# Thoughtful vs Era

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Thoughtful at none against Era's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Era sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Thoughtful asks for nothing beyond the download.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Thoughtful | Era |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thoughtful-journal-better/id6748995586/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **5** | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 10 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 18.5 |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Brian Lu Chang](https://appshunter.io/developer/1828407430) | [Alexander Picard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1621115334) |

## What reviewers say

### Thoughtful

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thoughtful-journal-better/id6748995586)

A private digital journal designed for reflection and thought organization. It offers a clean interface and simple tools to capture and revisit your experiences, with all data securely backed up via iCloud.

**Highlights:** Private journaling space, Thought capture and organization, Effortless reflection tools, Clean iOS aesthetic, Daily page structure, iCloud data backup

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Era

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/era-practice-mindfulness/id6753314033)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Era Lifetime Access | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Thoughtful free?

Thoughtful is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Era free?

Era is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Thoughtful or Era have ads?

Neither Thoughtful nor Era shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Thoughtful or Era?

Thoughtful ships an update every 2 weeks, and Era every 2 weeks. Most recently, Thoughtful was updated on October 30, 2026 and Era on October 30, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*