Comparison

Smart Mood Journal vs Dear Affirmations

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

Head to head
About

Smart Mood Journal

This app helps you monitor your emotions and thoughts to improve your emotional well-being. Log your mood with emojis and notes, add photos to entries, and analyze trends over time with interactive charts. It offers custom reminders and secure on-device storage for your private journal.

Highlights
  • Photo journaling
  • Quick mood logging
  • Mood analysis and trends
  • Custom reminders
  • Secure on-device storage
  • Journal search
Features
Read full description

Track Your Mood, Journal Your Thoughts, and Gain Emotional Insights! Elevate your emotional well-being with our easy-to-use mood tracking and journaling app. Whether you're exploring your feelings, setting personal growth goals, or just want to understand yourself better, Mood Tracker & Private Journal is here to guide you. Top Features You'll Love: • Photo Journaling: Add photos to your entries to capture the full story of your day. • Quick Mood Logging: Choose an emoji or mood from the list, add notes, and save effortlessly. • Added Urge tracking: monitor intensity, frequency and provides affirmations and encouragement. • Analyze Your Moods: Discover patterns, identify trends, and learn from interactive charts and insights. • Emotional Trends Over Time: See how your moods change daily, weekly, and monthly to reflect on your emotional growth. • Custom Reminders: Never forget to track your mood with gentle reminders. • Privacy First: Your data stays private with secure on-device storage and iCloud backup options. • Search Your Journal: Quickly revisit memories and gain insights into past experiences. Why Choose This App? Simple and user-friendly interface for all ages. Track your mental health and build positive habits. Celebrate progress with milestones and inspirational quotes. Take Control of Your Emotional Well-Being! • Start your journey towards self-awareness, mindfulness, and emotional growth today.  • Perfect for anyone seeking to reduce stress, boost happiness, or manage emotions effectively. Download Mood Tracker & Private Journal now and discover the power of self-reflection!

About

Dear Affirmations

This app offers daily positive affirmations and self-care tools to support your wellness journey. It features over 2,000 affirmations, mood tracking, a personal journal, and customizable reminders to encourage reflection and growth.

Highlights
  • 2,000+ affirmations in 19 categories
  • Daily affirmation matched to mood
  • Wellness trend tracking
  • Year in Pixels mood history
  • Personal journal with mood logging
  • Customizable affirmations
  • Daily reminders and streaks
Features
Read full description

Dear Affirmations is your daily companion for encouragement, reflection, and self-care. Whether you are on your own wellness journey or supporting someone you love, this app meets you where you are. What's inside: -2,000+ affirmations across 19 categories, from confidence and gratitude to grief and loss, relationships, family, and care provider support - A daily affirmation matched to your mood: Feeling Good, Feeling Okay, or Need Support - Your Wellness, a new section that tracks your 5-level wellness trend over time, surfaces personal patterns, and shows you who you are becoming, not just how you feel today - Year in Pixels, a full monthly view of your mood history so you can see your journey at a glance - A personal journal to write reflections, log your mood, and attach affirmations to your entries - Favorites so you can save the affirmations that speak to you and revisit them anytime - Create your own affirmations and save them in your own words - A home screen widget to carry today's affirmation with you everywhere - Read aloud so affirmations and journal entries can be spoken to you - Daily reminders with gentle nudges at the times that work for you - Streaks to celebrate your consistency, one day at a time - Built for everyone: Full Dynamic Type support, VoiceOver compatibility, Reduce Motion, and high contrast so everyone can use it comfortably. - Your privacy, always: Everything stays on your device and syncs privately via iCloud. No account. No ads. No tracking. Who it's for: Dear Affirmations is for anyone who needs a moment of encouragement. Whether you are on your own wellness journey, supporting someone you love, or showing up every day as a care provider, this app is for you. Dear Affirmations is a product of Care On the Way, LLC. www.careontheway.com

Screenshots

Smart Mood Journal4 screens
Dear Affirmations4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dear Affirmations at none against Smart Mood Journal's 1. Dear Affirmations also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 2 days). Smart Mood Journal's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Smart Mood Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Dear Affirmations asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Smart Mood Journal against 5.0 for Dear Affirmations. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Mood Journal has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Mood Journal ships an update every 2 days, Dear Affirmations daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Smart Mood Journal versus Dear Affirmations: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart Mood JournalDear Affirmations
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (7 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGary CoxCare On the Way, LLC

Customer experience

Smart Mood Journal

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Dear Affirmations

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Smart Mood Journal

One-time1
  • Unlock All Emojis$2.99
None

Dear Affirmations

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Smart Mood Journal free?
Smart Mood Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dear Affirmations free?
Dear Affirmations is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Smart Mood Journal or Dear Affirmations?
Dear Affirmations is rated higher. Smart Mood Journal averages 4.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Dear Affirmations averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Smart Mood Journal or Dear Affirmations have ads?
Neither Smart Mood Journal nor Dear Affirmations shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smart Mood Journal or Dear Affirmations?
Smart Mood Journal ships an update every 2 days, and Dear Affirmations daily. Most recently, Smart Mood Journal was updated on November 3, 2026 and Dear Affirmations on October 31, 2026.

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