Comparison

Journal for iPad vs PaperThoughts

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

Head to head
About

Journal for iPad

Features
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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.

About

PaperThoughts

Features
Read full description

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 โ€ข Natural Apple Pencil handwriting and drawing โ€ข Blank, lined, grid, or dotted paper in multiple sizes and colours โ€ข Journaling prompts when you don't know where to start drop a question onto the page and answer it in ink โ€ข Prefer to type? Typed entries are always a long-press away REMEMBER THE MOMENT โ€ข Tag entries, set a mood, and pin the place they happened drop the pin on a map yourself, wherever the entry belongs โ€ข Add photos alongside your handwriting or leave a placeholder slot on the page and fill it with the photo later โ€ข Find things again with filters by journal, place, tag, or date WORKS WHEREVER YOU DO โ€ข No connection needed write, sketch, and read your journals fully offline โ€ข 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 โ€ข Day or night โ€” a dark mode that keeps the page calm WATCH YOUR PRACTICE GROW โ€ข Streaks and gentle insights: how often you write, and the places your entries have taken you โ€ข Bookmark the pages you return to โ€ข Export entries or whole journals to PDF anytime your words are never locked in PRIVATE BY DESIGN โ€ข Your entries live on your device and in your own iCloud โ€” nowhere else โ€ข No account, no sign-up, and nothing to log in to โ€ข No analytics, no tracking, no servers of ours: we have no way to read what you write โ€ข 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 โ€ข 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

Journal for iPad3 screens
PaperThoughts4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Journal for iPad ships an update every 2 weeks, PaperThoughts every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Journal for iPad versus PaperThoughts: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJournal for iPadPaperThoughts
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 8 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size36 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexei IlinCody Nicoll

In-app purchases

None

Journal for iPad

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

PaperThoughts

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Journal for iPad free?
Journal for iPad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PaperThoughts free?
PaperThoughts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Journal for iPad or PaperThoughts have ads?
Neither Journal for iPad nor PaperThoughts shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Journal for iPad or PaperThoughts?
Journal for iPad ships an update every 2 weeks, and PaperThoughts every 8 days. Most recently, Journal for iPad was updated on October 25, 2026 and PaperThoughts on October 25, 2026.

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