# 小鹿手帐 vs Journal

小鹿手帐 and Journal both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 90% of Journal's written reviews are positive against 0% of 小鹿手帐's. Journal also leads on ratings volume (1.8K vs 42). 小鹿手帐's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. 小鹿手帐 sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month 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 — 4.7 for 小鹿手帐 against 4.6 for Journal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Journal has 1.8K ratings behind it against 42, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 0% of 小鹿手帐's written reviews are positive against 90% of Journal's.

小鹿手帐 ships an update weekly, Journal every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | 小鹿手帐 | Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (42 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id1660729514/reviews)** | [4.6 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-diary-and-planner/id6443840608/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 42 | **1.8K** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **89.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 68 MB | 45 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [楚婷 柯](https://appshunter.io/developer/1480380798) | [受杰 柯](https://appshunter.io/developer/1634142370) |

## What reviewers say

### 小鹿手帐

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id1660729514)

Create beautiful digital journals with a wide variety of cute and fun stickers. This app offers a simple and flexible editing process for your entries, allowing you to personalize your daily records with ease. Enjoy a creative outlet for relaxation and entertainment, even offline.

**Highlights:** Cute and fun stickers, Easy journaling process, Offline access, Flexible editing of text and images, Daily record keeping, Relaxing and entertaining

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 月度订阅 | $1.99 | per month |
| 季度会员 | $6.99 | per 3 months |
| 年度会员 | $12.99 | per 6 months |


### 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 小鹿手帐 free?

小鹿手帐 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, 小鹿手帐 or Journal?

小鹿手帐 is rated higher. 小鹿手帐 averages 4.7 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while Journal averages 4.6 from 1.8K ratings.

### Do 小鹿手帐 or Journal have ads?

Both 小鹿手帐 and Journal show ads.

### Which is updated more often, 小鹿手帐 or Journal?

小鹿手帐 ships an update weekly, and Journal every 6 weeks. Most recently, 小鹿手帐 was updated on November 3, 2026 and Journal on November 7, 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.*