Day One vs Grid Diary
We give Day One a 3.6 GPA and Grid Diary a 3.2, out of 4.0. Day One grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Day One
Encrypted journal for text, photos, audio and video across devices
Grid Diary
Prompt-based diary and planner laid out as a grid of questions
How we grade them
| 3.6GPADay OneExcellent | 3.2GPAGrid DiaryVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BSilver is $49.99 a year, which is about typical for a journaling app, and it adds sync on unlimited devices, 30 photos or videos per entry, audio and drawings. But there's no monthly plan, and the AI tools need Gold at $74.99 a year. | BMembership is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year on the US App Store, about typical for a journaling app. One subscription covers all your devices and adds sync, the passcode lock and more colour themes. Oddly, Grid Diary's own site quotes less: $2.99 monthly and $22.99 annual. |
| Free plan and trial | BBasic gives you unlimited text entries and journals, prompts, templates and end-to-end encryption for nothing. But it works from 1 device with 1 photo per entry, so there's no sync. A free 1-month trial of a paid plan starts inside the app. | BMany of the features are free, though the listing can't say exactly where the line falls. What's clearly held back is sync between devices, the passcode lock and extra themes. So free means one device and an unlocked diary. The US App Store gives 3 days free on monthly and 1 week on annual. |
| Features | AMarkdown text with photos, video, audio, drawings and scanned PDFs. Browse by calendar, by map or by On This Day, which resurfaces entries from past years. Add a daily prompt, templates, streaks and an app lock, and on Gold an AI Daily Chat and entry summaries. | BA grid of prompted boxes per entry, from a built-in library or your own. Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly entries, templates for gratitude, goals and planning, a Markdown editor, several journals, tags and export to PDF, Markdown and JPG. Solid. Photos are the only attachments named, and the lock is for members. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 118,400 App Store ratings. A daily prompt, a prompt gallery and templates are on every plan, so you've always got somewhere to start. Reminders and streaks are there to bring you back. | A4.6 from 963 App Store ratings. Answering one short question per box is easier than facing an empty page, and templates set the grid up for you. One thing to check: the App Store version needs iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 or later. |
| Platforms and integrations | AiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android, Mac, Windows, the web and a browser extension. Silver adds Strava, Zapier and IFTTT integrations. Just remember that journaling from more than one device is a paid feature. | BiPhone, iPad, Mac and Android. There's no Windows app, and no web version is listed, so on a PC you're out of luck. The only connection on record is Apple Health, and sync between devices is members only. |
| Best for | one journal on every device you own | answering prompts in place of a blank page |
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: Day One and Grid Diary. How we grade
Where they differ
- Day One starts at $49.99 per year. Grid Diary starts at $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year.
- Only Day One lists a web app.
- Only Day One lists a Windows app.
- Only Day One lists a browser extension.
- Day One is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Day One also covers transcription.
- Grid Diary also covers habit tracking.
At a glance
| Day One | Grid Diary | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49.99 per year | $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year |
| Free plan | Basic plan: unlimited text entries and journals, 1 photo per entry, end-to-end encryption, prompts, templates and web access, used from 1 device. | Many of the app's features are free to use. Sync between all your devices, the passcode lock and more color themes are member-only. |
| Free trial | Free 1-month trial of a paid plan, started inside the app. Eligibility is controlled by the app stores. | The US App Store gives 3 days free on the monthly plan and 1 week on the annual plan; the vendor's site says 14 days on annual. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Automattic Inc. | Sumi Interactive |
| Price read from | dayoneapp.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Grid Diary
- People who find a blank page hard and prefer answering prompts
- Weekly, monthly and yearly reviews alongside a daily diary
- Building a custom journal or planner from templates
Worth knowing
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.
Grid Diary
- Sync between devices, the passcode lock and extra color themes require the paid membership.
- The vendor's site quotes $2.99 monthly and $22.99 annual, while the US App Store lists $4.99 and $29.99.
- Apps are listed for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android; no Windows app is offered.
- The App Store version requires iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 or later.
Key features
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.
Grid Diary
- Grid format with prompts
- An entry is a customizable grid of prompted boxes on a single page. Prompts come from a built-in library, or you can write your own.
- Day, week, month and year entries
- Separate daily, weekly, monthly and yearly entries let you plan and review at each time scale within the same journal.
- Templates
- Customizable templates cover a gratitude journal, a goal tracker, a weekly planner and more, so the app can double as a planner.
- Mandala layout
- A 9-grid layout inspired by the mandala keeps a fixed center cell, which the vendor compares to journaling as a mind map.
- Markdown editor and attachments
- The editor supports Markdown with rich preview, inline images and to-dos, and photos can be attached to entries.
- Multiple journals, tags and export
- Keep dedicated journals for areas such as family, work and travel, organize entries with tags, and export in PDF, Markdown, JPG and other formats.
Plans
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.
Grid Diary
Free$0
Many of the app's features without a subscription. Sync between devices, the passcode lock and extra color themes are excluded.
Membership$4.99
per month, or $29.99 per year (US App Store)
One in-app subscription covering all your devices: sync, passcode lock, more color themes and future member-only features.
Ways to pay less
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.
Grid Diary
- Annual discount
About 50% less with the annual membership
The US App Store lists the membership at $4.99 monthly or $29.99 annual, which is about 50% less than twelve monthly payments.
