# Diary, Journal, Notes vs Diary

The clearest difference is update cadence: Diary, Journal, Notes at weekly against Diary's every 2 months. Diary, Journal, Notes also leads on ratings volume (4.5K vs 1.4K). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Diary, Journal, Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per year and Diary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Diary, Journal, Notes against 4.6 for Diary. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.5K and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Diary, Journal, Notes's written reviews are positive against 77% of Diary's.

Diary, Journal, Notes ships an update weekly, Diary every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Diary, Journal, Notes | Diary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (4.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diary-journal-notes-diaro/id882519460/reviews)** | [4.6 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diary-journal-with-lock/id1590102229/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4.5K** | 1.4K |
| Positive reviews | 70.1% of reviews | **77.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 56 MB | 65 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Abhishek Kumar](https://appshunter.io/developer/1652325499) | [智文 许](https://appshunter.io/developer/1570825478) |

## What reviewers say

### Diary, Journal, Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diary-journal-notes-diaro/id882519460)

Record daily activities, thoughts, and memories securely. Organize entries with tags, locations, and folders. Sync across devices and export your data easily. Features include mood tracking, photo attachments, and a calendar view.

**Highlights:** Secure PIN and fingerprint lock, Customizable themes and 30+ languages, Powerful search and filtering, Mood tracker and Atlas view, Backup, restore, import, and export options, Cloud sync via Dropbox, Attach unlimited photos

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Diaro Pro 1 Year | $8.99 | per year |
| Diaro PRO | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Consistent for years
- 🚀 Excellent app
- 🚀 Great app and great support
- 👍 Love this app
- 👍 Fantastic replacement to a physical diary

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Suddenly become useless
- 🐛 Terrible app
- 🐛 Doesn't work anymore
- 🐛 Horrible, don't work
- 🐛 PIN protection doesn't work

**Reported bugs**

- Reminders broken on iOS
- Crashes after activating Touch ID
- Stuck on blue logo page after Touch ID stopped working
- Sync issues between devices
- Entries disappearing or not saving properly

**Requested features**

- 💡 Add bold, underline, italics formatting
- 💡 Add ability to add captions to images
- 💡 Add ability to customize moods
- 💡 Add Face ID, iCloud sync, and additional fonts
- 💡 Add ability to format text, add bullet points, link to calendars


### Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/diary-journal-with-lock/id1590102229)

This app allows you to record your daily thoughts, moods, and experiences in a private digital journal. It offers a visually appealing way to document memories and review your emotional journey over time.

**Highlights:** Write journal entries, Record daily moods, Rich visual materials, Mood review feature, Private notebook

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plus Version | $2.49 | per month |
| Quarterly Plus | $4.49 | per 3 months |
| Pro Version | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for staying on track
- 👍 Fun and enjoyable experience
- 👍 Great for OC diaries
- 👍 Aesthetically pleasing
- 👍 Calming and relaxing

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 💰 Paywall for certain features like password protection
- 🤔 Some language barriers for non-Chinese users
- 🤔 Ads can be intrusive
- 🤔 Limited customization options without premium version

**Reported bugs**

- Deleted user entries
- Sticker issues causing data loss
- Compatibility problems on older devices

**Requested features**

- Password protection or locking feature for free users
- More plain text editing options
- Ability to enlarge text
- Improved syncing and backup functionality
- Expanded language support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Diary, Journal, Notes free?

Diary, Journal, Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Diary free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Diary, Journal, Notes or Diary?

Diary, Journal, Notes is rated higher. Diary, Journal, Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while Diary averages 4.6 from 1.4K ratings.

### Do Diary, Journal, Notes or Diary have ads?

Both Diary, Journal, Notes and Diary show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Diary, Journal, Notes or Diary?

Diary, Journal, Notes ships an update weekly, and Diary every 2 months. Most recently, Diary, Journal, Notes was updated on September 25, 2026 and Diary on September 12, 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.*