Comparison

Dear Memory vs Journal

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

Head to head
About

Dear Memory

Features
Read full description

DearMemory is your personal memory organizer designed to help you capture, organize, and cherish life's most precious moments with your loved ones. Create dedicated spaces for different relationships and life stages — couples, family, friendships, babies, and children. Each space comes with its own beautiful theme and organizational structure, making it easy to keep your most important memories beautifully organized. MEMORY SPACES FOR EVERY BOND Create separate spaces for each important relationship in your life. Whether you're a couple documenting your love story, parents tracking your baby's first steps, or friends collecting shared adventures — DearMemory gives you a dedicated, beautifully themed space for every bond you cherish. TIMELINE MEMORY JOURNAL Browse your memories in a beautiful chronological timeline. Add photos, notes, dates, emotions, and detailed descriptions to every memory. Search and filter through months of memories instantly. Mark favorites and revisit your most cherished moments anytime. SPECIAL DAYS & COUNTDOWNS Never forget an anniversary, birthday, or milestone again. Add special days and watch the countdown tick. Get smart reminders before important dates arrive. Track how many days you've shared together and celebrate every milestone. BABY GROWTH TRACKING Document your child's development journey with detailed growth logs. Track weight, height, and head circumference over time with beautiful charts. Record precious first moments — first smile, first word, first steps — and watch your little one grow through data and memories. BADGE & ACHIEVEMENT SYSTEM Unlock achievement badges as you document your journey together. Earn badges for milestones like your first memory, 100th photo, one-year anniversary, and many more. Collect badges across all your spaces and celebrate your commitment to preserving memories. BEAUTIFUL THEMES & PERSONALIZATION Each space type comes with its own visual theme — soft pastels for baby spaces, romantic gradients for couples, warm tones for family. Choose from multiple color themes and make each space uniquely yours. Works beautifully in both light and dark mode. SMART NOTIFICATIONS & REMINDERS Set up customizable notification schedules for your special days. Choose between daily, weekly, or event-based reminders. Never miss an important date with smart countdown notifications that alert you days before. QUOTE COLLECTION Save the funny, touching, and memorable things your loved ones say. Perfect for capturing children's adorable quotes, partner's sweet messages, or any conversation worth remembering forever. DESIGNED FOR PRIVACY Your memories deserve the highest level of privacy. DearMemory stores all data locally on your device by default. No social sharing, no cloud requirements, no data mining. Optional encrypted backup to Google Drive or iCloud when you choose — completely under your control. MULTILINGUAL SUPPORT Fully available in 16 languages including English, Turkish, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, Hindi, Bengali, Indonesian, and Polish. PERFECT FOR • Couples documenting their relationship journey • Parents tracking children's growth and milestones • Families preserving traditions and celebrations • Friends collecting shared adventures and memories • Anyone wanting to organize life's precious moments PREMIUM FEATURES Upgrade to unlock unlimited memory spaces, advanced themes, enhanced organization tools, and priority support. Start with a free trial and discover everything DearMemory has to offer. Start building your personal memory collection today. Your future self will thank you for preserving these precious moments. Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: https://owebsite.wordpress.com/dear-memory-privacy-terms-and-users/ EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Journal

A private, offline diary and notes app that keeps your thoughts secure on your device. Write freely, set custom reminders, and track your progress with a distraction-free editor. Everything is encrypted and stored locally for ultimate privacy.

Highlights
  • Private offline diary
  • Secure with Face ID/Touch ID/passcode
  • Encrypted local storage
  • Customizable reminders
  • Home screen widget for quick capture
  • Mood and tag tracking
  • Writing streak and mood trend analysis
Features
Read full description

Journal is a private diary and reminders app that keeps everything on your device. No accounts, no cloud sync, no tracking — your words never leave your iPhone. A secure place to write Write freely in a clean, distraction-free editor. Your journal is protected by Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode, and entries are encrypted on your device. Add moods and tags, revisit past entries by date, and search everything instantly. Reminders that use your own words Jot down to-dos, plans, or affirmations and let Journal remind you at the times you choose. Turn notifications on or off per note, so you're nudged about what matters and left alone about what doesn't. Quick capture A home screen widget lets you capture a thought the moment it hits — no need to open the app and find the right screen. Track your rhythm See your writing streaks, mood trends over time, and a calendar view of your journaling history. Yours, and only yours Everything is stored locally and encrypted. There are no accounts to create and nothing is uploaded to a server. Export or make an encrypted backup whenever you want. Private by design. Simple by choice.

Screenshots

Dear Memory4 screens
Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Journal at none against Dear Memory's 3. Dear Memory's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads 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. Dear Memory sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dear Memory ships an update every 2 days, Journal every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Dear Memory versus Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDear MemoryJournal
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGokhan Alp AtarTag Studios Limited Liability Company

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Dear Memory

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly7 Days trial$15.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$39.99
None

Journal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dear Memory free?
Dear Memory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Journal free?
Journal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dear Memory or Journal have ads?
Neither Dear Memory nor Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dear Memory or Journal?
Dear Memory ships an update every 2 days, and Journal every 2 months. Most recently, Dear Memory was updated on October 3, 2026 and Journal on October 4, 2026.

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