1 Second Everyday vs Apple Journal
We give 1 Second Everyday a 3.0 GPA and Apple Journal a 3.4, out of 4.0. Apple Journal grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
1 Second Everyday
Video diary that stitches one second a day into a movie
Free plan · from $49.99/yr
How we grade them
| 3.0GPA1 Second EverydayVery good | 3.4GPAApple JournalVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro is $49.99 a year, about typical for a journaling app, and it adds unlimited and longer snippets, cloud backup, music and export up to 4K. There's no monthly plan. Life of Pro is $249 once, so it takes about five years of the yearly price to pay off. | AFree on the US App Store, with no in-app purchases shown. Nothing is held back for a paid tier, because there isn't one. Sync runs through iCloud with your Apple Account. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree covers the original idea: one Journal project and one 1-second snippet a day. But there's no cloud backup and no 1080p export, and removing ads is a Pro thing. A 1-week free trial of Pro can be used only once. | AEverything is free: multiple journals, journaling suggestions, Insights, the lock and iCloud sync. There's no trial to run out and no upgrade to be sold. |
| Features | BIt does one thing, the video diary, and does it fully: calendar projects, Freestyle projects for trips, a Collab mode for up to six people, Smart-Fill for a month in one tap, and a music editor in Pro. Writing is just a private note on a day, though, and filters are iOS only. | BText with photos, videos, drawings, map locations and transcribed voice recordings, plus several journals, a Places map, streak Insights and PDF export. Solid. But some App Store reviewers find it too bare and miss tags, and transcription is English only. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 48,200 App Store ratings. Pick a clip or a photo for the day and you're done, and the app does the stitching. Daily reminders prompt you, so the calendar doesn't fill up with holes. | A4.8 from about 328,800 App Store ratings. Reviewers like how plain it is: open it and write. Suggestions hand you something to start from, so you're not staring at an empty page. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone and Android only, and on iPad it runs as the iPhone app at iPad size. There's no desktop or web version, and content doesn't sync between devices. It can use content from Google Photos, and that's the only connection on record. | CiPhone, iPad and Mac, and that's all. No Android, Windows or web version is offered. What it connects to is Apple too: Health, iCloud, Apple Music and Safari. |
| Best for | a video diary made one second at a time | a free journal for iPhone, iPad and Mac |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: 1 Second Everyday and Apple Journal. How we grade
Where they differ
- 1 Second Everyday starts at $49.99 per year. Apple Journal is free.
- Only 1 Second Everyday lists an Android app.
- Only Apple Journal lists a macOS app.
- 1 Second Everyday can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Apple Journal is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- 1 Second Everyday also covers video editing.
- Apple Journal also covers transcription and mood tracking.
In commonFree planiOSDaily notes
At a glance
| 1 Second Everyday | Apple Journal | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $49.99 per year | Free |
| Free plan | Free with one Journal project and one 1-second snippet a day. Extra projects, longer snippets, 1SE Cloud backup, 1080p and 4K export and ad removal need Pro. | The app is listed as free on the US App Store with no in-app purchases shown. Syncing between devices runs through iCloud with an Apple Account. |
| Free trial | 1-week free trial of Pro, which can be used only once. | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | 1 Second Everyday, P.B.C. | Apple |
| Price read from | me.1se.co | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
1 Second Everyday
- People who want a visual diary they can keep up in a few seconds a day
- Parents recording a child's first years as a single video
- Year-in-review or trip recap videos without manual editing
Apple Journal
- iPhone, iPad and Mac owners who want a journal at no cost
- People who like prompts drawn from their photos, workouts and outings
- Logging state of mind to the Health app alongside written entries
Worth knowing
1 Second Everyday
- Mobile only: there is no desktop or web version, and on iPad it runs as the iPhone app at iPad size.
- Content does not sync between devices. Moving a project means restoring a 1SE backup, which needs Pro and replaces what is on the device.
- Free accounts get one Journal project and one 1-second snippet a day, with no cloud backup.
- The help center says there is no monthly plan: Pro is $49.99 a year or a one-time $249.
Apple Journal
- Listed only for iPhone, iPad and Mac; no Android, Windows or web version is offered.
- Apple says audio transcription is available in English only, excluding the Singapore and India locales.
- End-to-end encryption of entries stored in iCloud requires two-factor authentication and a device passcode.
- On Mac, journal entries are not included in iCloud backups; Apple points to Time Machine for a backup copy.
Key features
1 Second Everyday
- Journal projects
- A calendar project where each day gets at least one second taken from a video or photo. Free accounts are limited to one Journal project and one snippet a day.
- Mashing into a movie
- The app compiles snippets into one continuous video of any length, such as a month, a season or several years. Pro adds HD and 4K export and removes the date stamp and 1SE branding.
- Freestyle and Freestyle Collab
- Freestyle projects are not tied to the calendar and suit trips or events. Freestyle Collab lets up to six people add snippets to one project; only one of them needs Pro.
- Smart-Fill and reminders
- Smart-Fill fills a month of days in one tap, and daily reminders prompt you to capture a moment. You can also add a private note to a day.
- Music and editing tools
- Pro includes a music editor with royalty-free tracks and access to your own music library, plus brightness and volume control for each snippet. Filters are iOS only.
- 1SE Cloud backup
- Pro backs up all projects, encrypted, to 1SE's servers on Amazon Web Services in the US. After a subscription ends the backup is kept for 12 months and then deleted.
Apple Journal
- Journaling suggestions
- Suggested moments group outings, photos, workouts and media into starting points for an entry, alongside writing and reflection prompts. Suggestions are created with on-device processing.
- Text, media and voice entries
- Entries hold formatted text, photos, videos, drawings and map locations. Voice recordings made in the app are transcribed automatically.
- Multiple journals and Places
- Separate journals can each have a custom name and icon. The Places view shows entries on a map by location, and entries can be searched, filtered and bookmarked.
- Insights and reminders
- Insights shows the current writing streak, the days journaled and other statistics. Scheduled and streak notifications remind you when it is time to write.
- State of mind logging
- A state of mind can be logged from within Journal and saved to the Health app, and writing time is saved to Health as Mindful Minutes.
- Lock, sync and export
- The journal can be locked with a passcode, Touch ID or Face ID. Entries sync through iCloud and can be printed or exported to PDF, singly or by date range.
Plans
1 Second Everyday
Free$0
One Journal project with a single 1-second snippet per day, without cloud backup or 1080p export.
Yearly Pro$49.99
per year
Unlimited projects and snippets per day, snippets up to 10 seconds, 1SE Cloud backup, a music editor, export up to 4K, collaboration and no ads.
Life of Pro$249
one-time payment
The same Pro features kept on the account for good with nothing to renew. Sold on the vendor's website.
Apple Journal
Free$0
Every feature of the app on iPhone, iPad and Mac, including multiple journals, journaling suggestions, Insights and iCloud sync.
Ways to pay less
1 Second Everyday
- Lifetime license
Life of Pro for a one-time $249
1SE's help center and purchase page list Life of Pro at $249 paid once, which keeps Pro on the account with nothing to renew. Earlier yearly payments do not count toward it.
- Other savings
Apple Family Sharing for Pro
A Pro subscription bought through the App Store can be shared with the members of an Apple Family Sharing group from the iPhone's subscription settings.
Apple Journal
No public discounts listed.
