# Orca vs Journal

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Journal at none against Orca's 2. Journal also leads on ratings volume (338K vs 4.1K). Orca's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (93% vs 80%). On price, rating and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Orca sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Orca against 4.8 for Journal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Journal has 338K ratings behind it against 4.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of Orca's written reviews are positive against 80% of Journal's.

Orca ships an update every 9 days, Journal every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Orca | Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (4.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/orca-gratitude-journal/id707073943/reviews)** | [4.8 (338K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal/id6447391597/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 4.1K | **338K** |
| Positive reviews | **93.2% of reviews** | 79.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 55 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 17.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [HappyFeed Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/707073946) | [Apple Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353) |

## What reviewers say

### Orca

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/orca-gratitude-journal/id707073943)

This app is a daily photo and video journal focused on gratitude and positive memories. It helps users reflect on good things to boost happiness and offers private or group sharing options. Features include daily prompts, memory recaps, and secure storage.

**Highlights:** Daily photo and video journaling, Gratitude prompts and quotes, Private and group memory sharing, Daily throwbacks and widgets, Gratitude Jar for random memories, Passcode and biometric lock, PDF/CSV export (Plus only)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Video Diary & Log - Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Daily Photo Journal - Yearly | $39.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- ❤️ Gratitude journal
- 📷 Ability to add photos
- 🗓️ Ability to look back on past entries
- 🙂 Helps focus on the positive
- 🤗 Brings joy and happiness

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Limited free version
- 💰 Subscription model
- 🗓️ Limited calendar view in free version
- 📝 Character limit for entries
- 🤖 Distracting prompts

**Reported bugs**

- Widget not working properly
- Entries not saving correctly
- Crashes on older devices

**Requested features**

- Ability to add more than 3 entries per day
- Offline mode
- More customization options
- Advanced search and filtering
- Ability to comment on others' entries


### Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal/id6447391597)

Capture and reflect on life's moments with rich media like photos, videos, and audio. Intelligent suggestions and prompts help you start writing, while multiple journals and goal tracking support a consistent practice. Sync across devices for seamless access.

**Highlights:** Journaling suggestions and prompts, Rich media attachments (photos, video, audio), Handwriting and sketching support, Multiple journal organization, Streaks and insights for habit tracking, Cross-device iCloud sync

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Journaling made easy
- 🔒 Private and secure
- 👍 Organized and intuitive
- 👍 Helpful suggestions and prompts
- 👍 Convenient voice recording

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Cursor jumps around while typing
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Lack of search and filtering options
- 🔍 Inability to organize entries into folders or tags
- 🔍 Limited customization options for fonts, colors, etc.

**Reported bugs**

- Cursor jumping to top/bottom of entry while typing
- App freezing or crashing when adding multiple photos
- Inconsistent behavior when editing existing entries

**Requested features**

- Add search and filtering capabilities
- Implement tagging and folder organization
- Provide more customization options
- Expand to iPad and Mac platforms
- Integrate with Health app for mood tracking


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Orca free?

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

### Is Journal free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Orca or Journal?

Orca is rated higher. Orca averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4.1K ratings, while Journal averages 4.8 from 338K ratings.

### Do Orca or Journal have ads?

Neither Orca nor Journal shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Orca or Journal?

Orca ships an update every 9 days, and Journal every 3 months. Most recently, Orca was updated on October 29, 2026 and Journal on October 30, 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.*