# Journal Prompts vs PencilDiary

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Journal Prompts at 1.5K against PencilDiary's 41. PencilDiary's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and iOS requirement (18 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Journal Prompts sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and PencilDiary sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Journal Prompts against 4.8 for PencilDiary. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Journal Prompts has 1.5K ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of Journal Prompts's written reviews are positive against 100% of PencilDiary's.

Journal Prompts ships an update monthly, PencilDiary every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Journal Prompts | PencilDiary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-prompts-bubbles/id1547297023/reviews)** | [4.8 (41 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pencildiary-notes-pdf-markup/id6739626574/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.5K** | 41 |
| Positive reviews | 93.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 261 MB | 214 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18** |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ali Ebrahimi Pourasad](https://appshunter.io/developer/1547297025) | [RABBITEYE LAB LLP](https://appshunter.io/developer/1482497034) |

## What reviewers say

### Journal Prompts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-prompts-bubbles/id1547297023)

This interactive diary helps you cultivate mindfulness and reflect on your thoughts with a friendly companion. It offers prompts, stickers, and a book-like reading mode to make journaling a cozy experience. Your private space is secured with encryption and offline access.

**Highlights:** Interactive journaling with a companion, Daily prompts and new interactions, Stickers to beautify entries, Tagging and filtering for reflection, Book Mode for reading entries, Memory Minder reminders, Offline access and encryption

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (14)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 W.) | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 M.) | $2.99 | per month |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 M.) | $4.99 | per month |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 M.) | $9.99 | per month |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 Y.) | $17.99 | per year |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 Y.) | $19.99 | per year |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 M.) | $19.99 | per month |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 Y.) | $29.99 | per year |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 Y.) | $39.99 | per year |
| Daily Journal - Premium (1 Y.) | $49.99 | per year |
| Large Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Daily Journal - Premium | $59.99 | one-time |
| Daily Journal - Premium | $99.99 | one-time |
| Daily Journal - Premium | $199.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🥰 Cute and fun to use
- 🎨 Customizable journal entries
- 🎶 Calming music and sound effects
- 🤖 Interactive companion (Bubbles)
- 💻 Seamless Apple Pencil integration

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Paywall for full journaling functionality
- 🙄 Frequent prompts to upgrade to premium
- 😢 Limited free features
- 🤔 Confusion around premium requirements

**Reported bugs**

- Occasional app crashes or freezes
- Lag when interacting with certain features

**Requested features**

- Add more sticker and customization options
- Allow free daily journaling without paywall
- Implement a tone/mood setting for journal entries
- Expand language support beyond English


### PencilDiary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pencildiary-notes-pdf-markup/id6739626574)

This app provides a daily handwritten journal experience with a new page automatically generated each day, organized by date. It offers seamless light and dark mode adaptation with smart color inversion for optimal readability and a minimalist design for focused reflection.

**Highlights:** New page generated daily, organized by date, Automatic light and dark mode with color inversion, Pure handwriting input with Apple Pencil support, Minimalist and distraction-free interface, Ideal for personal growth and reflection, No manual sorting or folder management

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $29.99 | one-time |
| LifeTime | $39.99 | one-time |
| Premium | $49.99 | one-time |
| LifeTime | $59.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Journal Prompts free?

Journal Prompts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PencilDiary free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Journal Prompts or PencilDiary?

Journal Prompts is rated higher. Journal Prompts averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while PencilDiary averages 4.8 from 41 ratings.

### Do Journal Prompts or PencilDiary have ads?

Neither Journal Prompts nor PencilDiary shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Journal Prompts or PencilDiary?

Journal Prompts ships an update monthly, and PencilDiary every 2 weeks. Most recently, Journal Prompts was updated on October 24, 2026 and PencilDiary on October 26, 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.*