# My Diary vs Precursor

The clearest difference is rating: Precursor at 5.0 against My Diary's 4.4. Precursor also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). My Diary's advantage is ratings volume (36 vs 5) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. My Diary sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Precursor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Precursor holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: My Diary has 36 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of My Diary's written reviews are positive against 100% of Precursor's.

My Diary ships an update every 2 weeks, Precursor every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | My Diary | Precursor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (36 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-diary-journal-and-notes/id6756433654/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/precursor-hourly-screen-time/id6791403654/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **36** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 73 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jay Lakhani](https://appshunter.io/developer/1820580603) | [Precursor Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/6791403656) |

## What reviewers say

### My Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-diary-journal-and-notes/id6756433654)

Capture thoughts, memories, and daily moments with a private and creative journaling app. Organize ideas, track moods, and enrich entries with rich text, images, and voice notes. Upgrade for unlimited features and an ad-free experience.

**Highlights:** Rich text formatting, Add images and voice notes, Mood tracking, Note organization by category, Password/biometric lock, Customizable themes

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Pro Access | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Pro Access | $9.99 | per month |
| Yearly Pro Access | $9.99 | per year |
| Yearly Pro Access | $19.99 | per year |
| Yearly Pro Access | $19.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Pro Access | $39.99 | one-time |


### Precursor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/precursor-hourly-screen-time/id6791403654)

This app offers a unique approach to screen time management by setting hourly limits for app usage. It aims to break the cycle of daily limit exhaustion and impulsive overrides by providing a sustainable, guilt-free solution that resets limits every hour.

**Highlights:** Set hourly app limits, Automatic hourly limit resets, Customizable limits by day, Friction to prevent impulsive overrides, Private by design, on-device processing, Optional Precursor+ upgrade

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is My Diary free?

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

### Is Precursor free?

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

### Which has better reviews, My Diary or Precursor?

Precursor is rated higher. My Diary averages 4.4 out of 5 from 36 ratings, while Precursor averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do My Diary or Precursor have ads?

My Diary shows ads; Precursor does not.

### Which is updated more often, My Diary or Precursor?

My Diary ships an update every 2 weeks, and Precursor every 6 days. Most recently, My Diary was updated on October 12, 2026 and Precursor on October 13, 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.*