# Lemon Diary vs Journal

The clearest difference is update cadence: Lemon Diary at fortnightly against Journal's every 6 weeks. Lemon Diary also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). Journal's advantage is review sentiment (90% vs 80%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Lemon Diary sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and Journal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Lemon Diary against 4.6 for Journal. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 1.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Lemon Diary's written reviews are positive against 90% of Journal's.

Lemon Diary ships an update fortnightly, Journal every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Lemon Diary | Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lemon-diary-journaling-app/id1583714500/reviews)** | [4.6 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-diary-and-planner/id6443840608/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K | **1.8K** |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | **89.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 89 MB | 45 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [晓庆 韩](https://appshunter.io/developer/1164060252) | [受杰 柯](https://appshunter.io/developer/1634142370) |

## What reviewers say

### Lemon Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lemon-diary-journaling-app/id1583714500)

This app allows you to record your daily life through a digital journal. It offers a variety of decorative materials like stickers and fonts to personalize entries. Secure your private thoughts with password protection and easily share your journal entries.

**Highlights:** Exquisite material library (stickers, backgrounds, fonts), Text and picture entries, Calendar browsing, Password protection for privacy, Multiple font selections, One-click diary sharing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Plus Version | $0.99 | per 7 days |
| Plus Version | $2.99 | per month |
| Quarterly Plus Version | $7.99 | per 3 months |
| Pro Version | $8.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💖 Love it
- 🤩 Amazing
- 👍 Good
- 🎨 Calming and fun
- 📝 Allows expression of feelings

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🙄 Wants free sticker
- 🤔 Needs work
- 🙃 Can't see stickers and stuff
- 🤯 Can't place pictures

**Reported bugs**

- Logged out when trying to place picture
- Ads disrupt journaling

**Requested features**

- Password protection
- Font customization


### Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-diary-and-planner/id6443840608)

This app allows users to create a personal diary with a variety of cute stickers and backgrounds. It offers automatic saving of drafts, password protection for privacy, and the ability to insert photos. The app is also optimized for iPad use.

**Highlights:** Customizable stickers and backgrounds, Automatic draft saving, Password protection for privacy, iPad support with Apple Pencil, Photo insertion for diary entries

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plus Version | $2.99 | per month |
| Plus Version | $4.99 | per 3 months |
| Pro Version | $8.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💖 Cute and aesthetic design
- 📚 Helpful for journaling and planning
- 🎨 Customizable backgrounds and stickers
- 👍 Easy to use and organize
- 🥰 Fun and enjoyable experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Limited free features, many paid options
- 🔑 Issues with login/access
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
- 📝 Limited font/formatting options

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when trying to reopen saved pages
- Stickers not displaying properly in some cases
- Sync issues causing data loss

**Requested features**

- Add more free stickers and customization options
- Improve syncing and backup functionality
- Allow creating custom backgrounds and stickers
- Introduce a dark mode option


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Lemon Diary free?

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

### Is Journal free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Lemon Diary or Journal?

Lemon Diary is rated higher. Lemon Diary averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Journal averages 4.6 from 1.8K ratings.

### Do Lemon Diary or Journal have ads?

Both Lemon Diary and Journal show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Lemon Diary or Journal?

Lemon Diary ships an update fortnightly, and Journal every 6 weeks. Most recently, Lemon Diary was updated on October 24, 2026 and Journal on October 27, 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.*