Comparison

Travel Diary vs Shine

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

Head to head
About

Travel Diary

Record travel memories with a map-based diary. Organize experiences using image cards and location markers for an intuitive journey log. Share your adventures easily with friends.

Highlights
  • Map-based travel logging
  • Swipeable image cards
  • Location markers
  • Diary sharing
  • Import functionality
Read full description

Travel Diary is a map-based App used to record the beautiful moments of your travels. Using swipeable Image Cards combined with the Location Markers on the map to provide you with an intuitive experience. The function of diary sharing and import, which is convenient for you and your friends to share wonderful moments.

About

Shine

This app allows you to create a personalized journal with customizable themes, colors, and tags. Record your daily thoughts, track your mood, and even add location and weather data to your entries. Export your diary in PDF or HTML format for easy sharing.

Highlights
  • Customizable themes and colors
  • Location and weather tracking
  • PDF and HTML export
  • Calendar and gallery views
  • Voice diary recording
  • Rich emotional expressions with emojis
  • WebDAV and iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

“Shine Diary” is a story-themed timeline diary that allows for customization of colors, tags, cards, and themes to create a personalized journal. Each story/diary entry can have its own card color. Entries can be reviewed via a calendar or randomly, and the diary supports PDF export. Highlighted Features: WebDAV - Sync across all platforms. Widgets - Story/Random review/Mood calendar widgets support. Location/Tracks - The diary records the location and displays a footprint map. Weather - The diary records the weather. Customized Homepage Stories - Set your frequently used stories as the homepage for easy reading and writing. Rich Emotional Expressions - 36 emojis help you accurately convey complex emotions. Secondary Tag Groups - Secondary tags allow for more detailed diary classification, making management effortless. Custom Layout - Adjust font size, line spacing, etc., to create the best reading experience. Voice Diary - When the keyboard is inconvenient, record life moments with voice, flexible and convenient. High-Frequency Vocabulary - High-frequency words used in the last seven days. Stickers - Add fun stickers to your diary, making expressions more vivid. Calendar View - Check diary entries' time and frequency through the calendar, revisit anytime. Gallery - Easily browse all images in the diary, capturing wonderful moments. Story Heatmap - At a glance, see the number of diary days recorded this year and understand the recording progress. iCloud Sync - Change iOS devices, and your diary can also be successfully transferred and carried with you. Recycle Bin - Accidentally deleted diaries can be restored and recovered at any time. Quote Stories - Quickly respond to past diaries to make memories more coherent and complete. Quick Access - Phone numbers, links in the diary, tap to directly dial and access. Rich Themes - Manually color the diary cards to make memories more personalized. Image Clarity - Choose image quality to optimize iCloud space usage. PDF Export - Export the diary in PDF format, beautifully share with friends. Html Export - Export the diary in Html format, beautifully share with friends. Theme Material - Supports setting 30 types of materials to meet your personalized needs. Diary Templates - Quickly use templates for recording. New surprise features are continuously updated, stay tuned! If you like Shine, or have any questions or suggestions, please contact: Email: 441614591@qq.com WeChat: gaoxsdx Xiaohongshu (RED): 韶光日记App Premium Features and Benefits: Subscription Period: 1 month (monthly continuous subscription product), 1 year (annual continuous subscription product). Subscription Price: Based on the installation package application information, for example, the monthly continuous subscription product is 8 yuan per month, and the annual continuous subscription product is 48 yuan per year. Payment: After the user confirms the purchase and payment, it will be charged to the iTunes account. Cancel Renewal: To cancel the renewal, please manually turn off the auto-renewal function in the iTunes/Apple ID settings management at least 24 hours before the current subscription period expires. Renewal: The Apple iTunes account will be charged within 24 hours before the expiration, and after the successful deduction, the subscription period will be extended for one subscription period. Privacy policy: https://gxspp.site/privacy Auto-Renewal Membership Service Agreement: https://gxspp.site/member Terms of Use(EULA):https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Travel Diary4 screens
Shine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Travel Diary at 5.0 against Shine's 4.0. Travel Diary also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (14 vs 4). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Shine sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Travel Diary asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Travel Diary holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Travel Diary ships an update weekly, Shine every 5 days. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Travel Diary versus Shine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTravel DiaryShine
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (14 ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14 — better4
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.3 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB106 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYu Qi晓松 高

Customer experience

Travel Diary

All ratings14 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Shine

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Travel Diary

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Shine

Subscriptions2
  • 连续包月7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • 连续包年$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • 买断$39.99

Questions

Is Travel Diary free?
Travel Diary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shine free?
Shine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Travel Diary or Shine?
Travel Diary is rated higher. Travel Diary averages 5.0 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Shine averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Travel Diary or Shine have ads?
Neither Travel Diary nor Shine shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Travel Diary or Shine?
Travel Diary ships an update weekly, and Shine every 5 days. Most recently, Travel Diary was updated on November 3, 2026 and Shine on November 3, 2026.

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