Comparison

First Timers vs Inkwell

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

Head to head
About

First Timers

Document and cherish your life's first experiences, from trying new foods to visiting new places. Capture these moments with photos, notes, and ratings, and organize them by category. Enjoy a private and secure journal with smart calendar views and detailed statistics.

Highlights
  • Log first experiences with photos and notes
  • Categorize experiences by type
  • Private and secure local storage
  • Calendar and list views
  • Detailed statistics and insights
  • Share experiences and statistics
  • Light and dark mode support
Features
Read full description

First Timers: Your Personal First Experience Journal Celebrate and remember all of life's first experiences with First Timers - the perfect app for tracking every new adventure, big or small. Whether it's trying a new cuisine, visiting a new place, or learning a new skill, FirstTimers helps you capture these special moments. --- FEATURES: Simple Experience Logging Create beautiful entries for each first-time experience with photos, ratings, and personal notes. Flexible Organization Categorize your experiences by type: Food & Drink, Travel, Activities, Skills, and more. Private & Secure All your experiences are stored locally on your device. Choose which experiences to keep private and which to share. Smart Calendar View Browse your experiences in an intuitive calendar or list view to see your journey over time. Detailed Statistics Track your progress and see insights about your favorite categories and ratings. Share Your Journey Share individual experiences or statistics with friends and family. Clean, Modern Design Enjoy a beautiful, easy-to-use interface with both light and dark mode support. ---- Backed by Science A study published in Nature Neuroscience found that new and diverse experiences are linked to enhanced happiness and increased brain activity. Researchers discovered that people who add variety to their daily routines—such as visiting new places or engaging in novel activities—report feeling more positive and energized. MRI scans revealed increased activity in the hippocampus and striatum, brain regions associated with novelty and reward processing. With First Times, you can harness the power of new experiences to boost your well-being and track your personal growth over time. Start documenting your firsts today and create a beautiful timeline of your life's new experiences!

About

Inkwell

This app offers a private, offline journaling experience with mood tracking and gratitude prompts. Your personal thoughts and entries remain securely on your device, with no internet connection or account required. It's designed for quick daily reflections and capturing fleeting ideas.

Highlights
  • 100% offline journaling
  • Mood tracking with on-device insights
  • Instant search of entries
  • Home screen widget for quick access
  • Optional iCloud sync
  • Markdown support
  • Photo inclusion
Features
Read full description

Private micro journal and diary app with mood tracking, gratitude prompts, and daily reflection. Your journal and personal thoughts stay completely offline on your device. Write freely knowing every journal entry stays exactly where it belongs – on your device. No accounts required, no cloud servers, no company access to your private thoughts. Just open and write. 100% Offline, Always Private Journal anywhere – airplane mode, no signal, doesn't matter. Your diary works without internet because nothing ever leaves your device. Track moods, capture dreams, practice gratitude, or reflect on your day. Everything processes locally. Built for How You Actually Journal: - Mood tracker with insights – patterns analyzed on-device only - Search years of entries instantly – all processing stays local - Reflect in seconds – optimized for quick daily writing - Home screen widget – start writing with one tap - Your iCloud, your control – optional sync between your devices only - Markdown support – format your journal entries naturally - Smart reminders – build a consistent journaling habit - Full export – your data stays yours, always - Include photos to make your memories pop True Privacy, Not Marketing Claims While other journal apps claim privacy but sync to company servers, Inkwell never touches the internet. Your diary exists only on your device and optionally in your personal iCloud. No privacy policy loopholes, no data collection, no analytics tracking your mood patterns. Perfect for: Quick journaling, micro journaling, gratitude journal, mood tracking, dream diary, daily reflection, creative writing, anxiety tracking, mindfulness practice, five minute journal, evening pages, or capturing quick thoughts. Start Journaling in Seconds No registration. No verification. No internet connection needed. Just download Inkwell and write your first entry immediately. Join a growing community of writers who value actual privacy over empty promises. Your journal should be yours alone. With Inkwell, it finally is. --- Download now and write your first entry in seconds – no sign-up, no account, no internet required. Cancel anytime, export everything.

Screenshots

First Timers4 screens
Inkwell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: First Timers at none against Inkwell's 3. First Timers also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). Inkwell's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). On price, rating and ads 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. Inkwell sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. First Timers asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for First Timers against 5.0 for Inkwell. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

First Timers ships an update every 6 weeks, Inkwell every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and June 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
First Timers versus Inkwell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirst TimersInkwell
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKAYJO, LLCMario Mouris

Customer experience

First Timers

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Inkwell

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

First Timers

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Inkwell

Subscriptions2
  • Inkwell Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Inkwell Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Inkwell Pro (Lifetime)$29.99

Questions

Is First Timers free?
First Timers is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Inkwell free?
Inkwell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, First Timers or Inkwell?
First Timers and Inkwell are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do First Timers or Inkwell have ads?
Neither First Timers nor Inkwell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, First Timers or Inkwell?
First Timers ships an update every 6 weeks, and Inkwell every 9 days. Most recently, First Timers was updated on June 1, 2026 and Inkwell on June 5, 2026.

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