Comparison

dots vs Year Progress Diary

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

Head to head
About

dots

A minimalist journal and year visualizer that helps you track time and stay motivated. Save one meaningful moment each day and visualize your year with home and lock screen widgets. Enjoy a zen experience with no notifications, ads, or account requirements.

Highlights
  • Daily memory saving
  • Home and lock screen widgets
  • Mac desktop support
  • Ad-free experience
  • No notifications
  • No account required
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

dots is a minimalist journal and year visualizer to track time and stay motivated features: • today’s memory – save one meaningful moment each day • widgets – add dots to the home and lock screen • mac support – keep perspective on your desktop • zen – no notifications, no ads, no account needed make every moment count, every day matters

About

Year Progress Diary

Visualize your daily habits and time with a minimalist dot grid. Track your progress, maintain streaks, and stay intentional with a distraction-free digital planner. Perfect for mindfulness and goal tracking.

Highlights
  • Visual habit tracking
  • Minimalist daily planner
  • Streak motivation
  • Year in pixels logging
  • Custom reminders
  • Privacy-focused, no account needed
Features
Read full description

See your year, one day at a time. 365 Dots turns the year into a simple grid. Add a note, mood, category, and score to a day, then watch the year take shape. • Year at a glance — See days passed, days ahead, and your progress through the year. • Daily check-ins — Capture a thought, mood, or category in a few taps. • Life in weeks — Zoom out to a grid of weeks for a broader view of time. • Week and month views — Revisit entries, events, and streaks. • Yearly insights — Look back on your logging patterns, moods, categories, and meaningful days. • Reminders and widget — Set an optional check-in reminder and keep your progress close with a Home Screen widget. • Personalize — Choose a theme, search past entries, and export your data. Some themes and features may require an optional subscription. Check the app for current plan details. Make each dot count. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vS7CIsms1Gq-7mHP7Z-Cw6_0xqL9Ptd-cc4M6HlYRsQ/edit?usp=sharing

Screenshots

dots3 screens
Year Progress Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Year Progress Diary at Free against dots's $1.99. Year Progress Diary also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). dots's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Year Progress Diary is free to download; dots costs $1.99 up front. Year Progress Diary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. dots asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Year Progress Diary holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: dots has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of dots's written reviews are positive against 100% of Year Progress Diary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

dots ships an update every 2 weeks, Year Progress Diary every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
dots versus Year Progress Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterdotsYear Progress Diary
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (6 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#96 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerdouglas santosFenuku Kekeli

Customer experience

dots

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Year Progress Diary

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

dots

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Year Progress Diary

Subscriptions2
  • All Access for a week7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • All Access for a year7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • All Access for Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is dots free?
dots costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Year Progress Diary free?
Year Progress Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, dots or Year Progress Diary?
Year Progress Diary is rated higher. dots averages 4.2 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Year Progress Diary averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do dots or Year Progress Diary have ads?
Neither dots nor Year Progress Diary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, dots or Year Progress Diary?
dots ships an update every 2 weeks, and Year Progress Diary every 2 months. Most recently, dots was updated on November 8, 2026 and Year Progress Diary on October 31, 2026.

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