Journal for iPad vs PaperThoughts
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Journal for iPad
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Keep your personal story safe and beautifully organized. This simple writing app lets you create rich text entries and personalize your experience with colorful themes. Protect your private moments with built-in security. This makes it the perfect place for your daily reflections and pediarsonal notes. Experience the ease of digital journaling with the assurance of complete privacy. Start documenting your life, your way. Use this secure app to track your thoughts and keep a personal log. You might even find it useful for light planning or notion your mood.
PaperThoughts
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A quiet place to think. PaperThoughts is a private, handwriting-first journal for iPad. Write by hand with your Apple Pencil, sketch in the margins, and keep every entry to yourself. WRITE BY HAND โข Natural Apple Pencil handwriting and drawing โข Blank, lined, grid, or dotted paper in multiple sizes and colours โข Journaling prompts when you don't know where to start drop a question onto the page and answer it in ink โข Prefer to type? Typed entries are always a long-press away REMEMBER THE MOMENT โข Tag entries, set a mood, and pin the place they happened drop the pin on a map yourself, wherever the entry belongs โข Add photos alongside your handwriting or leave a placeholder slot on the page and fill it with the photo later โข Find things again with filters by journal, place, tag, or date WORKS WHEREVER YOU DO โข No connection needed write, sketch, and read your journals fully offline โข At the cabin, on the trail, in the air: your journal lives on your device, and syncs through your own iCloud when you're back online โข Day or night โ a dark mode that keeps the page calm WATCH YOUR PRACTICE GROW โข Streaks and gentle insights: how often you write, and the places your entries have taken you โข Bookmark the pages you return to โข Export entries or whole journals to PDF anytime your words are never locked in PRIVATE BY DESIGN โข Your entries live on your device and in your own iCloud โ nowhere else โข No account, no sign-up, and nothing to log in to โข No analytics, no tracking, no servers of ours: we have no way to read what you write โข Moods are saved to Apple Health on your device; App Lock uses Face ID or Touch ID without biometric data ever leaving it ON IPHONE โข A companion for reading your journals and capturing quick typed notes the Pencil stays the star on iPad PAPERTHOUGHTS PREMIUM The free app includes 3 journals with 5 entries each โ enough to make it yours. Premium removes every limit, with a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account; subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period, and can be managed in your Apple Account settings. Privacy policy: https://paperthoughts.app/privacy Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Journal for iPad at none against PaperThoughts's 3. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. PaperThoughts sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Journal for iPad asks for nothing beyond the download.
Journal for iPad ships an update every 2 weeks, PaperThoughts every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.
| Parameter | Journal for iPad | PaperThoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 8 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alexei Ilin | Cody Nicoll |
In-app purchases
Journal for iPad
No in-app purchases
PaperThoughts
- Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
- Premium Yearly$24.991 Year
- Premium Lifetime$59.99
Questions
Is Journal for iPad free?
Is PaperThoughts free?
Do Journal for iPad or PaperThoughts have ads?
Which is updated more often, Journal for iPad or PaperThoughts?
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