Comparison

Local Journal vs NinDiary

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

Head to head
About

Local Journal

Features
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Write privately. Everything stays on your device. Local Journal is a simple place to capture your thoughts, memories, ideas, and daily life. There are no accounts to create, no ads, and no cloud services managing your journal. Open the app, write, and close it. Your journal stays yours. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Write journal entries with a date and optional title • Automatically save your writing as you type • Organize entries by month with your newest entries first • Add mood markers and custom tags to every entry • Search across titles, entries, and tags • Filter entries by mood or tag • Browse your journal on a calendar • See how many days you've written each month • Delete entries with an undo option • Choose Light Mode, Dark Mode, or follow your system appearance OPTIONAL PASSCODE LOCK Protect your journal with an optional passcode. When enabled, your entries are stored encrypted. Your passcode is never stored or sent anywhere, and because there is no server, it cannot be recovered if forgotten. You can turn the lock off again with your passcode. EXPORT YOUR JOURNAL Take your journal with you whenever you want. Export your entries as: • PDF • Markdown • JSON backup Import a previous backup at any time. Before anything changes, you'll see exactly what will happen and can choose whether to merge your entries or replace your existing journal. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your thoughts belong to you. • No account required • No signup • No cloud storage • No tracking • No analytics • No advertising The app never uploads your journal. If you choose to export it, you decide where it goes. WORKS COMPLETELY OFFLINE Everything Local Journal needs is included in the app. Writing, searching, organizing, browsing your calendar, and exporting your journal all work without an internet connection, even in Airplane Mode. PART OF THE LOCAL FAMILY Local Journal is part of the Local family of apps by Eden Apps. Every Local app is built around one simple principle: Your information belongs to you. Everything runs on your device. localjournalapp.com

About

NinDiary

Features
Read full description

NinDiary — make recording a habit, make your data count. Not a plain diary. Each day is one structured page: a photo-and-text journal, to-dos, life events and expenses, all recorded together — so when you look back, life is clear. STRUCTURED DAILY LOG · Photo & text journal with a Markdown-friendly editor: titles, quotes, dividers, images · Daily to-do list — check things off; unfinished items surface on your home page the next day · Custom event categories: workout, dinner, travel, doctor visits… everything that happened, kept in order · Expense tracking with monthly & yearly stats and comparisons — see where your money goes A HOME PAGE LIKE NO OTHER 18 home cards you can toggle and reorder freely: GitHub-style contribution heatmap, time-flown counter, daily quote, calendar, today's to-dos/events/expenses, yearly spending, quick capture and more. The bottom toolbar and quick links are fully customizable too. One-tap presets — To-do mode, Budget mode, Event mode, Diary mode — reconfigure the whole page at once. Your home page, your rules. LOCAL-FIRST & PRIVATE · All data stays on your device. Every core feature — writing, stats, search, memories — works offline with no account required · Cloud backups are AES-encrypted on your device before upload: your backup password never leaves your phone, the server only ever stores ciphertext, and we can never read your content · App lock with PIN protection MEMORIES, REDISCOVERED "On this day", random memories, calendar browsing, list browsing, full-text search and a yearly contribution graph — the value of recording pays off when you look back. MORE Dark mode, multiple fonts and sizes, Chinese/English interface, export & share, flomo sync. The free version covers full daily journaling. Pro is an optional upgrade via Apple In-App Purchase, unlocking deep home customization, encrypted cloud backup and app lock. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS · Lifetime $9.9 (see the in-app products actually offered) · Lifetime is a one-time purchase · Terms of Use: https://xcnpm8v7cf45.feishu.cn/wiki/VN4jwdNh4iQ8hEk9Tu5clMrInxh · Privacy Policy: https://xcnpm8v7cf45.feishu.cn/wiki/AOYuwvm4eiKrTbkfqvOckdxMn3c —— Feedback & support: pengloo53@gmail.com

Screenshots

Local Journal4 screens
NinDiary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Local Journal at none against NinDiary's 1. NinDiary's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). 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. NinDiary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Local Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Local Journal ships an update monthly, NinDiary every 3 days. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Local Journal versus NinDiary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLocal JournalNinDiary
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEden Schlegel鹏 鲁

In-app purchases

None

Local Journal

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

NinDiary

One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is Local Journal free?
Local Journal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NinDiary free?
NinDiary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Local Journal or NinDiary have ads?
Neither Local Journal nor NinDiary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Local Journal or NinDiary?
Local Journal ships an update monthly, and NinDiary every 3 days. Most recently, Local Journal was updated on November 10, 2026 and NinDiary on November 10, 2026.

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