Comparison

Aura vs Safe Journal

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

Head to head
About

Aura

Understand your energy and focus by taking at-home lab tests. Get clear results and personalized recommendations to improve your wellness. Stop chasing symptoms and start addressing the root causes of fatigue and mood changes.

Highlights
  • Book lab tests easily
  • Get fast, clear results
  • Understand biomarker insights
  • Receive personalized guidance
  • Track wellness progress
  • Access 2,000+ labs
Read full description

Stress, anxiety, tension, brain fog, low energy — your body and mind are always sending signals. Aura helps you notice them, understand them, and act on them, a few minutes at a time. THREE REASONS TO INSTALL AURA: 1. A plan built around you Take a quick quiz and get a personalized path based on your goals and symptoms — calming an overactive stress response, easing tension, improving focus, or just feeling more like yourself. 2. 7-min guided exercises Daily exercises — breathing, somatic movement, nervous system resets — are built to fit into a real schedule, not replace it. 3. Daily lessons that actually stick Bite-sized, easy-to-follow education on stress, the nervous system, and mindset, so you understand the “why” behind every practice. Aura isn’t one technique — it’s a companion for your overall wellbeing, adapting with you as your needs change. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://aura.care/privacy/ Terms of Service: https://aura.care/terms/

About

Safe Journal

This app provides a secure and private space for daily writing, mood tracking, and self-reflection. It offers gentle prompts and tools to help you understand your emotional patterns and personal growth. Optional AI features can provide deeper insights and summaries of your entries.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free writing space
  • Mood and emotion picker
  • Gentle journaling prompts
  • Reflection toolkit
  • Pattern analysis over time
  • Optional AI insights and summaries
  • Passcode and device encryption
Features
Read full description

Safe Journal is a private space to write, notice how you feel, and reflect at your own pace. Open the app and start writing - no account needed. Your entries are protected by a passcode and encrypted on your device. Free journaling is stored locally on your device, with optional account backup. Write freely • A calm, distraction-free space to journal • Name how you feel with a simple mood picker - or use the emotions wheel when a feeling is harder to pin down • Gentle prompts for when you're not sure where to start • A Toolkit of prompts, values exercises, and reflection tools Notice your patterns • Look back on past entries and moods over time • Keep track of thoughts, themes, values, and moments you want to remember • See how your emotions and reflections change over time Safe Journal Plus: optional AI Safe Journal Plus adds AI features that work only when you choose to use them: • Finish an entry and get reflection prompts based on what you just wrote • Discover insights into the values and themes showing up across your writing • Create time-capsule summaries that gather a month of entries into a few thoughtful lines • Generate a Therapist Session Summary when you want help bringing patterns from your journal into a conversation AI never runs in the background, and free journaling never uses AI. Your privacy • No ads. We don't sell your data. No tracking across other apps or websites. • Entries are protected by your passcode and encrypted on your device. • Optional account backup lets you restore your journal on a new device. • You're always in control - back up, restore, or delete anytime. Whether you write every day or once in a while, Safe Journal is here when you need it. Questions? hello@safejournal.com Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://safejournal.com/pages/privacy

Screenshots

Aura4 screens
Safe Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Safe Journal at 100% against Aura's 27%. Safe Journal also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Aura's advantage is ratings volume (2.6K vs 6). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Aura sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and Safe Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Safe Journal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aura has 2.6K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of Aura's written reviews are positive against 100% of Safe Journal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Aura ships an update fortnightly, Safe Journal every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Aura versus Safe Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAuraSafe Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.6K ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews26.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.6K — better6
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB31 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAura SASSafe Journal LLC

Customer experience

Aura

All ratings2,616 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.9%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews156 reviews
Positive26.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative66.0%

Safe Journal

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Aura

Subscriptions2
  • 1 Month$17.991 Month
  • 3 Months$29.993 Months
2 purchases

Safe Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Plus (Monthly)$6.991 Month
  • Plus (Yearly)7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Aura free?
Aura is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Safe Journal free?
Safe Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Aura or Safe Journal?
Safe Journal is rated higher. Aura averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Safe Journal averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Aura or Safe Journal have ads?
Aura shows ads; Safe Journal does not.
Which is updated more often, Aura or Safe Journal?
Aura ships an update fortnightly, and Safe Journal every 6 days. Most recently, Aura was updated on November 8, 2026 and Safe Journal on October 31, 2026.

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