OneLife vs the waterfall
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OneLife
This app offers a private journaling experience with a vintage feel. It allows users to revisit past entries from the same date, creating a nostalgic journey. All data is stored locally on your device, with optional iCloud sync for safekeeping.
- Vintage diary experience
- Daily past entry reviews
- Local data storage
- Optional iCloud sync
- Add multiple photos
- Customizable review times
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OneLife Diary is a well-crafted vintage and private diary. Every day, it presents you with entries from the same date in the past week, month, or year, offering a nostalgic journey through time. Using OneLife Diary feels like opening a physical diary book. We've meticulously integrated elements that mimic the experience of a real diary, making journaling a delightful experience and adding a touch of warmth when revisiting your entries. Your privacy is our priority. All your diary data is stored on your device and never uploaded to any server. However, you can sync all data to your iCloud account for safekeeping. For those interested in our OneLife Plus membership, it offers: ◎ Unlimited access to all premium features including iCloud sync, launch to record, add more than 3 photos, new icons, and all review time options. ◎ Flexible subscription options: monthly or yearly. Charges will be applied to your iTunes account upon confirmation of payment. The automatic renewal extends your subscription for another billing cycle 24 hours before expiration. You can disable automatic renewal in your device's "Settings - Apple ID - Subscriptions" menu anytime. ◎ A one-time purchase option for a lifetime membership, including all future updates. Terms of Use: https://mindfm.notion.site/d54911ee9cf741b2b2b0e20f82e5652e Privacy Policy: https://mindfm.notion.site/265cda07fa7d4744b76ac905be829782
the waterfall
This app serves as a personal introspection companion, allowing users to record thoughts, ideas, and memories. It features guided questions for deeper self-reflection, supports Markdown for expressive text, and allows tagging and image association with entries. Data is stored locally and synced with iCloud for privacy.
- Guided self-reflection questions
- Markdown support for text
- Tagging and image association
- Local data storage with iCloud sync
- Pinning important memories
- Record reading notes and movie reviews
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Waterfall —— More than just a diary app, it's your personal introspection companion. Waterfall is committed to helping you think, remember, and discover the beauty in life. As a unique diary app, the charm of Waterfall lies in its potential to touch every detail of life. Here, you can record your thoughts and ideas. Furthermore, our question feature allows for deeper pondering — just hold down on a diary entry and prompt yourself with a question, like "What did you eat today?", "What are you thinking about?", or "Was there something today that made you happy?". Each question is a deep dive into your own self-reflection. Moreover, Waterfall is fully featured — it supports Markdown, making your text even more expressive. You can also associate tags and pictures with your memories, turning them into visual echoes. So, what exactly can Waterfall record? The answer is: almost everything. Apart from life's snippets, you can use it to log your reading notes, movie reviews, and even life goals. Pin important things to remind yourself to always keep up the enthusiasm for life. In the end, we hope that you enjoy your time with Waterfall, where each day, you can cherish the last moment of the day and reminisce about the day's experiences. Here, every day, you have your own waterfall. It's worth noting that Waterfall takes your privacy very seriously. All your data are stored locally and automatically synced with iCloud, visible only to you. At Waterfall, your privacy is always given the highest level of protection. May you have a beautiful day with Waterfall. Wishing you a waterfall day.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: OneLife at every 3 weeks against the waterfall's every 3 months. 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
Both are free to download. OneLife sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and the waterfall sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for OneLife against 5.0 for the waterfall. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 5 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of OneLife's written reviews are positive against 88% of the waterfall's.
OneLife ships an update every 3 weeks, the waterfall every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | OneLife | the waterfall |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 95.2% of reviews — better | 88.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 87 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 炜东 黄 | 文杰 李 |
Customer experience
OneLife
the waterfall
In-app purchases
OneLife
- Monthly$0.991 Month
- Yearly (Education)$7.991 Year
- Yearly$9.991 Year
- Lifetime$19.99
the waterfall
- WATERFALL UPGRADE$7.99








