Comparison

Espresso Journal vs Coffee Diary

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

Head to head
About

Espresso Journal

Log and analyze every aspect of your espresso brewing to understand what makes a great shot. Track details like timing, weight, bean origin, and tasting notes to refine your technique and achieve consistent results. Perfect for home baristas and coffee professionals seeking to improve their craft.

Highlights
  • Shot timing and yield tracking
  • Bean origin and roast details
  • Equipment and recipe logging
  • Tasting notes and ratings
  • Built-in shot timer
  • Recipe management
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Espresso Journal is a simple log for home espresso. Record each shot, see what you changed, and get to a better cup sooner. LOG A SHOT IN SECONDS New shots start from your last one, so you only change what you're dialing in. Start the timer, pull the shot, and the brew time is filled in for you. Add dose, yield, grind setting, grinder RPM, grind time, temperature, a rating and notes. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR BEANS AND GEAR Save the roaster, origin, process and roast date for each coffee, with a link to the shop for when you need more. Add your machine, grinder, portafilters and baskets. ON IPHONE AND IPAD Your journal syncs through iCloud. Export your shots as a spreadsheet whenever you like. ESPRESSO JOURNAL PRO A one-time purchase, shared with your family: • Take a photo of a bag and the app reads the label for you • Recipes for the drinks you make often • Charts comparing grind, ratio and time with how you rated each shot • The shot timer on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, and a Pull a Shot button for Control Center and Siri • Bean stock, shot cards and flavor notes Questions or ideas? Use Send Feedback in Settings.

About

Coffee Diary

Features
Read full description

Coffee Diary is a brewing log for pour-over coffee. Every cup becomes a ticket: water temperature, dose, water, grind setting, time, a rating, and one line of notes. It then stays in the version chain for that bean — next time you can reproduce it exactly, or change one variable and try again. Why a ticket Params, score and date print on one piece of paper, so the gap between this cup and the last one is obvious at a glance. Peak window, no mental math Give it a roast date and the app orders your beans around a 10-day rest and a peak window that closes 40 days after roasting, tightest one first. Reminders are local notifications — no server involved, and you can switch them off in Settings. Inventory counts itself down A cup logged with its parameters deducts the dose from what's left. Set it to 0 when the bag is empty and the tickets stay. Units you choose g / oz for weight; price beans per 100 g, 500 g, oz or lb; the currency symbol can follow your device or be picked by hand. Changing currency swaps the symbol only — prices you already entered are not converted. Interface languages Simplified & Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Arabic — switchable inside the app without a restart. Coffee Diary Pro (one-time, non-consumable) · Recipe comparison: two brews of the same bean side by side, differences called out item by item. · Export everything: JSON, CSV, Markdown or a PDF ticket book — every ticket printed onto A4 with a pantry cover page. Buy once, keep it forever. Not a subscription. Privacy No accounts, no server, no cloud sync, no ads, no tracking. What you log lives only on this iPhone; exporting a file is something you do yourself in the system share sheet. Delete the app and the data goes with it — we hold no copy. Contact ss0593@qq.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Espresso Journal4 screens
Coffee Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Coffee Diary at monthly against Espresso Journal's every 5 months. Coffee Diary also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Espresso Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Coffee Diary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Espresso Journal ships an update every 5 months, Coffee Diary monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Espresso Journal versus Coffee Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEspresso JournalCoffee Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB2 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperGruffydd Johnston晓强 江

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Espresso Journal

One-time1
  • Espresso Journal Pro$9.99
1 purchases

Coffee Diary

One-time1
  • Pro Unlock$7.99

Questions

Is Espresso Journal free?
Espresso Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Coffee Diary free?
Coffee Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Espresso Journal or Coffee Diary have ads?
Neither Espresso Journal nor Coffee Diary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Espresso Journal or Coffee Diary?
Espresso Journal ships an update every 5 months, and Coffee Diary monthly. Most recently, Espresso Journal was updated on November 5, 2026 and Coffee Diary on November 10, 2026.

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