Dabble Me vs Day One
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dabble Me
Private journal you keep by replying to email prompts
Day One
Encrypted journal for text, photos, audio and video across devices
Where they differ
- Dabble Me starts at $4 per month, or $40 per year. Day One starts at $49.99 per year.
- Only Day One lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Day One lists a browser extension.
- Dabble Me is open source, according to its own site.
- Day One is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Day One also covers transcription, Markdown and templates.
At a glance
| Dabble Me | Day One | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4 per month, or $40 per year | $49.99 per year |
| Free plan | Free forever: an email prompt every other Sunday, journaling by email reply, reading entries online, past entries resurfaced in emails, and data export. | Basic plan: unlimited text entries and journals, 1 photo per entry, end-to-end encryption, prompts, templates and web access, used from 1 device. |
| Free trial | None listed | Free 1-month trial of a paid plan, started inside the app. Eligibility is controlled by the app stores. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Dabble Dev LLC | Automattic Inc. |
| Price read from | dabble.me | dayoneapp.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Dabble Me
- People who would sooner reply to an email than open a journaling app
- Rereading old entries, which come back inside the prompt emails
- Journal keepers who want to query their entries from Claude or ChatGPT
Day One
- People who want one journal across Apple, Android, Windows and the web
- Journals that mix writing with photos, video, audio and drawings
- Writers who want end-to-end encryption without paying
Worth knowing
Dabble Me
- There is no mobile or desktop app: you write by replying to an email or in a web browser.
- Free accounts get a prompt only every other Sunday; daily prompts, photos, search, the calendar view and the web editor need PRO.
- Entries are not end-to-end encrypted: the privacy policy notes that email content passes through email providers in transit.
- Entries an AI assistant reads through the connector are sent to that assistant's provider for processing.
Day One
- The free Basic plan is limited to 1 device and 1 photo per entry; video, audio, drawings and collections need Silver.
- Paid plans are sold as annual subscriptions only; Day One's help guides say monthly plans are not offered.
- AI features are limited to Gold at $74.99 per year and have daily usage limits.
- Silver and Gold subscriptions cannot be shared through Apple Family Sharing.
Key features
Dabble Me
- Journaling by email reply
- A prompt arrives in your inbox and your reply becomes that day's entry. Several replies on one day are added to the same entry, and a date in the subject line files it elsewhere.
- Blasts from the past
- Each prompt email carries an entry you wrote on an earlier date, so old entries come back without you looking for them. This is part of the free plan.
- Custom schedule
- PRO members choose the days and times prompts arrive, from daily to weekly. Free accounts get a prompt every other Sunday.
- Photos, hashtags and search
- PRO adds up to 8 photos per entry, sent as email attachments or added on the web, plus a calendar view and search across entries and #hashtags.
- Web editor and importers
- PRO members can write or edit an entry for any date on the website with rich text, and import journals from OhLife, Day One, Ahhlife and Trailmix.life.
- AI connector over MCP
- A remote MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT and other compatible clients search, list, analyze and add entries after you approve access. It needs PRO and a passkey or two-factor login.
Day One
- Multimedia entries
- Entries combine Markdown-formatted text with photos, video, audio recordings, drawings and scanned PDFs. Basic allows 1 photo per entry; Silver and Gold allow 30 media items.
- End-to-end encryption and app lock
- Every plan, including the free one, lists end-to-end encryption, passcode protection, biometric lock and secure cloud backup.
- Prompts, templates and streaks
- A daily prompt, a prompt gallery, journal templates, reminders and journal streaks are included on all three plans.
- On This Day, calendar and map views
- On This Day resurfaces entries from the same date in past years, and entries can also be browsed by calendar, map or media.
- Sync across devices
- Silver and Gold sync a journal across an unlimited number of devices. Basic backs up from one active device, with web access included.
- AI reflection tools
- Gold adds Daily Chat for guided reflection, Go Deeper prompts, entry summaries, title suggestions and image generation, each with daily usage limits.
Plans
Dabble Me
Free$0
An email prompt every other Sunday, entries written by email reply and read online, past entries resurfaced, and export at any time.
PRO$4
per month, or $40 per year
Custom email schedule, web editor with rich text, up to 8 photos per entry, calendar view, search, tags, analytics and the AI connector.
Day One
Basic$0
Unlimited text entries and journals, 1 photo per entry, end-to-end encryption, prompts and templates, on 1 device.
Silver$49.99
per year (no monthly plan is offered)
30 photos or videos per entry, unlimited devices, audio recording and transcription, drawings, PDF scanning, and Strava, Zapier and IFTTT integrations.
Gold$74.99
per year (no monthly plan is offered)
Everything in Silver, plus Daily Chat, Go Deeper prompts, entry summaries, title suggestions and image generation.
Ways to pay less
Dabble Me
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
PRO is listed at $4 a month or $40 a year, so paying yearly costs $8 less than twelve monthly payments, a saving of about 17%.
Day One
- Education
25% off for students for the first 4 years
Day One's FAQ offers students 25% off paid subscriptions for the first 4 years, after verifying student status with support by student ID or university email.
