Comparison

Fading Ink vs Diary

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

Head to head
About

Fading Ink

Features
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This is a diary that decays. Every word you write begins to disappear from the moment you set it down. Fading, displaced, repeating โ€” then nothing. Not because you deleted it. Because time decided. Open it tomorrow and you'll find yesterday's words are fewer. Last week's entry is barely legible. The one from three months ago is just a date. This is not a bug. This is the design. It's simple to use. Open the app, write what you want to say today. You can write a lot or just a line. Before midnight you can keep adding โ€” but you cannot edit what you've already written. At midnight, it locks. The decay begins. Tomorrow is a new page. This is a real diary. Write it. Then let it go.

About

Diary

Features
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One line a day. That's the whole idea. A private five-year micro diary that takes ten seconds a night โ€” and one day shows you what you wrote on this exact date one, two, five years ago. Write one short line about today, auto-dated. Tomorrow, another. A month from now you have a quiet calendar of your days; a year from now, today comes back to meet you. That's it. No prompts to answer, no streaks to keep, no guilt for a missed day โ€” a missed day just stays empty. ONE LINE A DAY - A single 280-character entry per day, dated for you - Editable the same day โ€” then it's part of the record - A beautiful, calm, paper-warm design with serif writing - Add a photo to any day's entry - Color themes, including a dark mode ON THIS DAY - YOUR MEMORY KEEPER - See the same date across every past year, stacked on one page - "One year ago... two years ago... five years ago..." - A five-year diary that quietly writes itself A WHOLE MONTH AT A GLANCE - A soft month calendar with a dot on every day you wrote - No charts, no percentages โ€” just your days A PRIVATE DIARY WITH LOCK - Optional Face ID / Touch ID app lock - An offline journal โ€” no account, no sign-in, no cloud - Nothing is ever uploaded; your words stay on your phone CALM BY DESIGN - One gentle daily reminder, at a time you choose โ€” never a streak, never a nag - No badges, no goals, no gamification - Just a quiet place for your daily journal YOURS TO KEEP - Look back through your entire diary, any time - Export your whole diary as a PDF or plain text, any time Whether you call it a one line a day journal, a micro journal, a memory keeper, or simply your diary โ€” this is the simplest way to remember your life, ten seconds at a time. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ โ€” Privacy Policy: https://kanac.github.io/syanac-legal/

Screenshots

Fading Ink4 screens
Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Diary at Free against Fading Ink's $3.99. Fading Ink's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Diary is free to download; Fading Ink costs $3.99 up front. Diary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Fading Ink asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Fading Ink versus Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFading InkDiary
Price$3.99Free โ€” better
Update frequencyโ€”Every 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS17.016.4 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size243 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMuheng LiAnthony Chui

In-app purchases

None

Fading Ink

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Diary

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$11.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$35.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Fading Ink free?
Fading Ink costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Diary free?
Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Fading Ink or Diary have ads?
Neither Fading Ink nor Diary shows ads.

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