Penzu vs Diary With Password
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Penzu
This app provides a secure and private space for journaling, note-taking, and storing personal thoughts. It offers robust security features like password and PIN locks, encryption, and cloud syncing across devices. Users can also add photos and tags to their entries, making it a comprehensive digital diary.
- Unlimited journaling
- Cloud sync for free
- Password and PIN locks
- Journal encryption
- Add photos to entries
- Search and tag entries
- Offline writing
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*Used by over 1 million people around the world *Best free journal in any app store *Syncs to the web and other mobile platforms for free Penzu is the most popular free diary, journal and notepad. It’s the best place to keep your most private thoughts safe and secure. Sync your journals to Penzu where your notes are accessible from almost any device in the world. So simple and fun that you’ll leave your paper diary behind! FEATURES *Unlimited journaling *Sync journals with Penzu cloud for free *Customize your journal covers *Lock journals with a password *Encrypt your journals *Add photos *Lock app with a PIN *Search journals *Add tags *Write offline and more... WHY PENZU? Penzu is a diary and personal journal that is focused on privacy. With a unique and compelling user experience, it makes writing online as easy and intuitive as writing on a pad of paper. PRIVACY Your journal and your thoughts aren’t always meant to be shared — some things are supposed to be private! Use Penzu to jot down whatever you want. Then lock your journal with a password (or even encryption) so no one can read it but you! Furthermore, you can lock the entire app with a PIN in the event that someone gets access to your mobile device. PENZU Unlike other journal apps, Penzu has a web-based counterpart. So you can access your journals and diary from any web browser and other devices. Penzu is constantly being updated and improved so that the writing experience is effortless and reliable. SUBSCRIPTION INFO This app is free to download but requires a free Penzu account in order to start writing. Upgrading to Penzu Pro is available for a small monthly or yearly subscription. Your subscription will auto-renew unless you cancel manually. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 USD and renew every month. Yearly subscriptions are $19.99 USD and renew every year. You can see our privacy policy here: http://penzu.com/m/privacy You can read our terms of use here: http://penzu.com/m/terms
Diary With Password
This app provides a private digital space to record daily thoughts, emotions, and life events. It offers robust security features like password and biometric locks, alongside tools for organizing, searching, and exporting your entries. Enjoy a customizable and ad-free journaling experience.
- Password and biometric security
- Daily entry logging
- Full text search
- Data backup and export (PDF/Text)
- Customizable fonts and sizes
- Night mode
- Daily reminders
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Track life's progress Log a little bit about each day Look back at the emotions and the opinions and even mundane aspects of your life Write out all your emotions in a space and no one will see This is an electronic diary Simple and friendly ■ Password -set a password to protect your diary secrets ■ Time Stamp -note the time by touching the inconspicuous clock button ■ Reminder -friendly reminder to write about your day ■ Delete -swipe your finger to delete the diary you want to delete ■ Night Mode -to make looking at a screen in a dark room easier on your eyes ■ iCloud -back up your data/Restore the data on your iOS device ■ Export -export your diary as a text/Export the diary to PDF file (The exported file can be sent to you by email. Please make sure that a mail account has been set on the device. You can also choose to export your data to your iOS file system on your device) ■ Sizes -choose a new font size from the font size list ■ Sign -add a good diary to your favorites ■ Search -full text search-able - search entries by containing text ■ Fonts -to change the font type, in the font list, select a font ■ Touch ID / Face ID -need the related hardware support (iPhone 5s+) ■ Pattern Lock -security and ease
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Diary With Password at 92% against Penzu's 52%. Diary With Password also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (27K vs 2.5K). Penzu's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Penzu sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Diary With Password sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Diary With Password holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Diary With Password has 27K ratings behind it against 2.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Penzu's written reviews are positive against 92% of Diary With Password's.
Penzu ships an update weekly, Diary With Password every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Penzu | Diary With Password |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (2.5K ratings) | 4.7 (27K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 51.5% of reviews | 92.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.5K | 27K — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 62 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Penzu Inc. | 帆 杨 |
Customer experience
Penzu
Diary With Password
User reviews
Penzu
From 2.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 📝 Convenient journaling on the go
- 🗓️ Helpful reminders and date tracking
- 💻 Syncs across devices
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔑 Password issues and lockout problems
- 📁 Syncing and data loss issues
- 📱 Limited functionality on mobile app
- 💰 Expensive premium subscription
Diary With Password
From 27K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💻 Simple and easy to use
- 🔒 Password protection
- 📝 Customizable fonts and layout
- ⏱️ Time stamp feature
- 🔓 No ads or paywalls
Room to improve
- 🔍 Difficulty finding/accessing past entries
- 🖼️ No image/media support
- 🔄 Lack of syncing across devices
- 🔒 Password recovery issues
- 🔧 Limited customization options
Bugs and requests
Penzu
Reported bugs
3 issues- Keyboard disappearing during use
- Entries not saving or syncing properly
- Inability to access account after updates
Requested features
4 requests- More customization options for fonts, themes, and layouts
- Ability to export/backup journal entries
- Improved mobile app stability and features
- Better customer support and communication
Diary With Password
Reported bugs
2 issues- Date entries sometimes display incorrectly
- Occasional app crashes or freezes
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to import/attach photos
- Implement calendar view for entries
- Allow multiple entries per day
- Provide cloud backup and sync options
- Add more customization options (colors, themes, etc.)
In-app purchases
Penzu
- Penzu Pro Subscription$4.991 Month
- Penzu Pro Subscription$19.991 Year
- Penzu Pro Upgrade$18.99
Diary With Password
- Pro version- One-time purchase$12.99
Questions
Is Penzu free?
Is Diary With Password free?
Which has better reviews, Penzu or Diary With Password?
Do Penzu or Diary With Password have ads?
Which is updated more often, Penzu or Diary With Password?
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