Comparison

writesome | Journaling vs cal

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

Head to head
About

writesome | Journaling

This app encourages daily writing through streaks and provides prompts for inspiration. Organize thoughts into lists and keep them private with end-to-end encryption. Premium features unlock offline access and more customization.

Highlights
  • Daily writing streaks
  • Inspirational prompts
  • Organized lists
  • Private and secure encryption
  • Offline journaling (premium)
  • Customizable lists (premium)
Read full description

Crafted with a passion for journaling. Add a new item to your library with each 3-day streak. PROMPTS Get prompts for daily inspiration. LISTS Write about the people, places, and memories that matter to you. Keep track of your favorite topics in neat lists. PRIVATE AND SECURE Anything you enter is fully encrypted, inaccessible to anyone but you. PREMIUM Unlock additional features with Write Some More Monthly, or Write Some More Forever: - Offline journaling - More items and levels - Custom lists - Unlimited daily entries Terms and conditions: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/39501024

About

cal

Capture and revisit your daily memories with photos and notes. This app presents your month as a visual calendar, allowing you to easily view past moments. Your data remains private and stored solely on your device.

Highlights
  • Add photos to any day
  • Jot down notes for each entry
  • View month as a photo calendar
  • Full-screen view of daily memories
  • Export entries for sharing
  • Private, on-device storage
Read full description

Life moves fast. CalDiary helps you slow down and remember it — one photo, one day at a time. Add a photo to any day, jot a little note, and watch your month fill up with memories. The calendar view lets you see your whole month at a glance — every day a tiny window into your life. Tap any day to see your photo full-screen, with your note tucked underneath just the way you wrote it. What you can do: * Add a photo to each day — from your library or straight from your camera * See your whole month as a photo calendar at a glance * Tap any day for a full-screen photo and your personal note * Export your month view or a single day to keep or share Your memories stay yours. No accounts, no cloud, no servers. Everything lives on your phone — completely private, always. Free forever. No ads. No subscriptions. Just your days. Clean, minimal, and made for the little moments worth remembering.

Screenshots

writesome | Journaling4 screens
cal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: cal at 5.0 against writesome | Journaling's 3.8. cal also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). writesome | Journaling's advantage is ratings volume (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.4). On price, update cadence, ads 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. writesome | Journaling sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. cal asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

cal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 4 level
writesome | Journaling versus cal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterwritesome | Journalingcal
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (4 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTom MeltersBegimay Ahmatova

In-app purchases

2 purchases

writesome | Journaling

Subscriptions1
  • writesome - Monthly$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • writesome - Forever$19.99
None

cal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is writesome | Journaling free?
writesome | Journaling is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is cal free?
cal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, writesome | Journaling or cal?
cal is rated higher. writesome | Journaling averages 3.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while cal averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do writesome | Journaling or cal have ads?
Neither writesome | Journaling nor cal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, writesome | Journaling or cal?
writesome | Journaling ships an update every 10 days, and cal every 10 days. Most recently, writesome | Journaling was updated on October 14, 2026 and cal on October 10, 2026.

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