Comparison

Diary vs Pals

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

Head to head
About

Diary

This app helps you track your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to understand and change unhelpful patterns. It's a tool for developing coping strategies and improving overall well-being through cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.

Highlights
  • Record events, thoughts, and emotions
  • Identify cognitive distortions
  • Track behaviors and body reactions
  • Develop rational responses
  • Monitor progress over time
  • Set mental health goals
Read full description

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy that helps individuals identify and change unhelpful or unhealthy thought patterns and behaviours. The goal of CBT is to positively influence a person’s emotions, behaviour and overall wellbeing. CBT can be used to treat a variety of issues, such as depression, anxiety, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. It helps people develop beneficial coping strategies and improve their problem-solving skills. A CBT diary is a tool that is used to record events, thoughts, emotions, body reactions, behaviours, rational responses and cognitive distortions. It is used to track progress over time and help individuals learn more about their thought and behaviour patterns. The diary can also be used to set goals and develop strategies for improving mental health. By writing down their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, individuals can gain greater insight into their own behaviour and gain new perspectives on the challenges they are facing. By downloading the app, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. http://diary.ios.app.tilda.ws/en/terms-and-conditions

About

Pals

This app helps you track your moods and emotions using a unique 'Pals' system. Enhance entries with details like relationships, activities, photos, and voice notes. View detailed statistics and share your moments on social media.

Highlights
  • Mood tracking with 'Pals'
  • Add details: relationships, activities, photos, voice
  • Journeys display mood history and daily scores
  • Share moments on social media
  • Comprehensive mood statistics (weekly, monthly, yearly)
  • Data stored locally with iCloud backup
Features
Read full description

Pals is an innovative diary app designed to capture and cherish every moment with your mood-enhancing friends, known as Pals. With just a single tap, you can effortlessly document your emotions at any given time. Enhance your entries by adding details such as relationships, triggering activities, photos, voice recordings, or typed notes. KEY FEATURES OF PALS: • Journeys display all recorded moods akin to a memory card, offering a glimpse of your daily average score ranging from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). • Share your moments or entire days seamlessly on Instagram, with friends, or across various social platforms using the app's stunning templates. • Connect with a diverse range of Pals, representing different moods, and leverage them to document your emotional experiences. • Delve into comprehensive statistics, providing weekly, monthly, and yearly analytics on how relationships and activities influence your mood, along with your daily scores throughout the week or month. • Plus, a host of other exciting features. WHERE IS YOUR DATA STORED? Rest assured, Pals operates exclusively on your device, ensuring your data remains secure and private. Even in the event of device loss, your information is backed up on iCloud through the Sync iCloud feature. To learn more about our commitment to safeguarding your data, please review our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy: • Terms of Service: https://insidepals.store/terms_of_use.html • Privacy Policy: https://insidepals.store/privacy_policy.html For any inquiries or assistance while using the app, feel free to reach out to us!

Screenshots

Diary4 screens
Pals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Diary at none against Pals's shown. Pals's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 7 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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. Diary sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month and Pals sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Diary against 5.0 for Pals. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Diary's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pals's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Diary ships an update every 7 months, Pals fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Diary versus Pals: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDiaryPals
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings23 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIvan MedvedevDau Long An

Customer experience

Diary

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

Pals

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Diary

Subscriptions1
  • Premium$0.991 Month
2 purchases

Pals

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Annual Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Diary free?
Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pals free?
Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Diary or Pals?
Diary and Pals are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Diary or Pals have ads?
Pals shows ads; Diary does not.
Which is updated more often, Diary or Pals?
Diary ships an update every 7 months, and Pals fortnightly. Most recently, Diary was updated on November 3, 2026 and Pals on November 4, 2026.

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