Comparison

LayerNote vs Kept By

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

Head to head
About

LayerNote

Features
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palimpsest n. A manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing in such a way that the original writing remains partially visible. Your life isn't a blank page. It's a palimpsest. LayerNote gives you a simple, repeatable way to return to the same questions... your regrets, your desires, your parents, your anxieties, your dreams... and write a new layer on top. The old writing fades but never vanishes. You see how the story has changed. And because you can see the change, you start steering it on purpose. Six zones. 100+ prompts. Short sessions. No blank-page paralysis. No fake fresh starts. Just the proven power of expressive writing, goal science, and deliberate rewriting... all on one surface that remembers everything. Because real growth isn't erasure. It's layering. Who LayerNote Is For: You want to journal but the blank page defeats you. LayerNote gives you a prompt every time. Just respond. You have three minutes, not thirty. LayerNote is built for stolen moments... morning coffee, lunch break, the minutes before sleep. You find yourself circling the same themes. Your father. Your ambition. Your body. Your death. LayerNote doesn't treat that as repetition. It treats it as depth. Come back to the same questions. Watch your answers evolve. You're a creature of habit. You find meaning in routine. LayerNote rewards consistency... same zones, same prompts, new layers. The ritual is the practice. You suspect you've changed but you can't prove it. LayerNote shows you the evidence. Your own words, fading beneath your own words. Why It Works: The research is solid. Expressive writing reduces depression and doctor visits (Pennebaker). Specific goal-setting doubles achievement rates (Locke & Latham). Self-authoring reduces anxiety and increases motivation (Peterson). Identity is performed and revisable (Goffman, Butler). Negative visualization inoculates against anxiety (Stoics). Annual self-examination reshapes character (Pythagoras, Ignatius, Upanishads). LayerNote puts all of this in one interface. The Six Zones Identity and Becoming. Who are you? Who are you becoming? Love, Sex, and Intimate Relationships. Desire, attachment, the body's knowledge. Family, Parents, and Children. Where you came from, what you're passing on. Friendship, Society, and the Social World. Belonging, betrayal, witness. Work, Money, and Ambition. What you trade your time for. Mortality, Meaning, and Transcendence. Death, joy, what lasts. Plus freewrite. No prompt. Just write. What Makes LayerNote Different Most journals organize by date. LayerNote organizes by theme. Your entries about your mother live together, layered on top of each other... not scattered across years of daily logs. Most journals try to capture everything. LayerNote asks you to return to the same questions and write over your previous answers. The palimpsest is the point. Most journals give you a blank page. LayerNote gives you 113 prompts designed to provoke genuine reflection... drawn from Stoic practice, psychotherapy, self-authoring research, and contemplative traditions. Most journals let you forget what you wrote. LayerNote shows you. The palimpsest view displays your previous layers fading beneath your current writing. You don't just remember that you've grown. You see it. What's Free Everything. All six zones. All 113 prompts. Unlimited layers. Full palimpsest view. Local storage... your data stays on your device. No account. No subscription. No ads.

About

Kept By

Digitally preserve cherished paper memories like cards, letters, and notes. Capture images, add details like sender and occasion, and easily organize, search, and revisit your personal keepsakes.

Highlights
  • Digitally preserve paper memories
  • Capture front, inside, and back images
  • Add sender, event, date, and notes
  • Organize and search personal collection
  • Browse saved keepsakes easily
Features
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Kept By helps you preserve the cards, letters, notes, and personal keepsakes that matter. Instead of keeping meaningful paper memories scattered in boxes, drawers, or folders, Kept By gives you a simple way to capture and organize them on your iPhone. Use Kept By to photograph the front, inside pages, and back of a card or letter, then save it with helpful details such as the sender, occasion, date, and personal notes. Your keepsakes can be browsed, searched, and revisited whenever you want. Features: • Capture cards, letters, notes, and keepsakes • Save front, inside, and optional back images • Add sender, event, date, and notes • Browse your saved memories in one place • Search and organize your personal collection • View saved keepsakes in a clean, simple layout Kept By is designed for personal memory keeping. It is not a social network and does not require an account.

Screenshots

LayerNote4 screens
Kept By4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LayerNote at none against Kept By's 1. LayerNote also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Kept By sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. LayerNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LayerNote ships an update every 4 days, Kept By every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
LayerNote versus Kept By: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLayerNoteKept By
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB68 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperJustin NeumanJames Jackson

In-app purchases

None

LayerNote

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Kept By

One-time1
  • Unlimited Keepsakes$4.99

Questions

Is LayerNote free?
LayerNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kept By free?
Kept By is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do LayerNote or Kept By have ads?
Neither LayerNote nor Kept By shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LayerNote or Kept By?
LayerNote ships an update every 4 days, and Kept By every 2 months. Most recently, LayerNote was updated on October 11, 2026 and Kept By on October 19, 2026.

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