# DiaryVault vs Small Hours

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Small Hours at none against DiaryVault's 4. DiaryVault's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 days) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. DiaryVault sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Small Hours asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for DiaryVault against 5.0 for Small Hours. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

DiaryVault ships an update daily, Small Hours every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | DiaryVault | Small Hours |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diaryvault/id6754956466/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/small-hours-parents-journal/id6787871821/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Daily** | Every 3 days |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Size | 59 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [DiaryVault, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1851122029) | [Hugh Gilmore](https://appshunter.io/developer/6787871823) |

## What reviewers say

### DiaryVault

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diaryvault/id6754956466)

This app acts as a private memory vault, allowing you to capture daily moments through photos, text, or voice notes. It uses AI to organize your life and help you find meaning in your past entries, even creating cinematic videos from your memories.

**Highlights:** Import photos, text, and voice notes, AI-powered organization and meaning discovery, Create cinematic memory videos, Browse memories by time and chapters, Share anonymized memory films, Encrypted and private by design

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| DiaryVault Plus Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Yearly Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| DiaryVault Plus Annual | $89.99 | per year |


### Small Hours

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/small-hours-parents-journal/id6787871821)

This app allows parents to create a shared digital journal of their child's early years, focusing on one photo per day. It enables private sharing of memories with family members and offers features like growth logs and video recaps.

**Highlights:** Daily photo journal, Shared family journal, Private memory sharing, Growth and milestone tracking, Video and photo recaps, Secure iCloud storage, Searchable memories

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is DiaryVault free?

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

### Is Small Hours free?

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

### Which has better reviews, DiaryVault or Small Hours?

DiaryVault and Small Hours are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do DiaryVault or Small Hours have ads?

Neither DiaryVault nor Small Hours shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, DiaryVault or Small Hours?

DiaryVault ships an update daily, and Small Hours every 3 days. Most recently, DiaryVault was updated on September 9, 2026 and Small Hours on September 7, 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.*