Comparison

Quiet Mirror vs Burning Parchment

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

Head to head
About

Quiet Mirror

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Quiet Mirror - Private Journaling with On-Device AI Reflection Your thoughts deserve a safe space. Quiet Mirror is a journaling app that listens without judgment, reflects patterns back to you, and never sends a single word to the cloud. Write freely. An AI that lives entirely on your device reads your entries and notices what you might not see yourself-recurring themes, shifting moods, the stories you tell about your days. It doesn't diagnose. It doesn't give advice. It simply mirrors, asking gentle questions that help you understand yourself better. Truly Private Unlike other apps that process your intimate thoughts on distant servers, Quiet Mirror's AI runs completely on your iPhone. Your journal entries never leave your device. No accounts. No cloud sync. No data collection. Just you and your words. Thoughtful Reflections After a few entries, you can request a reflection. The AI considers your recent writing, notices patterns in your emotions and themes, and offers observations that feel surprisingly human. Accept it or regenerate - it's alwaysyour choice. Mood Awareness Without Labels Each entry receives a gentle sentiment reading - not as a clinical score, but as a soft color that tints your experience. Over time, your calendar becomes a subtle landscape of your emotional journey, with colors blending naturally on days when you write more than once. Features • Write daily entries with thoughtful prompts that adapt to your recent moods and writing patterns • Receive AI-generated reflections that notice themes across your entries without judgment • Track your emotional patterns through an intuitive color-coded calendar • Explore your most-used words with an interactive word cloud • Build writing streaks at your own pace: no guilt, just gentle encouragement • Search across all your entries and reflections instantly • Export your complete journal as a beautifully formatted PDF • Protect your privacy with Face ID, Touch ID, or a personal PIN Designed for Evening Quiet Dark mode by default, warm colors throughout. Quiet Mirror feels like a safe room at the end of a long day-a place to process, not perform. Your Words, Protected Entries can be edited until you accept a reflection, then they're locked to preserve the integrity of the moment. Deleted entries rest in trash for 30 days before permanent removal, giving you time to reconsider. What Quiet Mirror Is Not This isn't therapy. It's not a mental health diagnosis tool. It's a mirror - one that helps you see your own patterns more clearly. If you're in crisis, the app gently connects you with appropriate resources rather than generating a reflection. Begin your private reflection practice today. Your thoughts are worth understanding.

About

Burning Parchment

Visualize your remaining time as a burning parchment, not just a number. Track daily, weekly, and yearly time, set goals, and reflect on how you spend your hours. Features include a unique breath-controlled 'blow out' ritual and a reflection journal.

Highlights
  • Time visualization as burning parchment
  • Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly time tracking
  • Goal setting with deadlines
  • Breath-controlled 'blow out' ritual
  • One-line reflection journal
  • Time spent distribution graph
  • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets
Features
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The time you have left today burns away right in front of you. Burning Parchment shows your remaining time as a sheet of parchment on fire instead of a number. It is made for anyone tired of watching their evenings simply disappear. DAY, WEEK, MONTH, YEAR From the moment you wake up to bedtime, the parchment slowly burns. See what is left of this week, this month and this year the same way. Add a goal with a deadline and it counts down right alongside. BLOW OUT THE FLAME From 30 minutes before bedtime you can blow on the parchment to put the fire out. Only the strength of your breath is used. Nothing is recorded. The piece that is left is kept for you. Flip it over and write a line on its back whenever you like. WHAT REMAINS AS ASH Look back with a one-line reflection and place it on a two-axis graph of how the time was spent. Reflections gather in urns you name by topic, and you can read them again in the Reflection Book. Ash Flow shows where your time went with a distribution graph and an ember calendar. ALWAYS IN SIGHT Check the time left from Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, the Dynamic Island and a Live Activity. Light and dark themes, suggested bedtimes, and only the tabs you want to see. BURNING PARCHMENT PRO The burning parchment, reflections and the blow-out ritual are all free, along with one deadline. Pro is a one-time lifetime purchase, not a subscription. It adds parchment and flame themes (Moonlit Hanji, Celadon, Dusk), fragment cards and posters to share, a PDF of your Reflection Book, a year of ash at a glance, and unlimited deadlines. Every Pro feature added later is included. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Quiet Mirror4 screens
Burning Parchment4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Quiet Mirror at none against Burning Parchment's 1. Burning Parchment's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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. Burning Parchment sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Quiet Mirror asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Quiet Mirror ships an update every 3 months, Burning Parchment every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Quiet Mirror versus Burning Parchment: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuiet MirrorBurning Parchment
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLucas Younghyunho lee

In-app purchases

None

Quiet Mirror

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Burning Parchment

One-time1
  • Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Quiet Mirror free?
Quiet Mirror is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Burning Parchment free?
Burning Parchment is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Quiet Mirror or Burning Parchment have ads?
Neither Quiet Mirror nor Burning Parchment shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Quiet Mirror or Burning Parchment?
Quiet Mirror ships an update every 3 months, and Burning Parchment every 5 days. Most recently, Quiet Mirror was updated on October 31, 2026 and Burning Parchment on October 31, 2026.

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