Comparison

CalPal vs Diary

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

Head to head
About

CalPal

Features
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Snap a photo of your meal and CalPal AI logs the calories, macros and micronutrients for you. No searching a database entry by entry, no portion maths. CalPal AI is the calorie counter that does the logging for you. Show it your plate, tell the assistant what you ate, or let your watch sync your workout. Food, workouts, sleep, water, mood and weight all land in one daily diary. MEAL SCAN • Point your camera at any meal. CalPal AI identifies the foods and estimates the portions. • Scan a barcode to pull exact label values from millions of packaged foods. • Every entry breaks down into calories, protein, carbs, fat and micronutrients, and you can edit any item in a tap. PERSONAL AI ASSISTANT • Just tell CalPal what you ate: "Log my lunch, chicken burrito bowl with extra guac." • The assistant finds the foods, estimates the portions and writes the numbers into your diary. • Got it wrong? Tell it what to fix and it corrects the entry. • Ask anything about your day and get answers grounded in your own logged data. WORKS INSIDE CLAUDE • Connect CalPal AI to Claude and log meals, check macros and review your week without leaving the conversation. • One account, one food log: start in Claude and finish on your phone. WEARABLES AND HEALTH SYNC • Connect Apple Health, Garmin, Strava and more than 30 other services. • Workouts, steps, sleep and weight sync automatically, so your calorie budget matches the day you actually had. ONE DAILY DIARY • Log meals, water, mood, sleep and workouts against a calendar you can scroll back through. • Streaks and reminders keep the habit going on the days motivation doesn't. GOALS AND INSIGHTS • Get a daily calorie and macro target based on your height, weight, age, activity level and goal. • Set a goal for weight, protein or activity, and CalPal AI adjusts your targets as you progress. • Weekly and monthly trends show how your intake, weight and activity move together. COMMUNITY RECIPES • Browse thousands of community recipes with calories and macros already worked out. AVAILABLE IN 11 LANGUAGES English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Japanese and Korean. FREE TO USE, PRO WHEN YOU WANT MORE CalPal AI is free to download and free for everyday calorie and macro tracking. CalPal Pro is an optional upgrade that unlocks advanced insights and higher scan limits. CalPal Pro is an auto-renewing subscription billed through your Apple Account. It renews automatically until you cancel. You can cancel at any time in your Apple Account settings, and you keep Pro until the end of the period you paid for. Terms of Use: https://www.aicalpal.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.aicalpal.com/privacy CalPal AI is a nutrition tracking tool and does not provide medical advice. Photo estimates are approximate, especially for mixed dishes and sauces. Talk to a healthcare professional before starting a diet or if you have a medical condition.

About

Diary

Features
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Rich Text Journaling Beautiful Writing Experience: Create stunning journal entries with professional formatting options. Creative Expression: Use bold, italic, underline, headings, lists, quotes, and colors to make your entries come alive. Visual Storytelling: Add photos and images to capture memories alongside your words. Flexible Formatting: Customize your writing with indentation, links, and text highlighting for a truly personal touch. Smart Task Management Plan Your Days: Create and organize tasks with due dates and reminders to stay on track. Recurring Tasks: Automate your routines with daily, weekly, or custom recurrence options. Priority Labels: Highlight what matters most using customizable priority levels. Seamless Organization: Group and sort tasks by date, priority, or completion status—just like Google Tasks. Focus & Productivity: Keep your journal, goals, and daily plans all in one place for a calm, organized mind. Quick Actions: Check off completed tasks instantly and feel the satisfaction of progress. Mood Tracking & Self-Discovery Daily Mood Check-ins: Track your emotional well-being with an intuitive 5-point mood scale. Emotional Insights: Discover patterns in your mood and identify what affects your happiness. Visual Progress: See your emotional journey through beautiful charts and graphs. Personal Growth: Understand your emotional triggers and celebrate your progress over time. Multimedia Memory Keeping Photo Integration: Attach meaningful photos to your journal entries. Visual Gallery: Browse all your cherished memories in one beautiful gallery. Seamless Uploads: Easily add and manage images without disrupting your writing flow. Smart Organization Custom Tags: Create personalized tags to categorize your thoughts, moods, and tasks. Easy Search: Quickly find specific entries or tasks by tags, dates, or content. Time Travel: Relive past moments by filtering entries from any time period. Premium Benefits Cloud Sync & Peace of Mind Automatic Backup: Never lose your precious memories with seamless cloud backup. Access Anywhere: Continue your journaling and task planning across all your devices. Data Security: Your personal thoughts remain private and secure. Personal Security Biometric Unlock: Quick access with fingerprint or face recognition. PIN Protection: Extra security layer for your most intimate entries. Auto-Lock: Automatic protection when you're away. Personalization Dark/Light Mode: Comfortable writing in any lighting condition. Color Themes: Choose the perfect color scheme for your creative space. Font Selection: Select beautiful fonts that match your writing style. Universal Accessibility Global Language Support 18+ Languages Thoughtful Experience Gentle Reminders Daily Motivation: Optional gentle notifications to help you maintain your journaling and task habits. Guided Start: Helpful example entries and tasks to inspire your first steps. Why You'll Love It Transform your daily reflections, moods, and goals into a beautiful, organized journey of self-discovery. Whether you’re tracking your emotions, planning your day, or documenting life’s moments, this app helps you stay balanced, mindful, and inspired. Start your journey today—your future self will thank you for every note, mood, and task you complete.

Screenshots

CalPal4 screens
Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: CalPal at none against Diary's shown. Diary's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 8 days). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. CalPal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Diary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CalPal ships an update every 8 days, Diary every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
CalPal versus Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalPalDiary
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB96 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperMountainFelipe Almeida

In-app purchases

2 purchases

CalPal

Subscriptions2
  • CalPal Pro 1 Month$9.991 Month
  • CalPal Pro 1 Year1 Year trial$79.991 Year
3 purchases

Diary

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$0.991 Month
  • 3 months$2.993 Months
  • Annual$5.991 Year

Questions

Is CalPal free?
CalPal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Diary free?
Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CalPal or Diary have ads?
Diary shows ads; CalPal does not.
Which is updated more often, CalPal or Diary?
CalPal ships an update every 8 days, and Diary every 4 days. Most recently, CalPal was updated on October 30, 2026 and Diary on October 14, 2026.

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