Comparison

ColorDiaryApp vs Journaling Buddy

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

Head to head
About

ColorDiaryApp

A simple mood journal that uses color to track your feelings each day. Visualize your emotional patterns over time with a colorful mosaic and optional text memos. Your data stays private and on your device.

Highlights
  • One color per day mood tracking
  • Calendar mosaic for visual pattern analysis
  • Optional memos up to 800 characters
  • On-device color review and pattern counting
  • Home screen widget for quick checks
  • Data export and import for backups
  • Daily reminder notifications
Features
Read full description

Not every day needs words. A color is enough. ColorDiary is a simple mood journal where you record your day with one color. Pick the color that matches how you feel, and save. Add an optional memo whenever you want—up to 800 characters. Over time, your calendar turns into a colorful mosaic, making patterns easy to spot at a glance. Try recording a color from your outfit each day and looking back on the colors you wear. Your mood, your outfit, your own way to use ColorDiary—the choice is yours! Features ・ One color per day with a calendar overview ・ Choose the quick simplicity of Basic 24 or the nuance of Expanded 55, arranged as 11 families with 5 levels each ・ A color mosaic to reflect on past moods visually ・ An on-device Color Review counting both exact colors and 11 color families, with weekday and month-phase patterns grouped by family ・ A How Colors Work page explaining color families, review counts, and 4x4 comparison ・ Home screen widget (4x4) for quick recent-color checks ・ Share your 4x4 color image to social apps ・ Send a 4x4 image you found in social apps or Photos via the share sheet and compare it with your recent colors ・ Optional memos up to 800 characters, with a growing input area and one-tap full-text copy while editing ・ Copy or share memo text from its detail screen, or save a txt file named from the first non-empty line ・ Choose a text color for all memos in Settings: Default, Cocoa, Mocha, Purple, or Blue ・ A Memo List in Settings for reviewing memo days and their colors, newest first ・ Edit or delete entries anytime ・ Export and import entries with a manual backup file ・ Daily reminder notifications (time adjustable, can be turned off) ・ In-app support option to help ongoing development Notification permission required. Privacy ・ No account required ・ Your data stays locally on your device (no cloud sync or automatic uploads) ・ Backups are created only when you manually export a file to a location you choose ・ Exported JSON backups are not encrypted and include memos as plain text Version History ・ (1.8) Added iPhone Duo support and adaptive layouts ・ (1.7) Added memo copy, sharing, txt export, a growing input area, and memo text color settings ・ (1.6) Added Expanded 55, color-family review, How Colors Work, and Memo List ・ (1.5) Added Color Review, 800-character memos, and clearer Mosaic display settings ・ (1.4) Added entry export and import for manual backups ・ (1.3) You can delete a mistaken day from the edit screen and return it to unrecorded ・ (1.2) Added Simplified Chinese localization for the app, widget, and share extension ・ (1.1) Added 4x4 color image sharing and comparison with shared images

About

Journaling Buddy

Features
Read full description

Journaling Buddy is a private journaling companion designed to help you reflect, recognize patterns, and understand yourself over time. Write, record, scan, or import your journal entries. Journaling Buddy uses AI to organize your reflections into summaries, emotions, themes, and personal insights. Higher Self uses your own journals and answers to help you explore what went well, what you may be avoiding, and what matters most to you. Features: • Write, voice, scan, and import journal entries • AI-generated summaries, emotions, themes, and insights • Higher Self reflections based on your own journals • Journaling streaks and personalized reminders • Face ID app lock • Data export and account deletion A subscription is required to access the app after the free trial. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ColorDiaryApp4 screens
Journaling Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Journaling Buddy at 15.1 against ColorDiaryApp's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. ColorDiaryApp sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Journaling Buddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ColorDiaryApp ships an update every 9 days, Journaling Buddy every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
ColorDiaryApp versus Journaling Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColorDiaryAppJournaling Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB77 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaishin UeyamaEztoico Tecnologia LTDA

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ColorDiaryApp

One-time1
  • Donate a cup of coffee.$0.99
2 purchases

Journaling Buddy

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium3 Days trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is ColorDiaryApp free?
ColorDiaryApp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Journaling Buddy free?
Journaling Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ColorDiaryApp or Journaling Buddy have ads?
Neither ColorDiaryApp nor Journaling Buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ColorDiaryApp or Journaling Buddy?
ColorDiaryApp ships an update every 9 days, and Journaling Buddy every 2 weeks. Most recently, ColorDiaryApp was updated on October 31, 2026 and Journaling Buddy on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons