Comparison

Real Diary Lite vs DrawerJournal

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

Head to head
About

Real Diary Lite

A user-friendly digital journal for managing schedules, notes, and moods. Customize your entries with themes, stickers, and pictures. Share updates to social media and track your emotions with mood charts.

Highlights
  • Customizable themes and stickers
  • Password protection with time settings
  • Mood charting and analysis
  • Social media uploads (Twitter, Facebook)
  • Event scheduling and reminders
  • Data backup and restore
Features
Read full description

Introducing sensible and practical diary! User friendly for all ages and decorate anyway you like. Real Diary can manage your schedule, memos and even your mood swings. Easy upload to Twitter and Facebook. Various themes and sticker updates. ===================================== Key Features • Select own themes and looks (updates are offered periodically) • Easy to edit resize and rotate stickers, pictures and maps   • Memo board offers free screen expansion, arrangement and enlargement • Password protected with time setting • Various alarm sounds to choose from • All screens are rotate accordingly • Supports Twitter and Facebook uploads • Charts for all moods are available in weeks, month and year • Transfer existing iCalender events • Limitless usage with internet connection ===================================== Additional Features • Data back up and restore function • Calendar mode and list mode available • Quickly jump to monthly or annually (4-way gesture) • Search feature • Preview and show summary of events, select colors • Repeat events option • Set alarm option for any time   • Select weather option with diary • Library for pictures and maps • Add multiple pictures and maps to event • Memo board offers various memo pads, text, pictures and maps • List according to date or choose your own selection in memo board • Various font selections • Hide/show menu bar • Select start up screen ==================================== Please enjoy this application!

About

DrawerJournal

This app allows you to easily record daily events and thoughts in a timeline format. You can add text, photos, and audio recordings, and organize entries with tags. It offers a secure, offline space for your private memories.

Highlights
  • Chronological notes with photos and audio
  • Organize entries with labels/tags
  • Voice recording for immersive memories
  • Secure app lock with biometric authentication
  • Keyword search functionality
  • Offline data storage
Features
Read full description

A private journal that feels like texting yourself. Jot down a thought, add a photo, or record a voice memo in seconds. Every entry is time-stamped, so your day reads like a timeline. Lock your journal with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. Stored on this device. Never sent to us. We can't read it. No account needed. No blank page to fill. Write one line when something happens: on the bus, at lunch, at 2 a.m. Then scroll back and find the small moments you'd otherwise forget. QUICK POSTS ON A TIMELINE • Write as many entries a day as you like • Time stamps are added for you, and you can change the date and time anytime PHOTOS, VOICE, AND VIDEO • Up to 6 photos per entry • Record a voice memo with any entry • The Media tab shows the photos, videos, and voice memos from all your entries in one grid • Short video clips with Premium FIND ANYTHING AGAIN • Tags group entries across dates • Calendar view to jump to any day • Search every entry, with matches highlighted • Memories brings back entries from the past LOCK AND PRIVACY • Lock the app with a 4-digit passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID • Your entries are stored on this device. They're never sent to us, and we can't read them • No account, no sign-up • Back up and restore your journal as a ZIP file • Want your journal on more than one device? Turn on iCloud sync (Premium) and your entries are kept in your own iCloud APPLE WATCH AND WIDGETS • Post from your wrist with voice dictation on Apple Watch, plus complications • Home Screen widgets for today and today's entries • Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Apple silicon MAKE IT YOURS • A selection of free themes and fonts • Entry text gets larger when you increase your device's text size • Share a day as an image PREMIUM (OPTIONAL) Everything above is free unless it's marked Premium. The free version shows ads. Premium is an optional paid upgrade, available as a subscription or a one-time purchase. It adds: • Video clips up to 15 seconds each, up to 3 a day: record or choose from your library, then trim (photos and videos share the 6 slots per entry) • iCloud sync between iPhone, iPad, and Mac (iOS 17 or later) • Print your journal or save it as a PDF • Export entries as text (TXT) • Detailed statistics • All 31 themes, handpicked fonts, and premium app icons • More widgets: photo, one-line, and tag widgets • Drawer mode on iPad and Mac, with your tags side by side as columns • Choose the quality of attached photos, videos, and voice memos • All Memories cards (the free version shows 2), a filter for untagged entries, and the option to hide entries in shared images • No ads WHY "DRAWER"? In Japanese, the app is called 引き出し日記, "drawer diary": a drawer to keep your thoughts in. It's popular in Japan and Korea. Open the drawer, drop in a line, close it. Privacy Policy: https://toastplanet.com/drawerjournal/privacy Terms of Use: https://toastplanet.com/drawerjournal/terms

Screenshots

Real Diary Lite4 screens
DrawerJournal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DrawerJournal at 4.6 against Real Diary Lite's 4.0. DrawerJournal also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (74 vs 4). Real Diary Lite's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.4). On price, review sentiment, ads 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. Real Diary Lite sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and DrawerJournal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DrawerJournal holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DrawerJournal has 74 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Real Diary Lite's written reviews are positive against 88% of DrawerJournal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Real Diary Lite ships an update every 2 months, DrawerJournal weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Real Diary Lite versus DrawerJournal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReal Diary LiteDrawerJournal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.6 (74 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews87.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings474 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOwl Family Inc.ToastPlanet Inc.

Customer experience

Real Diary Lite

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative9.1%

DrawerJournal

All ratings74 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral6.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews145 reviews
Positive87.6%
Neutral7.6%
Negative4.8%

Bugs and requests

Real Diary Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DrawerJournal

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional crashes or data loss when editing entries
  • Background music playback issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to add videos or audio recordings
  • Cloud sync and backup across devices
  • More customization options for fonts, colors, and layouts
  • Thread-like functionality to connect related entries
  • Improved image handling and editing tools

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Real Diary Lite

One-time1
  • Upgrade to paid version$2.99
3 purchases

DrawerJournal

Subscriptions2
  • DrawerJournal Premium Monthly$2.991 Month
  • DrawerJournal Premium Annual7 Days trial$20.991 Year
One-time1
  • DrawerJournal One-Time$59.99

Questions

Is Real Diary Lite free?
Real Diary Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DrawerJournal free?
DrawerJournal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Real Diary Lite or DrawerJournal?
DrawerJournal is rated higher. Real Diary Lite averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while DrawerJournal averages 4.6 from 74 ratings.
Do Real Diary Lite or DrawerJournal have ads?
Both Real Diary Lite and DrawerJournal show ads.
Which is updated more often, Real Diary Lite or DrawerJournal?
Real Diary Lite ships an update every 2 months, and DrawerJournal weekly. Most recently, Real Diary Lite was updated on October 23, 2026 and DrawerJournal on October 27, 2026.

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