Comparison

Prayer Notes vs Prayer Journal

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

Head to head
About

Prayer Notes

This app helps you track prayer requests and answers, serving as a daily journal for thoughts and scripture. Organize your prayer journey with simple tools and share requests easily. It's designed for daily devotion and quiet times.

Highlights
  • Track prayer requests and answers
  • Daily journal for thoughts and scripture
  • Organize prayers by category and day
  • Password privacy protection with Touch ID
  • Share requests via AirDrop, Email, SMS
  • Daily prayer time reminders
  • Apple Watch and Desktop support
Features
Read full description

"I'll pray for you." Then the day gets away from you, and by evening you can't remember who asked. Prayer Notes is where that promise goes the moment you make it. Write it down in ten seconds, put it on a day of the week, and it comes back round when you sit down to pray. Fifteen years and thousands of people later, that is still the whole idea. TEN SECONDS, BEFORE YOU FORGET Someone asks on a Sunday morning. Type a title, type what they need, done. Add the verse you want to pray over it, a photo, the days you want it to come up. File it under Family, Church, Work — or whatever categories fit your life. A LIST FOR EVERY DAY Seven days, seven lists. Sunday's requests on Sunday, Thursday's on Thursday — the method people have kept in paper notebooks for generations, with today's list on your Home Screen, your Lock Screen and your Apple Watch. PRAY TOGETHER Start a group for your small group, your family or your church, and invite the people you choose. Everyone sees the same requests, posts their own, adds an update when something changes, and taps to say they prayed. Your personal prayers stay personal — only what you post is shared. THE ANSWERS STAY Mark a prayer answered and it moves to its own list with the date and what happened. Months later it is still there. People tell us this is the part they reread — the record of what God actually did, in their own words. A JOURNAL FOR QUIET TIME Write what you read and what it stirred, with the passage attached. Browse it by date or by book of the Bible, so you can see everywhere Psalms has met you this year. WHEN THE WORDS DON'T COME Some mornings you have nothing. Prayer Builder takes today's list and writes an outline with matching scripture, right on your iPhone — nothing is sent anywhere. Edit it, pray it, or just use it to start. PRAYERS IN SCRIPTURE Hannah's prayer. David's. The one Jesus taught. Read them, pray them as they stand, or build your own from any verse — six translations included. FOCUS WHILE YOU PRAY Set a timer and let Prayer Focus quiet the apps that would have interrupted you. YOURS, EVERYWHERE iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, in sync through iCloud. Face ID lock. Widgets. Nightly backups you can restore, and an export you can keep. YOUR PRAYERS COME WITH YOU If you have been using Prayer Notes for years, everything you have written is already here — every request, every answer, every journal entry, in the same categories. Nothing is deleted and the old database is kept untouched in case you ever want it back. Previous in-app purchases are still honored. Write it down. Pray it. Watch God answer. Auto Renewable Subscriptions: Subscriptions will automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime in your Apple ID subscription settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms and Conditions (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.chuchutrain.com/privacy-policy.html

About

Prayer Journal

Cultivate a spiritual practice by transforming your prayers into a visual garden. This app offers daily prompts, personal letter writing to God, and guided reflections to foster faith, hope, and gratitude. Watch your devotion grow with each entry, creating a tangible representation of your spiritual journey.

Highlights
  • Daily prompts for prayer and reflection
  • Visual prayer garden that grows
  • Personal letters to God
  • Spiritual reflection and meditation tools
  • Encouraging daily reminders
  • Optional community inspiration
Features
Read full description

Plant a Flower with Every Prayer Turn your daily prayers into a blooming garden of faith, hope, and gratitude. Dear God helps you transform your spiritual journey into something you can see, nurture, and grow. Each letter you write becomes a flower in your very own prayer garden — a living reflection of your devotion and reflection. Features that Inspire Daily Growth: - Daily Prompts & Questions: Thoughtful prompts guide your prayers, reflections, and gratitude, helping you build a consistent devotional habit. - Visual Prayer Garden: Watch your garden flourish with every letter you write. Each flower represents a prayer, reflection, or moment of hope. - Personal Letters to God: Express your heart in private letters. Write about your blessings, challenges, and prayers in a safe, personal space. - Spiritual Reflection & Meditation: Use the app for mindfulness, worship, and contemplation. Reflect on your journey and track your spiritual growth. - Encouraging Reminders: Gentle notifications help you stay consistent and inspired in your daily spiritual practice. - Community Inspiration (Optional): Share your garden blooms anonymously and discover uplifting letters from others to inspire your own prayers. Perfect For: - Anyone seeking a meaningful devotional or journaling habit - People who want to combine prayer with reflection and meditation - Those looking for daily inspiration, hope, and spiritual growth - Users who enjoy cultivating mindfulness, gratitude, and faith Benefits You’ll Love: - Strengthen your connection with God through written reflection - Build a daily habit of devotion, meditation, and spiritual mindfulness - Experience tangible growth as your prayer garden flourishes - Find peace, hope, and inspiration in your daily letters and reflections - Start your journey today. Plant your first flower with your first prayer and watch your faith, gratitude, and spiritual growth blossom every day with Dear God. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Prayer Notes4 screens
Prayer Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Prayer Journal at none against Prayer Notes's shown. Prayer Journal also leads on review sentiment (96% vs 74%) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months). Prayer Notes's advantage is ratings volume (3.8K vs 346). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Prayer Notes sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Prayer Journal sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Prayer Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Prayer Notes has 3.8K ratings behind it against 346, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Prayer Notes's written reviews are positive against 96% of Prayer Journal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prayer Notes ships an update every 2 months, Prayer Journal every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Prayer Notes versus Prayer Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrayer NotesPrayer Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.8K ratings)4.9 (346 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.1% of reviews95.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.8K — better346
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB21 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperChuChu Train ProductionsNamu

Customer experience

Prayer Notes

All ratings3,832 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral4.2%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews174 reviews
Positive74.1%
Neutral9.2%
Negative16.7%

Prayer Journal

All ratings346 ratings
Positive97.7%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews148 reviews
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.7%

User reviews

Prayer Notes

From 3.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Helps keep prayer life organized
  • 👍 Ability to categorize and schedule prayers
  • 🚀 Syncs across devices
  • 👍 Useful for tracking answered prayers

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Limited free version, need to pay for full features
  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs reported
  • 🔒 Ads in free version
  • 👎 Confusing or unintuitive UI for some users

Prayer Journal

From 346 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Helpful for prayer journaling
  • 🙏 Promotes spiritual connection
  • 📝 Easy to write and express thoughts
  • 🌱 Calming and reflective experience
  • 📚 Ability to read others' prayers

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Difficulty deleting account
  • 💰 Paid features may be required

Bugs and requests

Prayer Notes

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Prayers disappearing or being deleted after updates
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • App freezing or becoming unresponsive

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow users to mark prayers as completed without removing them
  • Add ability to sort and reorder prayers
  • Improve date/time formatting options for international users
  • Add support for Apple Pencil

Prayer Journal

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Missing past prayer entries
  • Compatibility issues with older devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • Customizable prayer collections
  • Export/backup prayer history
  • More free features

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Prayer Notes

One-time6
  • Calendar View$2.99
  • Database Transfer$3.99
  • Unlimited Requests & Answers$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Unlimited Journal Entries$4.99
  • Remove Ads$7.99
  • Unlock All Features$19.99
10 purchases

Prayer Journal

Subscriptions6
  • Become a Fellow$3.991 Month
  • Dear God Fellow$4.991 Month
  • Become a Fellow7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Dear God Fellow1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • Dear God Fellow3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Dear God Fellow7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time4
  • Christmas Flowers$2.99
  • Flower Collection Vol.1$3.49
  • Become a Fellow$29.99
Show 1 more
  • Dear God Fellow$59.99

Questions

Is Prayer Notes free?
Prayer Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Prayer Journal free?
Prayer Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Prayer Notes or Prayer Journal?
Prayer Journal is rated higher. Prayer Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings, while Prayer Journal averages 4.9 from 346 ratings.
Do Prayer Notes or Prayer Journal have ads?
Prayer Notes shows ads; Prayer Journal does not.
Which is updated more often, Prayer Notes or Prayer Journal?
Prayer Notes ships an update every 2 months, and Prayer Journal every 11 days. Most recently, Prayer Notes was updated on October 22, 2026 and Prayer Journal on October 19, 2026.

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