Comparison

Opal vs Ruby

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

Head to head
About

Opal

This private journaling app uses AI to help you understand your thoughts and emotions. It offers guided prompts, ambient soundscapes, and the ability to write, speak, or add photos to your entries. AI tools analyze your writing to reveal patterns and insights, all while prioritizing your privacy with on-device storage.

Highlights
  • AI-powered pattern analysis
  • Guided journaling journeys
  • Voice and image entry support
  • Multiple journal organization
  • On-device privacy controls
  • Prompt-based or blank page entries
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

Ruby

Effortlessly capture your thoughts and feelings using your voice. This AI-powered journal transforms spoken words into organized written entries, offering insights and prompts for self-reflection. Enjoy a private, ad-free space to improve your mood, focus, and mental well-being.

Highlights
  • Voice-to-text journaling
  • Smart AI insights
  • Completely private storage
  • Daily reflection prompts
  • Minimalist design
  • Track personal growth
Features
Read full description

Journaling without all the typing. Ruby is a voice journal that lets you capture your thoughts simply by talking. Press record, speak naturally, and Ruby turns what you say into a clear written journal entry you can come back to later. Then Ruby goes one step further by asking relevant follow up questions based on what you actually said, helping you reflect more deeply on the things that matter to you. ---- JOURNAL BY VOICE Forget staring at a blank page or typing out everything on your mind. Open Ruby, press record, and talk. Reflect on your day, work through something on your mind, capture an idea, think through a decision, or simply get your thoughts out of your head. Ruby transforms your recording into an organized written journal entry automatically. ---- MORE THAN VOICE TO TEXT Ruby does more than transcribe your recording. After each entry, Ruby can ask thoughtful follow up questions based on what you actually talked about. Instead of giving you generic journal prompts, Ruby responds to your own thoughts and gives you new questions to reflect on. ---- HOW IT WORKS 1. Press record 2. Say what is on your mind 3. Ruby turns your voice into a clear written journal entry 4. Get relevant follow up questions 5. Revisit your entries whenever you want ---- BUILT FOR REAL LIFE Ruby makes it easier to journal when writing feels like too much effort. Journal while sitting on the couch, taking a walk, having a break, winding down at night, or whenever something is on your mind. You do not need to write perfectly. You do not even need to know exactly what you want to say before you start. Just talk. ---- KEY FEATURES VOICE JOURNALING: Record your thoughts naturally instead of typing everything out. AI JOURNAL ENTRIES: Ruby transforms your spoken thoughts into clear, organized written entries. SMART FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS: Get questions based on what you actually said so you can continue reflecting. JOURNAL HISTORY: Revisit previous entries and look back on your thoughts, experiences, and ideas over time. JOURNALING PROGRESS: Track your entries, streaks, words, and time spent journaling. DAILY REFLECTION: Use Ruby whenever you want to reflect on your day, think something through, or simply talk. ---- WHY RUBY • Journal without spending time typing • Capture thoughts while they are still fresh • Speak naturally instead of worrying about how to write • Turn long, unstructured thoughts into readable journal entries • Get follow up questions connected to your own thoughts • Revisit your entries whenever you want • Build a journaling habit that fits more easily into everyday life No blank page. No pressure to write perfectly. Just press record and start talking. ---- A DIFFERENT WAY TO JOURNAL Speaking is often easier than writing. If you want to journal more consistently but traditional diary apps feel like work, Ruby gives you another way to do it. Speak freely. Ruby handles the writing. ---- Terms of Use: https://inkworldtos.carrd.co Privacy Policy: https://inkworldprivacy.carrd.co

Screenshots

Opal4 screens
Ruby4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Opal at none against Ruby's 2. Opal also leads on ratings volume (37 vs 1) and update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). Ruby's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Ruby sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Opal 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 Ruby. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Opal has 37 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Opal ships an update every 8 days, Ruby monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Opal versus Ruby: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpalRuby
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (37 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings37 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.115.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size336 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDarby TarlowOliver Saylor

Customer experience

Opal

All ratings37 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Ruby

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

In-app purchases

None

Opal

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Ruby

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plan$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Opal free?
Opal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ruby free?
Ruby is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Opal or Ruby?
Opal and Ruby are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 37 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Opal or Ruby have ads?
Neither Opal nor Ruby shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Opal or Ruby?
Opal ships an update every 8 days, and Ruby monthly. Most recently, Opal was updated on October 8, 2026 and Ruby on October 13, 2026.

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