# Smart Mood Journal vs Dear Affirmations

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.

Both are free to download. Smart Mood Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Dear Affirmations asks for nothing beyond the download.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Smart Mood Journal | Dear Affirmations |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-mood-journal/id6448320795/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dear-affirmations/id6760726078/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **7** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 3 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Gary Cox](https://appshunter.io/developer/1083086974) | [Care On the Way, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1801403970) |

## What reviewers say

### Smart Mood Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-mood-journal/id6448320795)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock All Emojis | $2.99 | one-time |


### Dear Affirmations

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dear-affirmations/id6760726078)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*