Comparison

SoloNote vs Diary

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

Head to head
About

SoloNote

Features
Read full description

Some notes are nobody else's business. SoloNote is the AI notebook that keeps it that way: the model lives inside the app, so the thinking happens on your iPhone — not on somebody's server. No account. No subscription. No cloud copy of your life. Put your phone in aeroplane mode and the AI keeps working. Try that with any other AI app. NEW: A SCREENSHOT BECOMES A PLAN Screenshot a flight, a train ticket, a hotel booking or a clinic appointment — or share it straight from another app — and SoloNote reads it on your iPhone. Times become reminders (for a ticket, the evening before and two hours before departure), places go on a trip, and "payment due" lines become to-dos. One card, one tap to save, one tap to undo. A time SoloNote isn't sure about starts switched off, so nothing rings at the wrong hour. NEW: TODAY, ON ONE PAGE Reminders, to-dos and the trip stops planned for each day, gathered in one place with the next thing on top. Every Sunday evening, a short summary of your week arrives as a note. NEW: RECEIPTS THAT ADD THEMSELVES UP Capture a receipt or a payment screen and it goes straight to Spending, not into your notes — totalled by month and by category, one total per currency. The amount, shop and date are read by rules, never guessed by the AI. SEARCH & ASK, HONESTLY Search finds every note containing the words you type. Ask a question and tap "Answer from your notes": SoloNote answers from your own notes and shows the notes it used. When the answer isn't there, it says so instead of guessing — and when your notes hold two possible answers, it shows you both. NOTES AS RICH AS YOUR THINKING Photos exactly where they belong, bold, headings, lists, checklists that tick with a tap, links. Formatting is a button — you will never see a markup character. TALK FASTER THAN YOU CAN TYPE Tap once and speak. Your words land on the page as you say them. TIDY THE 2 A.M. SCRIBBLE One tap turns a rushed note into a clear one without changing what you meant — and Restore puts the original back. When a note is already fine, SoloNote says so instead of inventing a rewrite. SCAN IT, IMPORT IT, IT'S A NOTE Import a PDF, Word file or photo of a page and SoloNote turns it into an ordinary note — read on your device, tables and all — that you can search and ask about. "DENTIST ON TUESDAY" BECOMES A REMINDER Write a date and SoloNote offers a reminder in one tap — and, if you like, adds it to your calendar too. SCRIBBLED PLACES BECOME A ROUTE List the places you want to visit, or let SoloNote read them from a note, and get a mapped, ordered trip with the walking or driving time between stops. One tap hands the route to Apple Maps or Google Maps. SOME NOTES HIDE Swipe to lock a note and it vanishes from your lists, your search and Today. Face ID — or your passcode — brings it back. FREE MEANS FREE No ads, no paywall, nothing to unlock, nobody to sign in as. The download is large because the AI comes inside the box. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Your notes, photos, screenshots and documents are read and kept on your device. • No account and no sign-in — ever. • Two features use Apple Maps. Trips sends what you type when adding a stop (that is how places are suggested), plus your location if you add it as a stop. Capture, only if you allow it when it first asks, sends the names and addresses of places it found — never the screenshot or the rest of its text; a receipt with no upcoming date looks nothing up. Opening a trip in Google Maps sends that trip's stops to Google. Your notes never leave. • Anonymous usage statistics help us improve SoloNote, and can be switched off in Settings. Your thinking deserves a room of its own. This is it. SoloNote is available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

About

Diary

Features
Read full description

Keep your thoughts, memories, and everyday moments private with a simple diary designed for personal journaling. Write freely, add photos and moods, and protect your memories with a passcode and Face ID or Touch ID. PRIVATE & SECURE • Protect your diary with a 4–6 digit passcode • Unlock with Face ID or Touch ID • Automatic locking keeps your entries private • Privacy mask protects your screen when the app goes to the background • Your diary data is stored locally on your device • No account and no cloud storage required WRITE YOUR WAY • Write, edit, and read diary entries • Add titles, text, dates, and times • Quickly record a thought, photo, or mood • Add multiple photos, tags, locations, weather, and categories • Use writing templates for today, gratitude, weekends, travel, and more • Customize paper colors, font size, and text color • Favorite important entries • Export an entry as an image to your Photos FIND & RELIVE YOUR MEMORIES • Search titles, entries, categories, tags, and locations • Filter entries by date or photos • Use the calendar to see your journaling history • Discover memories from this day in previous years • Review your month at a glance • Travel through your memories with Time Machine by year • Browse your favorite entries • View statistics for entries, photos, writing streaks, moods, categories, and popular tags BUILD A DAILY JOURNALING HABIT • Track consecutive journaling days • Set a daily reminder • Look back on your writing and memories whenever you want PERSONALIZE YOUR DIARY • Light mode, dark mode, or follow the system • Multiple themes • Customize the look and feel of your journal BACKUP & EXPORT • Back up and restore your diary, photos, and tags • Export your memories as JSON, TXT, or PDF • Keep a copy of your personal memories whenever you need it A private space for everyday thoughts, feelings, photos, and memories—without an account or subscription.

Screenshots

SoloNote4 screens
Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SoloNote at none against Diary's shown. Diary's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
SoloNote versus Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoloNoteDiary
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRolled AI思宇 赵

In-app purchases

None

SoloNote

No in-app purchases

None

Diary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SoloNote free?
SoloNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Diary free?
Diary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SoloNote or Diary have ads?
Diary shows ads; SoloNote does not.

Other comparisons