# Minimal Diary vs the waterfall

The clearest difference is update cadence: Minimal Diary at fortnightly against the waterfall's every 3 months. Minimal Diary also leads on ratings volume (28 vs 5). the waterfall's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Minimal Diary sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and the waterfall sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

the waterfall holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Minimal Diary has 28 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 91% of Minimal Diary's written reviews are positive against 88% of the waterfall's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Minimal Diary ships an update fortnightly, the waterfall every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Minimal Diary | the waterfall |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (28 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-diary-life-timeline/id1568936702/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-waterfall/id6470706449/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **28** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | **90.9% of reviews** | 88.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 36 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | [Chaoyang Minimal Software Studio](https://appshunter.io/developer/1065436362) | [文杰 李](https://appshunter.io/developer/1590258684) |

## What reviewers say

### Minimal Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-diary-life-timeline/id1568936702)

This app offers a simple way to capture daily thoughts, feelings, and moments. Organize entries with tags and revisit memories on a clear timeline. It's designed for quick, pressure-free journaling.

**Highlights:** Timeline journal organization, Minimalist design for focus, Tagging for memory organization, Quick date navigation, Private and secure entries

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Monthly | $0.99 | per month |
| Pro Yearly | $8.99 | per year |
| Pro Lifetime | $14.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Pro | $29.99 | one-time |


### the waterfall

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-waterfall/id6470706449)

This app serves as a personal introspection companion, allowing users to record thoughts, ideas, and memories. It features guided questions for deeper self-reflection, supports Markdown for expressive text, and allows tagging and image association with entries. Data is stored locally and synced with iCloud for privacy.

**Highlights:** Guided self-reflection questions, Markdown support for text, Tagging and image association, Local data storage with iCloud sync, Pinning important memories, Record reading notes and movie reviews

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WATERFALL UPGRADE | $7.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Minimal Diary free?

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

### Is the waterfall free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Minimal Diary or the waterfall?

the waterfall is rated higher. Minimal Diary averages 4.7 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while the waterfall averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do Minimal Diary or the waterfall have ads?

Neither Minimal Diary nor the waterfall shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Minimal Diary or the waterfall?

Minimal Diary ships an update fortnightly, and the waterfall every 3 months. Most recently, Minimal Diary was updated on November 7, 2026 and the waterfall on November 3, 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.*