Comparison

Diary with Lock vs Dear Diary,

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

Head to head
About

Diary with Lock

Securely record daily thoughts, feelings, and memories with a customizable, password-protected digital journal. Enhance entries with photos, audio, and a mood tracker to understand your emotional journey. Offers prompts and themes for inspiration and organization.

Highlights
  • Password and Face ID protection
  • Multimedia entries (photos, audio)
  • Mood tracking calendar
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • Journal prompts
  • Tagging for organization
  • Cloud backup
Features
Read full description

Diary with Lock: Daily Diary - your free, no-ads online diary! Easily capture your daily moments, track your feelings, and organize your thoughts with our secure, password-protected diary. Create your own space with fun personalized styles. Whether you want to release stress or celebrate your wins, Daily Diary is always here to listen! WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM DIARY: - Personalized diary with various fonts, colors, stickers, and layouts - Protection for your diary with PIN & Face ID - Multimedia options with photo and audio to enrich your diary - 70+ backgrounds and themes to fit your diary styles - Mood calendar to track and visualize mood changes alongside your diary entries - Tags for easy categorization and searching of diary entries - Journal prompts on various topics to spark your diary - Custom notifications to keep your diary habit - Cloud backup to safeguard your memories # DIARY WITH PASSWORD Your privacy is our top priority! With Daily Diary, You can protect your diary with various security options, including PIN & Face ID, ensuring your diary is just for your eyes. # DESIGN YOUR OWN DIARY Customize your diary experience! Enjoy unlimited text input options with a variety of fonts, colors, and styles (like bold or italic). Also, with exciting stickers and fun emojis, you can add a little extra fun to your every diary page. # MOOD JOURNEY IN YOUR DIARY Add your mood to your diary entries and see how it changes over time with our mood calendar. This helps you understand your feelings better and take care of your mental health. # DIARY MORE THAN WORDS Your diary is more than just writing! Include photos and audio clips in your diary to fully capture your life and relive those cherished memories whenever you want. # 70+ DIARY THEMES & BACKGROUNDS With 70+ constantly updated themes and backgrounds, your diary can reflect your unique style! From playful patterns to serene landscapes, customize your diary to suit your vibe. # VARIOUS DIARY PROMPTS Spark your diary inspiration with a range of curated prompts! Covering all aspects of life, including gratitude, mental health (like journaling for mental health), emotions, motivation, health, confidence, creativity, and more, these prompts will enrich your diary experience. # TAG YOUR DIARY Stay organized with diary tags! Easily categorize your diary with tags like #Love, #Food, and #Trip, so you can quickly search for specific entries when you want to revisit those cherished memories. # BUILD A DIARY HABIT Never miss a moment! Set reminders to make your diary a daily habit, making it easy to capture your thoughts and experiences every day. # BACKUP YOUR DIARY Secure your precious memories! With our Cloud backup, your diary data is securely stored and always ready for you. You can easily switch devices without the risk of losing your diary. Ready to start your diary journey? With our diary app, you can easily capture your thoughts, feelings, and memories. No matter where you are, your diary is right by your side. Download now and make your diary a special part of your life.

About

Dear Diary,

Features
Read full description

However today finds you — you're welcome here. Dear Diary, is a private diary for people who could never quite stick with journaling, and for the nights it gets heavy. It's tiny when you want it — one line is a win — and there for you when you need more than a blank page. Vent, then close the page. When something's too much, set it down. Then, if you like, a gentle companion meets you: it reflects your own words back, helps you name what you're feeling, and leaves you a little lighter. It's on your device, it's yours, and it's comfort — not therapy. Private to the bone. No account. No sign-in. No ads, no tracking, no one reading your words — not even the developer. Lock an entry and it's truly encrypted. Keep a hidden journal. Export everything, anytime. Your words never leave your device unless you turn on sync to your own private iCloud. A diary that remembers with you. • Write, talk it out, or brain-dump — one line or a page • A calm space for hard moments: breathe, ground, be kind to yourself • Notice the gentle threads that run through your days • Letters to your future self, sealed until a date you choose • Soundtrack an entry with the song you had on • Look back gently — your patterns, your constellation, your year • Moods, tags, photos, voice memos, calendar, and On This Day Made to feel like yours. Templates and prompts for when the page feels daunting, themes and colors to make it home, and a design that stays calm and out of the way. Free, and fair. Writing, the gentle close, crisis resources, locking, and export are free forever. Dear Diary, Plus adds the deeper reflective views, unlimited letters, soundtracks, Apple Health, and cross-device sync — with no retroactive paywalls. What you buy, you keep. A note on care. Dear Diary, is a journaling companion, not therapy or medical treatment. If you're struggling, please reach out to someone you trust or a crisis line — there's a support card a tap away. Named in tribute to the Bring Me The Horizon song. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the band. — Support & privacy Questions or feedback: venetsia@icloud.com Support: https://venetsia.github.io/dear-diary-support/ Privacy Policy: https://venetsia.github.io/dear-diary-support/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://venetsia.github.io/dear-diary-support/terms.html

Screenshots

Diary with Lock4 screens
Dear Diary,4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Diary with Lock at none against Dear Diary,'s 3. Diary with Lock also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, 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. Dear Diary, sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Diary with Lock asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Diary with Lock versus Dear Diary,: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDiary with LockDear Diary,
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (932 ratings) — better
Positive reviews96.1% of reviews
Number of ratings932 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size150 MB7 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperSimple HealthVenetsia Krasteva

Bugs and requests

Diary with Lock

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More background and font options
  • Ability to move photos freely
  • Draw own drawings
  • Additional background themes

Dear Diary,

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Diary with Lock

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Dear Diary,

Subscriptions2
  • Dear Diary Plus (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Dear Diary Plus (Yearly)14 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Dear Diary Plus (Lifetime)$69.99

Questions

Is Diary with Lock free?
Diary with Lock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dear Diary, free?
Dear Diary, is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Diary with Lock or Dear Diary, have ads?
Neither Diary with Lock nor Dear Diary, shows ads.

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