# cal vs Lucy Diary

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: cal at none against Lucy Diary's 3. Lucy Diary's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.4). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Lucy Diary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. cal asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for cal against 5.0 for Lucy Diary. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

cal ships an update every 10 days, Lucy Diary weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | cal | Lucy Diary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cal-diary/id6766692881/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lucy-diary-private-journal/id6769486832/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 1 MB | 72 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.4 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Begimay Ahmatova](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896315951) | [Tahj Elliott](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896662619) |

## What reviewers say

### cal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cal-diary/id6766692881)

Capture and revisit your daily memories with photos and notes. This app presents your month as a visual calendar, allowing you to easily view past moments. Your data remains private and stored solely on your device.

**Highlights:** Add photos to any day, Jot down notes for each entry, View month as a photo calendar, Full-screen view of daily memories, Export entries for sharing, Private, on-device storage

**In-app purchases:** none


### Lucy Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lucy-diary-private-journal/id6769486832)

A private and cozy digital journal for daily thoughts, dreams, and memories. Offers a clean writing space with optional premium features for enhanced customization and photo attachments.

**Highlights:** Daily diary entries, Distraction-free writing space, Privacy-focused experience, Customization and cozy themes, Photo attachments, Premium diary layouts

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Diary+ Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Diary+ Yearly | $7.99 | per year |
| Diary+ Lifetime | $11.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is cal free?

cal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Lucy Diary free?

Lucy Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, cal or Lucy Diary?

cal and Lucy Diary are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do cal or Lucy Diary have ads?

Neither cal nor Lucy Diary shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, cal or Lucy Diary?

cal ships an update every 10 days, and Lucy Diary weekly. Most recently, cal was updated on October 24, 2026 and Lucy Diary on October 18, 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.*