Comparison

Year in Pixels vs Today Was

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

Head to head
About

Year in Pixels

Features
Read full description

Year in Pixels turns your mood into a picture. Every day becomes one colored pixel, and over weeks and months your whole year fills in as a mood mosaic you can read at a glance. Checking in takes about five seconds: tap how you feel, and today's pixel paints itself. YOUR YEAR IN PIXELS - One colored tile for every day, from rough to great - Your whole year on one screen: good stretches, hard weeks, slow changes - Tap any day to see what you logged - Flip back to past years, and share your year as an image A 5-SECOND MOOD TRACKER - Pick a mood with one tap; add emotions, activities, energy or a note only if you want - Check in as often as you like, morning, evening or both - A gentle daily reminder at the time you choose MOOD CALENDAR & DAILY JOURNAL - Browse any month as a colored mood calendar - Your notes and tags stay with the day they belong to PATTERNS & INSIGHTS - Average mood, check-ins and streaks over 7, 30 and 90 days - A mood trend chart that shows where things are heading - See which activities and habits tend to go with your better days - A warm weekly recap and a deeper monthly analysis, written for you on your device HABITS ALONGSIDE YOUR MOOD - Track the habits that matter to you: exercise, sleep, reading, anything - Streaks and completion at a glance, right next to how you felt MAKE IT YOURS - Mosaic color themes to match your style - Export your entries as CSV or JSON anytime PRIVATE BY DESIGN - Your check-ins live on your device and sync only through your own private iCloud - No account to create, no third-party tracking A calmer way to notice how you're really doing, one pixel a day. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Today Was

This app offers a private, voice-first journaling experience. Record your memories by speaking naturally, with options to keep original transcripts, cleaned versions, and attach photos. It works offline and prioritizes user privacy with on-device encryption.

Highlights
  • Voice-first journaling
  • Original transcript and cleaned version
  • Attach multiple photos
  • Offline functionality
  • On-device encryption
  • Export and import journal data
Features
Read full description

Some days disappear before you have time to write them down. Today Was makes keeping them simple: open the app, speak naturally, and save the moment in your own words. Today Was is a private, voice-first journal for remembering everyday life without the pressure of writing the perfect entry. Keep your Verbatim transcript alongside a Cleaned version that turns scattered thoughts into clearer, more cohesive sentences without inventing details. CAPTURE THE DAY YOUR WAY • Speak or type a memory • Keep the original transcript and optional audio • Attach multiple photos, browse them in a full-screen gallery, and add another moment to the same day • Highlight the days you want to find again • Personalize Today with a background photo and readable, adaptive contrast REMEMBER THE WHOLE SETTING With your permission, Today Was can add a place, weather, and moon phase to a memory. Your journal works offline after setup: write, search, and save locally without service; weather and map details can refresh when you reconnect. FIND YOUR WAY BACK Browse your journal as a timeline or calendar, search your words and tags on-device, revisit highlighted days, and set a discreet daily reminder. BUILT FOR PRIVACY New journal entries, transcripts, photos, audio, settings, and saved day context are encrypted and stored on your device. Search and Cleaned writing run on-device after your vault is unlocked. You choose whether to add location or weather context. YOUR STORY, PORTABLE Create a decrypted export with your words and media when you want a copy you control, then import it later. There is no automatic cloud backup or multi-device sync, so keep your recovery key and exports somewhere safe. Your first 10 memories are free. Unlock Full Journal with one non-consumable, one-time in-app purchase—no subscription—and keep adding to your story. Say today. Keep it true.

Screenshots

Year in Pixels4 screens
Today Was4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Year in Pixels at none against Today Was's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Today Was sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Year in Pixels asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Year in Pixels versus Today Was: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYear in PixelsToday Was
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNeobile LLCCharged Alpha

In-app purchases

None

Year in Pixels

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Today Was

One-time1
  • Full Journal$29.99

Questions

Is Year in Pixels free?
Year in Pixels is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Today Was free?
Today Was is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Year in Pixels or Today Was have ads?
Neither Year in Pixels nor Today Was shows ads.

Other comparisons