Comparison

Grid Diary Classic vs Personal Diary (Journal) App

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

Head to head
About

Grid Diary Classic

This journaling app offers a unique grid-based format with prompts to overcome writer's block. It allows for photo attachments, full-text search, and health data integration. Advanced features like passcode lock and cloud sync are available through a subscription or one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Unique grid format for journaling
  • Prompt library for writing inspiration
  • Photo attachment to entries
  • Full text search functionality
  • Backup and restore options
  • HealthKit integration for steps and calories
Read full description

NOTICE: A new generation of Grid Diary has been released, and this version will stop updating on Dec 31, 2019. Please visit https://diary-help.sumi.io/migrate-from-classic/ to learn more. ====== Featured by Apple in New & Noteworthy and What’s Hot! "Grid Diary is a new way to look at journaling." - AppAdvice "It’s a well-designed, good-looking and intuitive app with a clear purpose." - InsideMobileApps Watch Grid Diary in action: http://vimeo.com/sumisumi/grid-diary-3 Did you ever try to keep a diary but never succeeded? Or did you have writer's block problem? Grid Diary is here for you. Grid Diary is introducing a unique way of writing a diary. In Grid Diary, diary entry is made up of a number of "Grids", which is as simple as a question, prompt, or etc. It is like a pre-defined template for the diary. Thinking and writing in this way is more effective, and it feels more natural and fluid. You still have total freedom in the amount of the grid and the text you want to fill in a grid. We started with a simple and clear purpose, and have always kept minimal design in mind. Through carefully crafted gestures, Grid Diary enhanced user experience in many ways. === FEATURES === • Unique grid format • Prompt library for writing inspirations • Photo attachment • Reading mode • Full text search-able • Backup and restore • Cloud input • Record daily number of steps and calorie consumption(via HealthKit) === PRO FEATURES === • Passcode lock • Sync (iCloud Drive / Dropbox / WebDAV) • Export in various formats • Multiple reminders • Customizable font styles • Night mode • Export to Evernote / Dropbox • Text formatting tools Pro is available in two pricing models: 1. $9.99 for one time purchase 2. $2.49 monthly subscription Please note that price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel the subscription once activated. Manage your subscriptions in Account Settings after purchase. ---- Having any problems? Any suggestions? We would love to hear from you! You can reach us at support at: • Website http://griddiaryapp.com • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GridDiary • Twitter https://twitter.com/GridDiary ---- Privacy Policy: https://griddiaryapp.com/support/privacy Terms of Service: https://griddiaryapp.com/support/terms

About

Personal Diary (Journal) App

This app provides a simple and secure digital space for journaling. It offers passcode and biometric protection, iCloud sync across devices, and the ability to add photos, moods, and weather to your entries. It's designed to be an accessible and ad-free journalling experience.

Highlights
  • Passcode & biometric protection
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Import photos into entries
  • Set mood and weather
  • Daily writing reminders
  • VoiceOver support
  • Dark Mode
Features
Read full description

"When all you want is the digital equivalent of a paper diary, this is the perfect one." - goyyboy "Loving the lighthearted feel of this deceptively powerful app." - plinkplok "Good and accessible with VoiceOver" - Allan.summers Need a simple, free, and easy-to-use journalling app? Meet Personal Diary! With no advertisements, limitations, nor any upfront cost, Personal Diary is your simplest and best journalling tool yet. Easily access all your entries in all your devices with iCloud Sync. Write diary entries without worrying that someone will peek at what you wrote, with passcode & biometric protection. Forgot about your diary? The app can 'summon' you back with a friendly nudge. You can also import as many photos as you wish into your entries. As an optional addition, you can set your mood, and add weather and tags to an entry. Notable Features: - Numeric passcode lock (any number of digits). - Unlock using Touch ID or Face ID on supported devices. - Auto-saves as you type. - Simple & easy to use. - Sync data between devices via iCloud Drive. - Ability to pick a mood and weather of the day. - Mood & weather can be automatically chosen. - Import photos to your entries. - Select a theme to suit your style. - Dark Mode for better night use. - VoiceOver fully supported. - Simple Rich Text editing supported. - Optimized for multitasking on iPad. - Full support for physical keyboards, trackpad, and mice. - watchOS keyboard support on Series 7+, and FlickType keyboard support for legacy watch models. - Fully compatible with all modern iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch* models. - Daily notifications for writing in your diary. - No advertisements & absolutely FREE! :D *Some features may not be available on the Apple Watch. Primary editing and viewing functions, such as the Timeline interface and entry editor, are available on the watch. Don't forget to let me know what you think of Personal Diary by leaving a review on the App Store! Reviews and ratings help and let other users find this app. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to send a feedback; I might be able to help! :) Warning: - Please do not forget your password. If you forget your password and your identity cannot be verified, you may not be able to access your data. This app allows you to tip/donate to directly support the development of this app through in-app purchases. No new features will be provided when you tip, it's just to support the app's development if you would like to. Selecting a Small/Medium/Large Tip will initiate a one-time payment for tipping. A Continuous Tip is an automatic-renewal subscription to tip every month, and will renew automatically every month unless it's turned off or cancelled (through your account settings) at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. For this, your Apple account will be charged when payment is confirmed, and charged for auto-renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the selected price. You may locate our terms at https://legal.wern.cc/app/terms and privacy policy at https://legal.wern.cc/app/privacy.

Screenshots

Grid Diary Classic4 screens
Personal Diary (Journal) App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Grid Diary Classic at 774 against Personal Diary (Journal) App's 106. Grid Diary Classic also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 weeks) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). Personal Diary (Journal) App's advantage is review sentiment (87% vs 77%) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, rating, 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. Grid Diary Classic sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and Personal Diary (Journal) App sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 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 — 4.4 for Grid Diary Classic against 4.4 for Personal Diary (Journal) App. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Grid Diary Classic has 774 ratings behind it against 106, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Grid Diary Classic's written reviews are positive against 87% of Personal Diary (Journal) App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grid Diary Classic ships an update every 3 weeks, Personal Diary (Journal) App every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Grid Diary Classic versus Personal Diary (Journal) App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrid Diary ClassicPersonal Diary (Journal) App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (774 ratings) — better4.4 (106 ratings)
Positive reviews76.6% of reviews87.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings774 — better106
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSumi InteractiveWern Jie Lim

Customer experience

Grid Diary Classic

All ratings773 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral4.5%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews1,152 reviews
Positive76.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative17.1%

Personal Diary (Journal) App

All ratings104 ratings
Positive82.7%
Neutral9.6%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews183 reviews
Positive87.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative7.7%

User reviews

Grid Diary Classic

From 774 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 📝 Helps with daily reflection and journaling
  • 🎨 Clean and minimalist design
  • 🔍 Customizable prompts and templates
  • 🌐 Syncs across devices

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Paid version required for password protection
  • 🖼️ Limited photo storage in free version
  • 🌐 Sync issues for some users
  • 💰 Concerns over transition to subscription model
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs

Personal Diary (Journal) App

From 106 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Simple and easy to use
  • 🔒 Secure with passcode/Touch ID
  • 🌤️ Ability to track mood and weather
  • 📸 Option to add photos
  • 🔍 Useful search functionality

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 🗓️ Lack of calendar view to easily navigate entries
  • 🔍 Search functionality could be improved
  • 📁 Issues with syncing and backing up data
  • 🤖 Automatic mood/weather detection not always accurate

Bugs and requests

Grid Diary Classic

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Upgrade issues and failed purchases
  • Entries disappearing or being deleted
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • More font and color customization options
  • Integration with calendar and other apps
  • Ability to export/backup journal entries
  • More emotion/mood options
  • Desktop/web version

Personal Diary (Journal) App

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Entries sometimes disappear or fail to load
  • Passcode/Touch ID not working reliably
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Unexpected crashes when opening the app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to password protect individual entries
  • Implement calendar view for better navigation
  • Allow adding videos and other media types
  • Improve search capabilities with advanced filters
  • Provide better data backup and export options

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Grid Diary Classic

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Subscription$2.491 Month
One-time1
  • Upgrade to Pro$9.99
4 purchases

Personal Diary (Journal) App

Subscriptions1
  • Continuous Tip$1.991 Month
One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Grid Diary Classic free?
Grid Diary Classic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Personal Diary (Journal) App free?
Personal Diary (Journal) App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Grid Diary Classic or Personal Diary (Journal) App?
Grid Diary Classic is rated higher. Grid Diary Classic averages 4.4 out of 5 from 774 ratings, while Personal Diary (Journal) App averages 4.4 from 106 ratings.
Do Grid Diary Classic or Personal Diary (Journal) App have ads?
Neither Grid Diary Classic nor Personal Diary (Journal) App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grid Diary Classic or Personal Diary (Journal) App?
Grid Diary Classic ships an update every 3 weeks, and Personal Diary (Journal) App every 5 weeks. Most recently, Grid Diary Classic was updated on November 1, 2026 and Personal Diary (Journal) App on November 2, 2026.

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