Comparison

Opal vs Shadow Work Journal & Diary

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

Head to head
About

Opal

This app offers guided journaling and reflection prompts to help users explore their thoughts, emotions, and dreams. It features a free library of guides, multi-day series, and audio journaling options. Users can also connect themes across their entries and maintain privacy with on-device storage.

Highlights
  • Guided journaling prompts
  • Free library of guides
  • Multi-day reflection series
  • Audio journaling with ambient soundscapes
  • Handwriting, typing, and voice entry
  • AI-powered theme analysis
  • On-device private storage
Read full description

Opal is a guided journal and diary to delve deeper: why you react the way you do, what you actually want, what your dreams keep trying to show you. Pick a guide from a large free library, follow a ten day series, or open a blank page and write whatever is on your mind. A FREE LIBRARY OF GUIDES Browse guides on finding clarity, purpose and direction, relationships, attachment styles, limiting beliefs, Stoic philosophy, gratitude, and more. Each guide walks you through a sequence of questions, with an example answer beside every prompt so you always have somewhere to begin. TEN DAY SERIES When you want a longer practice, start a series. Shadow Work spends ten days with the parts of yourself you usually avoid, from the inner critic to the golden shadow. Deep Manifest helps you name the desire underneath the goals you keep setting. The Dreaming Life teaches you to record your dreams and follow the figures and images that keep returning. A new day appears on your home screen each morning, and each one builds on what you wrote before. GUIDED AUDIO JOURNALING Some pages open with a short recorded practice. Press play, close your eyes, and let a memory or an image surface. When the audio ends, write about what came up and where you felt it in your body. Ambient soundscapes are there too, for when you want rain or low tones behind your writing. WRITE YOUR WAY Type, talk, or write by hand. Voice entries are saved as tapes you can replay, each with a transcript you can read back. Add photos to any entry, and keep separate journals for the different threads of your life. CONNECT DOTS ACROSS TIME Opal reads across your entries and shows you what it finds: recurring themes, emotional patterns, relationship dynamics, dream symbols. Each week, month, and year it assembles a reflection drawn from your own words, shows you the passages it relied on, and keeps it in your archive. You can also ask your journal a question and get an answer grounded in what you actually wrote. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your writing is stored on your device. No account required, no cloud sync by default, no data sold. Lock Opal with a password. When you use an AI feature, names, places, and other identifying details are masked on your phone before anything is sent, and you decide how much context is shared. Your entries are never used to train AI models. Export or delete them whenever you like. ENDORSED BY THERAPISTS "Opal encourages deep self-expression and deep self-acceptance while also giving tools for change." Leanne Domash, Ph.D., Psychologist and Author Opal is free to download, with a free library of guides. Opal Premium unlocks [premium features]. Start with one prompt tonight. Questions: opaljournal@gmail.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Shadow Work Journal & Diary

Explore your hidden self and begin healing with guided reflection. Track emotions, uncover insights, and integrate repressed feelings through daily journaling and exercises. This app helps you gain self-awareness and self-acceptance.

Highlights
  • Daily journaling with prompts
  • Shadow mapping for patterns
  • Emotional mood tracking
  • Guided self-awareness exercises
  • Inner child and persona prompts
Features
Read full description

Unlock your subconscious and begin healing with Shadow Work Journal. the easiest way to explore your hidden self, track emotions, and uncover insights through guided reflection. Key Features Daily Journaling – Write freely or use prompts designed for shadow work. Shadow Map – Track patterns, triggers, and hidden aspects of yourself. Emotional Tracking – Log moods with ratings & visual indicators. Guided Exercises – Persona, inner child, and projection prompts to deepen self-awareness. Why Shadow Work? Shadow work helps you integrate repressed emotions, hidden patterns, and unconscious behaviors. By journaling, you gain awareness, healing, and self-acceptance. Subscription Details: • Title: Savory All Access • Length: 1 year • Price: $39.99 per year and $7.99 per month (auto-renews) • Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Privacy Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b2FQZ_HK2I_6ZBJhiaJw_Vii5aKW9D4dYjGfP9C8efU/edit?usp=sharing

Screenshots

Opal4 screens
Shadow Work Journal & Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shadow Work Journal & Diary at none against Opal's 1. Opal's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (38 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and monetization model 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. Opal sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per month. Shadow Work Journal & Diary 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 Opal against 5.0 for Shadow Work Journal & Diary. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Opal has 38 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Opal ships an update every 2 weeks, Shadow Work Journal & Diary every 5 months. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Opal versus Shadow Work Journal & Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpalShadow Work Journal & Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (38 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings38 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.117.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size359 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDarby TarlowFenuku Kekeli

Customer experience

Opal

All ratings38 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Shadow Work Journal & Diary

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

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Opal

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
None

Shadow Work Journal & Diary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Opal free?
Opal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shadow Work Journal & Diary free?
Shadow Work Journal & Diary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Opal or Shadow Work Journal & Diary?
Opal and Shadow Work Journal & Diary are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 38 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Opal or Shadow Work Journal & Diary have ads?
Neither Opal nor Shadow Work Journal & Diary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Opal or Shadow Work Journal & Diary?
Opal ships an update every 2 weeks, and Shadow Work Journal & Diary every 5 months. Most recently, Opal was updated on October 30, 2026 and Shadow Work Journal & Diary on October 30, 2026.

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