dot vs How was today?
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
dot
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Give today's feelings a place among the stars. dot is a journal for reflecting on your emotions and thoughts, one question at a time. Revisit your entries as stars in your own universe. ⢠Guided reflection: Choose an emotion and its intensity, then write about the situation and your thoughts. ⢠Revisit your journal: Explore a calendar, keywords, bookmarks and search. Edit or delete your entries. ⢠Emotion patterns: Explore monthly and yearly emotion distributions, keywords, and intensity by weekday and time of day. ⢠Daily reminders: Choose whether and when to receive a gentle reminder to write. ⢠Available in Korean, English and Japanese. Write once per day for free. Rewarded ads offer additional entries, or subscribe to Premium for unlimited writing without ads. See the purchase screen for subscription pricing and duration. Manage or cancel automatic renewal in your store's subscription settings. dot does not replace medical care or professional treatment. Support: support@pauselabs.app Privacy Policy: https://pauselabs.app/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://pauselabs.app/terms.html
How was today?
This app simplifies journaling by sending a daily question via notification, allowing quick entries. It resurfaces past answers on the same day a year later, helping you rediscover forgotten memories without pressure.
- Daily question notifications
- Lock screen widget
- Calendar view with mood and weather
- iCloud sync
- Export to text file
- Face ID lock
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You don't have to go looking for it. Every evening a single question arrives. Tap the notification and the app opens ready for you to write. No menus, no hunting. Three seconds is enough to keep today. A year later, the same day comes around. And your answer from last year is waiting beside the new one. A day you'd forgotten comes back to you. Built for people who can't keep a journal. If a blank page has ever stopped you, the question starts it for you. No word counts. No streaks. No nagging. Skip a day and nothing is marked. What's inside Ā· Tap the notification and land straight in the text field Ā· Today's question on your Lock Screen widget Ā· A calendar of everything you've kept ā with mood and weather Ā· iCloud sync, so a new phone changes nothing Ā· Export everything to a text file, any time Ā· Lock the app with Face ID Your entries are yours. Nothing is sent to the developer. There is no server and no analytics. Try it with three entries ā no payment method required. To keep going, it's $2.99 a month or $14.99 a year (about $1.25 a month). Cancel any time; everything you've written stays readable and exportable. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://daehyeon-kim-dev.github.io/how-was-today-site/privacy-en.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: How was today? at none against dot's shown. dot's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 8 days) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. dot sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month and How was today? sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
dot ships an update daily, How was today? every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | dot | How was today? |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | ā | 100.0% of reviews |
| Update frequency | Daily ā better | Every 8 days |
| Ads | Yes | No ā better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | ā | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod ā better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 ā better | 26.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 38 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pause | daehyeon kim |
In-app purchases
dot
- dot Premium Monthly$0.991 Month
How was today?
- 1 Month$2.991 Month
- 1 Year$14.991 Year





