Comparison

Stella vs Brain Dump Journal

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

Head to head
About

Stella

Easily log your work hours with a simple timer. Track time spent on specific tasks, view daily summaries, and analyze session breakdowns. Offers features like color-coding, memos, and home screen widgets for efficient time management.

Highlights
  • Task-based time tracking
  • Session breakdown with memos
  • Daily and total hour calculation
  • Color-coded tasks
  • Home screen widgets
  • Dark mode support
  • Manual time input
Features
Read full description

Track work hours, keep a clear timesheet, and see exactly where your day went. Stella is a simple personal time tracker for work, shifts, freelance tasks, study sessions, and focused work. Start a task in seconds, stop when you are done, and Stella builds your time log automatically. Review daily totals and individual sessions without complicated setup or messy spreadsheets. Use Stella to: - Track work hours with a simple start and stop timer - Keep a timesheet and time log organized by task - Review daily totals from the calendar - See every session's start time, stop time, and duration - Add notes to sessions - Organize tasks with color coding - View Home Screen widgets and Live Activities - See daily charts by task - Add or edit time manually when you forget to start the timer - Access stats and longer history with premium - Sync your data with iCloud using premium Whether you are recording a shift, tracking freelance hours, studying, or staying accountable during deep work, Stella gives you a straightforward record of how you spent your time. Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/stella-privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Brain Dump Journal

Read full description

"Brain Dump Journal" is your own private journal for the thoughts, feelings, and second-guesses that come up during the day. No title and no date picker—the date and time are saved for you, so you can write on the commute or right after a meeting. There is no need to write at length. Organizing and digging deeper can wait. PERFECT FOR • Those who leave a meeting with a nagging thought and lose it by lunch • Anyone whose notes app is full of half-written thoughts they can never find again • People with things they can't post on social media, who want a place that is only theirs • Those who want to notice their own patterns instead of letting an app guess them • Anyone preparing for interviews or a career change who needs the raw material FEATURES • Write whatever is on your mind, the way you'd text yourself • The date and time are saved automatically—no need to set them yourself • Tag by work, life, feelings, or lessons—whatever axis you actually think in (10 tags on the free plan) • Filter by date range, tag, or favorites to look back over past entries • "Rediscovery" brings up a past entry at random (10 per day on the free plan) • Attach photos to keep the context of the moment (2 per entry on the free plan, 8 with Pro) • iCloud sync, so your entries follow you to your next iPhone • Write offline, anytime WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS APP 1. One line is enough to clear your head Nothing to format. Half a thought counts. The timestamp is saved for you—a few seconds with one hand, and it's done. 2. Remarkably easy to find again Filter by tag, date range, or favorites, and search the text itself. "What was I thinking that day?" is seconds away. 3. Nothing you wrote gets buried "Rediscovery" brings up a past entry at random, and a thought you'd forgotten becomes something that helps you today. PRIVACY Your entries stay on your device and in your own iCloud. There is no social sharing, and nothing leaves the app unless you export it yourself. Nothing is analyzed or scored by AI—and that is deliberate. PRO PLAN For a more comfortable experience, we offer a Pro Plan that removes ads and unlocks all features. One-time purchase with no monthly subscription. • Ad-free experience • Significantly more image attachments (from 2 to 8 per entry) • Unlimited tags (10 on the free plan) • Pin up to 6 frequently used tags • Unlimited "Rediscovery" • PDF and text export (by date range or tag) Before purchasing the Pro Plan, please review: Privacy Policy: https://giversthankapp.com/privacy-policy-for-reflection-journal-en/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms.html When you need to think it through, get it off your chest, or figure yourself out— Clear your head with "Brain Dump Journal".

Screenshots

Stella4 screens
Brain Dump Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Brain Dump Journal at every 5 days against Stella's every 3 weeks. Stella's advantage is iOS requirement (16.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Stella sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Brain Dump Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stella ships an update every 3 weeks, Brain Dump Journal every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Stella versus Brain Dump Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStellaBrain Dump Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (26 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings26 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJordan HollandRYOTA SUZUKI

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Stella

Subscriptions2
  • Stella Premium$2.991 Month
  • Stella Premium7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Stella Premium$29.99
1 purchases

Brain Dump Journal

One-time1
  • Pro$12.99

Questions

Is Stella free?
Stella is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Brain Dump Journal free?
Brain Dump Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Stella or Brain Dump Journal have ads?
Both Stella and Brain Dump Journal show ads.
Which is updated more often, Stella or Brain Dump Journal?
Stella ships an update every 3 weeks, and Brain Dump Journal every 5 days. Most recently, Stella was updated on October 16, 2026 and Brain Dump Journal on October 13, 2026.

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