Comparison

Smart Mood Journal vs Anchor

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

Anchor

This app offers a unique routine tracker designed for individuals with ADHD, focusing on continuous progress rather than streaks. It features an on-device AI companion for personalized check-ins and weekly reflections, with options for enhanced features through an optional Pro subscription.

Highlights
  • Chain-based progress tracking (no broken streaks)
  • On-device AI companion for personalized check-ins
  • Hard Day Mode to simplify routines
  • Daily check-in and personalized weekly letters
  • Routine linking to existing habits
  • Medication reminders
  • Optional Pro features like unlimited routines and AI memory
Features
Read full description

Every habit app starts the same way. You build a streak. Then life gets heavy, and the app shows you a broken streak or a zero. You feel like you failed. You stop opening it. That's not you. That's an app that wasn't built for your brain. Anchor is different. Anchor is a daily routine companion built specifically for ADHD brains. There are no streaks to break. Instead, every day you show up adds a link to your chain. Miss a day? The chain adds a softer, quieter link and keeps growing. Nothing resets to zero. Your chain never breaks - not ever. Because missing days isn't a failure. It's ADHD. YOUR COMPANION Anchor includes an on-device AI companion that checks in with you, helps you shrink an overwhelming day down to just one routine, and writes you a personal weekly letter reading your real week back to you with kindness. Unlike other apps, Anchor's AI runs entirely on your iPhone using Apple Intelligence. Nothing - your routines, your patterns, your letters - is ever sent anywhere. No account. No cloud. No subscription required to start. WHAT ANCHOR DOES Your chain never breaks: every day you show up adds a link. Miss a day, and a softer link is added. Nothing ever resets to zero. On-device AI companion: warm morning check-ins based on your real routines. Not a generic "Great job!" Your real week. Hard Day Mode: feeling overwhelmed? Anchor shows only your most important routine and hides the rest. One thing. That's enough. Daily check-in: tell your companion what kind of day you're having. It adjusts what it shows you and how it talks to you. Link your routines: connect each routine to something you already do ("After my morning coffee: Morning meds"). This method can double follow-through for ADHD brains. Weekly personal letter: once a week, your companion writes you a short letter about your week. Not generic encouragement. Your stats, your patterns, your wins. Alexa announcements (Pro): phone notifications are easy to ignore. Anchor can announce your routines on any Alexa in your home. Morning, afternoon, and evening blocks: see only what you need right now. Medication reminders: on hard days, medication routines are automatically prioritized. No red states. No guilt. No broken streaks. FREE FOREVER Start with up to 3 routines. Your chain and all your history are yours forever - no expiry, no nag screens, no data held hostage. Show up consistently and Anchor unlocks more routine slots automatically - no purchase required. ANCHOR PRO (OPTIONAL) Pro adds a companion that learns you over time - your specific routines, your patterns across weeks, which days run harder, what's becoming automatic. After a few weeks it starts noticing things: "Tuesdays look harder for you - that's just data, not a verdict." Pro includes: Unlimited routines Companion memory - learns your patterns week over week Weekly personal letter, written about your real week "Too much today?" - shrink your day to one routine Alexa announcements - hear your routines spoken aloud in your home, not just on your phone Everything runs on your phone. Nothing sent anywhere. Pro is $2.99/month or $24.99 once - yours forever, no recurring charge. PRIVACY Everything stays on your phone. There is no Anchor account, no server, no analytics. When you delete the app, everything goes with it. Anchor's AI uses Apple Intelligence - running entirely on your device, not ours. The AI companion requires a device that supports Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro or later). On every other iPhone, the chain, routines, and reminders work beautifully - nothing is greyed out or locked. BUILT FOR YOU Anchor was built for adults with ADHD who've tried every habit app and stopped using them. If the app ever made you feel worse about yourself, this is what we built instead. No shame. No broken chains. Terms of Use: https://workstreamapps.com/anchor/terms

Screenshots

Smart Mood Journal4 screens
Anchor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Smart Mood Journal at every 2 days against Anchor's weekly. Smart Mood Journal also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 and Anchor sells 2 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Smart Mood Journal against 5.0 for Anchor. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Mood Journal ships an update every 2 days, Anchor weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Smart Mood Journal versus Anchor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart Mood JournalAnchor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (7 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGary CoxDavid Cavill

Customer experience

Smart Mood Journal

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

Anchor

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Smart Mood Journal

One-time1
  • Unlock All Emojis$2.99
2 purchases

Anchor

Subscriptions1
  • Anchor Pro$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Anchor Pro — Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is Smart Mood Journal free?
Smart Mood Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Anchor free?
Anchor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Smart Mood Journal or Anchor?
Anchor is rated higher. Smart Mood Journal averages 4.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Anchor averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Smart Mood Journal or Anchor have ads?
Neither Smart Mood Journal nor Anchor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smart Mood Journal or Anchor?
Smart Mood Journal ships an update every 2 days, and Anchor weekly. Most recently, Smart Mood Journal was updated on October 6, 2026 and Anchor on October 5, 2026.

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