day events and feelings with your therapist • A mother and daughter communicating better in a non-confrontational way • Reuniting and staying connected with your childhood friends • Trying to stay off social media and focus on the relationships that matter most • Strengthening your faith through a prayer journal • Reconnecting after a long marriage • An engaged couple getting ready for married life • Offering emotional support to your best friend • Making parenting or co-parenting easier • Sharing your baby photos with context • Practicing gratitude in a group • Dealing with an eating disorder • Increasing sexual intimacy in your relationship • In a long-distance relationship, struggling with time differences • Looking to improve couple therapy • Looking to connect with your children A NEW FORM OF THERAPY "It's a therapy for us" - Mariah "Extra helpful for my therapy sessions" - Isabella "Honestly this app is helping us more than our marriage counseling did" - Holly We believe that shared journaling is a new form of therapy that can restore meaningful human connections—connections that are essential to our emotional health and well-being but are rapidly disappearing in our society. With Waffle Plus, you’ll be able to: • Add photos and videos to any entry • Record and attach voice memos • Unlock unlimited premium daily question decks • Choose from our entire collection of premium covers • Export your journal as a printable PDF Say hi at support@journal.com or visit wafflejournal.com. Terms: https://www.wafflejournal.com/terms Privacy policy: https://www.wafflejournal.com/privacy-policy

About

Ember

This app provides AI-powered coaching to help couples improve communication and connection. It offers tools for analyzing conversations, daily prompts for connection, and research-backed plans for relationship growth. Designed for proactive relationship care.

Highlights
  • AI couples coaching sessions
  • Real-time argument analysis
  • Daily conversation prompts
  • Research-backed relationship plans
  • Text communication analysis
  • Relationship style quiz
Features
Read full description

Ember is a relationship wellness app for couples who want to stay close - not just fix things when they go wrong. Most couples don't fall apart dramatically. They just get busy - and the small moments that kept them close quietly disappear. Ember gives those moments back. A Spark on the couch before bed. A check-in that takes ten minutes and actually covers something real. A question that takes you somewhere you didn't expect. Relationships do better with regular attention. Ember is the tending. ***Meet Em*** Em was created by Ellie Baker, a couples coach and Ember's founder. She's the AI at the heart of the app - sharp, warm, and built on real relationship expertise. She brings a systems-thinking perspective to your relationship, spotting patterns before drift becomes distance. ***Key Features*** Sparks Short prompts you and your partner answer separately, then compare. You don't see their answer until you've done yours. Takes minutes - gets you past the logistics and into something real. Talk to Em Voice or text conversations with Em, available whenever you need her. Talk to her solo to think something through privately - what you share stays between you and her. Or bring her in as a couple when you have something specific to work through together. Em keeps things on track and sends a useful summary at the end. Set up a recurring relationship check-in and Em handles the structure so you actually cover what matters, not just what's top of mind. Plans Guided programs on communication, conflict, and connection. Each chapter pairs short expert content with something to actually do - a conversation with Em, a challenge, or a nudge. Work through them at your own pace. Quizzes Find out something new about yourself and your partner. Start with the Love Animals Quiz - discover your relationship personality type, whether you're the dolphin, the hawk, or one of six others - and understand what drives you both. ***What you’ll get*** - Playful, lighthearted, straightforward practices that take less time than scrolling Instagram. - See your patterns clearly enough to actually change them. - A habit that builds quietly - without it feeling like work. **Subscription Information** Ember offers an auto-renewing 1-month and annual subscription – both of which give you full access to the entire library of content, app features and two hours of talk time with Em per month for as long as you maintain an active subscription. Payment will be charged to your Apple account at the time of initial subscription purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless you cancel your subscription at least 24 hours before the current subscription period ends. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period end date. You may cancel your subscription at any time by going to your Account Settings and tapping on “Manage Membership” after the purchase. --- Ember is designed for users 18+. Ember is not therapy, and is not a replacement for any medical diagnostic or treatments. Ember cannot, and does not intend to, provide medical advice or diagnosis. Ember is not designed to be used in crisis. If you are in crisis, please seek out professional help, or a crisis line. You can find resources at www.findahelpline.com. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Privacy Policy: https://www.embercouples.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Waffle4 screens
Ember4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Waffle at free with in-app purchases against Ember's subscription. Waffle also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (9.9K vs 703). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Waffle sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days and Ember sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Waffle against 4.6 for Ember. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waffle has 9.9K ratings behind it against 703, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 47% of Waffle's written reviews are positive against 50% of Ember's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Waffle ships an update every 4 days, Ember weekly. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Waffle versus Ember: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWaffleEmber
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (9.9K ratings)4.6 (703 ratings)
Positive reviews46.7% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.9K — better703
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#155 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB166 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPoppy AI, Inc.Ember Couples Ltd

Customer experience

Waffle

All ratings9,885 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews272 reviews
Positive46.7%
Neutral11.4%
Negative41.9%

Ember

All ratings703 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral3.8%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral1.8%
Negative48.2%

User reviews

Waffle

From 9.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤗 Excellent for shared journaling with friends/family
  • 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive user interface
  • 🤝 Helps strengthen long-distance relationships
  • 📝 Convenient way to record daily thoughts and memories
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Great for family/group journaling

Room to improve

  • 💰 Overly expensive subscription model
  • 🔒 Lack of privacy/control over shared journals
  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and bugs
  • 🗓️ Inability to backdate journal entries
  • 📢 Lack of notification/comment features for shared journals

Ember

From 703 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤖 Helpful AI coach
  • 👍 Positive and encouraging feedback
  • 💬 Improved communication with difficult contacts
  • 🤝 Felt like talking to a friend

Room to improve

  • 🕰️ Strict time window for message exchange
  • 🚫 Not suitable for busy/entrepreneurial people
  • 🤔 Promotes unhealthy attachment styles

Bugs and requests

Waffle

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to open old journal entries
  • Issues with uploading and viewing photos/videos
  • Inability to create new journals or add collaborators

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to comment on journal entries
  • Implement a more flexible pricing structure (e.g., monthly option)
  • Allow customization of journal covers and layouts
  • Improve stability and fix reported bugs
  • Add time zone support for shared journals

Ember

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • AI coach sometimes fails to understand context
  • App can feel repetitive and impersonal

Requested features

2 requests
  • Upload feature to share files/images
  • More customization options

In-app purchases

17 purchases

Waffle

Subscriptions16
  • Waffle Weekly$9.997 Days
  • Waffle Monthly Plus$14.991 Month
  • Waffle Monthly Plus$19.991 Month
Show 13 more
  • Waffle Unlimited$39.991 Year
  • 1 Plus Journal7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Waffle Unlimited7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Waffle Unlimited Plus7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • 1 Plus Journal7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Waffle Unlimited7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • 1 Plus Journal7 Days trial$74.991 Year
  • Waffle Unlimited$74.991 Year
  • Waffle Unlimited7 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • 2 Plus Journals7 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Unlimited Plus Journals7 Days trial$129.001 Year
  • 2 Plus Journals7 Days trial$129.991 Year
  • Unlimited Plus7 Days trial$199.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlimited$199.99
15 purchases

Ember

Subscriptions13
  • Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Monthly3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Full Access - Monthly$19.991 Month
Show 10 more
  • Monthly3 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Full Access - Monthly$24.991 Month
  • Full Access - Quarterly$44.993 Months
  • Quarterly3 Days trial$44.993 Months
  • Full Access - Quarterly$54.993 Months
  • Annual$59.991 Year
  • Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Full Access - Yearly$109.991 Year
  • Yearly3 Days trial$154.991 Year
  • Full Access - Yearly$167.991 Year
One-time2
  • 1 Hour of conversation credits$19.99
  • 10 hours of conversation credits$109.99

Questions

Is Waffle free?
Waffle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ember free?
Ember is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Waffle or Ember?
Waffle and Ember are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 9.9K and 703 ratings respectively.
Do Waffle or Ember have ads?
Ember shows ads; Waffle does not.
Which is updated more often, Waffle or Ember?
Waffle ships an update every 4 days, and Ember weekly. Most recently, Waffle was updated on September 23, 2026 and Ember on September 23, 2026.

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