Comparison

Gather vs Quick Journal

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

Head to head
About

Gather

Capture and organize your ideas, moments, and inspirations with a multimedia field recorder. This privacy-focused app allows quick collection of text, images, and videos, with offline functionality and on-device storage.

Highlights
  • Offline functionality
  • Privacy-focused, no ads or tracking
  • Quick multimedia capture
  • Organize and connect notes
  • Review moments in a feed
  • Are.na integration
  • Open-source
Features
Read full description

Develop your curiosity and personal taste with Gather, a multimedia field recorder for cultivating your personal archive of ideas, moments, and rituals. Key Features: * Offline-Capable: Full functionality without internet connection * Privacy-Focused: No ads, no logins, no tracking and all data is stored on-device* * Quick Capture: Collect everyday inspiration and moments on-the-go as fast as texting yourself * Organize: Connect unorganized blocks later while in transit or after getting home, so you don’t have to worry about organizing when collecting. * Review: Revisit your favorite moments and curb your social media addiction while scratching your scroll itch in a TikTok-like feed Additional Benefits: * Multimedia support: collect text, images, videos, and links! Support for more types like audio on the horizon * Are.na Integration: Sync selected collections and blocks to give them an online home * Personalization: Customize app icons and configure the interface through detailed settings * Share extension: quickly save text, images, and links from other apps * Open-Source: Transparent, secure, and community-driven Gather was developed by a person (Spencer) for their own use, which means it has the best interests of the person using it in mind. No dark patterns or corporate shenanigans, ever. * this doesn’t include content that you decide to sync to external providers --- Gather is made and maintained by Spencer Chang, an indie engineer and internet artist based in San Francisco, California. You can learn more about the philosophy behind Gather in this interview with Are.na (https://www.are.na/editorial/an-interview-with-spencer-chang) Gather emerged from a personal need for a tool to facilitate my own archival practice—something that helped me collect the daily inspiration I encountered, connect them to relevant containers, and revisit ideas that important to me. More info: https://gather.directory/ Privacy Policy: https://gather.directory/privacy

About

Quick Journal

This app offers a straightforward journaling experience with extensive customization options. Personalize themes, fonts, icons, and layouts to create your ideal digital notebook. Widgets and draft saving features enhance usability for daily reflection.

Highlights
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • App icon and layout personalization
  • Home screen widgets
  • Save entries as drafts
  • Copy and share entries
Features
Read full description

Quick Journal is the simplest way to keep a journal. You can customize your journal's theme, fonts, app icon, layout, and even where the composer button is placed. To help you write or keep track of your entries, the app features widgets you can put on your home screen. You can copy or share your entries. You can always come back to an entry later by saving it as a draft, just swipe down and the entry will be saved. Hope you enjoy! EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Gather4 screens
Quick Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Quick Journal at none against Gather's 7. Quick Journal also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks). Gather's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. Gather sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Quick Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Gather holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 29 and 24 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Gather's written reviews are positive against 86% of Quick Journal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gather ships an update every 6 weeks, Quick Journal every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Gather versus Quick Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGatherQuick Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (29 ratings) — better4.7 (24 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better86.4% of reviews
Number of ratings29 — better24
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.5 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSpencer ChangCharlie Deets

Customer experience

Gather

All ratings29 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Quick Journal

All ratings24 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive86.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative9.1%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Gather

One-time7
  • Gather Contribution$2.99
  • Gather Contribution$5.99
  • Gather Contribution$9.99
Show 4 more
  • Gather Contribution$12.99
  • Gather Contribution$34.99
  • Gather Contribution$59.99
  • Gather Contribution$99.99
None

Quick Journal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gather free?
Gather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Quick Journal free?
Quick Journal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Gather or Quick Journal?
Gather is rated higher. Gather averages 5.0 out of 5 from 29 ratings, while Quick Journal averages 4.7 from 24 ratings.
Do Gather or Quick Journal have ads?
Neither Gather nor Quick Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Gather or Quick Journal?
Gather ships an update every 6 weeks, and Quick Journal every 9 days. Most recently, Gather was updated on October 7, 2026 and Quick Journal on October 23, 2026.

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