# Happy Five vs Simple Journal

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Simple Journal at 13.0 against Happy Five's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Happy Five sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Simple Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Happy Five ships an update weekly, Simple Journal every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Happy Five | Simple Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 10 days |
| Size | 6 MB | 34 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jens Somers](https://appshunter.io/developer/1847195635) | [Sick App Developers GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1507412735) |

## What reviewers say

### Happy Five

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/happy-five/id6757990326)

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Development Contribution | $3.99 | one-time |


### Simple Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-journal-private-diary/id6763033386)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Simple Journal Premium Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Simple Journal Premium Yearly | $14.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Happy Five free?

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

### Is Simple Journal free?

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

### Do Happy Five or Simple Journal have ads?

Neither Happy Five nor Simple Journal shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Happy Five or Simple Journal?

Happy Five ships an update weekly, and Simple Journal every 10 days. Most recently, Happy Five was updated on October 31, 2026 and Simple Journal on October 25, 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.*