Quick Journal vs HourStory
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Customizable themes and fonts
- App icon and layout personalization
- Home screen widgets
- Save entries as drafts
- Copy and share entries
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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/
HourStory
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Hourstory is the couples app for days spent apart. Every hour, share one small moment (a photo, a short video, a voice note or a few words) and let your partner watch your day unfold. "How was your day?" "Fine. Busy." By evening the details have faded. Hourstory keeps the small things from fading, so your partner is there for the coffee at 8am, the rain at noon and the quiet moment at 3pm when you thought of them. MADE FOR LONG DISTANCE AND BUSY DAYS APART Different cities, different time zones or just different offices: Hourstory gives you a daily rhythm of staying close. No pressure to perform, and no endless texting to explain your day. Just one small moment, every hour. SHARE YOUR DAY, ONE HOUR AT A TIME • A gentle hourly nudge asks: what's around you right now? • Capture a photo, 5-second video, voice note or short written note • Crop, filter and add text with the built-in photo editor • Mark an hour "nothing special". A quiet hour still counts • Missed an hour? Fill it in afterward • No signal? Your moment uploads on its own when you're back online A SHARED TIMELINE FOR TWO • See your hours and your partner's side by side • Every moment keeps the hour it happened for them, so it works across time zones • Watch their day live, or catch up with an end-of-day story • Heart a moment, reply to it, send a voice message or tap "thinking of you" • One private chat, just the two of you RELIVE EVERY DAY TOGETHER • Memories: every ordinary day, one tap away, like a photo diary you share • Watch any day play back as a short film • Weekly, monthly and yearly film recaps • Pin the moments worth keeping • Streaks that reward showing up SEE YOUR RHYTHM • Your stats: your peak hour, your busiest weekday, your streaks • Sync: see where your days overlap, hour by hour PRIVATE AND PERSONAL • Private mode: moments only you can see, even from your partner • Pick your own colors, one for you and one for them, and a background that feels like home • Export your moments any time, and delete your account whenever you like WHO IS HOURSTORY FOR? • Long distance couples • Partners in different time zones or on different schedules • Couples who travel for work, study abroad or work shifts • Any boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife or partner who wants to share the little things HOURSTORY PREMIUM Hourstory is free to download. When you and your partner pair, you both get 3 days of full Premium. After that, keep sharing moments with a Premium subscription. One subscription covers you both. Premium keeps your moments flowing after the trial and unlocks unlimited video moments, your full Memories archive, Sync insights, custom colors and backgrounds, unlimited Private mode, film recaps, voice messages and data export. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription any time in your Apple ID account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Download Hourstory and start your first hour together. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internal/terms/site/appstore.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Quick Journal at none against HourStory's 2. HourStory's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.4). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. HourStory sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Quick Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.
Quick Journal ships an update every 9 days, HourStory every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Quick Journal | HourStory |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (24 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 24 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Charlie Deets | Faizan Un Nabi Gillani |
In-app purchases
Quick Journal
No in-app purchases
HourStory
- HourStory Monthly$8.991 Month
- HourStory Yearly$49.991 Year
Questions
Is Quick Journal free?
Is HourStory free?
Do Quick Journal or HourStory have ads?
Which is updated more often, Quick Journal or HourStory?
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