# Fairway Journal vs Journal 18

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Fairway Journal at 94% against Journal 18's 0%. Fairway Journal also leads on ads (none vs shown). Journal 18's advantage is rating (3.6 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 8). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Fairway Journal sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Journal 18 asks for nothing beyond the download.

Journal 18 holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 5 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 94% of Fairway Journal's written reviews are positive against 0% of Journal 18's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Fairway Journal ships an update every 2 weeks, Journal 18 weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Fairway Journal | Journal 18 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fairway-journal-golf-tracker/id6740166865/reviews) | **[3.6 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-18-golf-stat-tracker/id6763449176/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **5** |
| Positive reviews | **94.1% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 130 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lucas Rapp](https://appshunter.io/developer/1788684505) | [Travis Zappia](https://appshunter.io/developer/1887379522) |

## What reviewers say

### Fairway Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fairway-journal-golf-tracker/id6740166865)

Track your golf rounds, visualize your playing history on an interactive map, and collect digital representations of courses played. Compare your performance with friends and global leaderboards, and create wishlists of dream courses.

**Highlights:** Digital ball collection for played courses, Interactive map of played courses, Bucket list and top-10 course features, Global and friends leaderboards, Effortless round entry and trend charts, Course import and creation, Tournament trophy tracking

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Yearly Subscription | $9.99 | per year |
| Championship 2026 – Aronimink | $0.99 | one-time |
| Rydercup 2025 Team Europe | $0.99 | one-time |
| Rydercup 2025 Team USA | $0.99 | one-time |
| Golfball US Open 2025 | $0.99 | one-time |
| 2. Major 2025 – Ball | $0.99 | one-time |
| Pro Version | $19.99 | one-time |


### Journal 18

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-18-golf-stat-tracker/id6763449176)

Transform your handwritten golf scorecards into detailed performance insights. This app uses AI to read your game data from photos or manual entry, revealing trends and areas for improvement. Track your rounds, drives, and approaches to lower your score.

**Highlights:** Digitize handwritten scorecards with AI, Track round history and scoring trends, Analyze drive patterns and approach proximity, Identify biggest opportunities for stroke reduction, Manual entry option for scores and stats, Compare performance to handicap benchmarks

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Fairway Journal free?

Fairway Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Journal 18 free?

Journal 18 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Fairway Journal or Journal 18?

Journal 18 is rated higher. Fairway Journal averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Journal 18 averages 3.6 from 5 ratings.

### Do Fairway Journal or Journal 18 have ads?

Journal 18 shows ads; Fairway Journal does not.

### Which is updated more often, Fairway Journal or Journal 18?

Fairway Journal ships an update every 2 weeks, and Journal 18 weekly. Most recently, Fairway Journal was updated on October 21, 2026 and Journal 18 on October 31, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*