Day One vs Journalistic
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
Journalistic
Micro journaling web app built around short bulleted entries
Where they differ
- Day One starts at $49.99 per year. Journalistic is free.
- Only Day One lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Day One lists a browser extension.
- Day One is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Day One also covers transcription, Markdown and templates.
- Journalistic also covers notes and goals.
At a glance
| Day One | Journalistic | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $49.99 per year | Free |
| 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. | Everything is free at present: unlimited entries, every module and sync across devices. A Pro plan is listed at $4.90 a month but marked coming soon, and its features are free until it launches. |
| Free trial | Free 1-month trial of a paid plan, started inside the app. Eligibility is controlled by the app stores. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Automattic Inc. | Toni Engelhardt |
| Price read from | dayoneapp.com | journalisticapp.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 6, 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
Journalistic
- People who want a few bullet points a day instead of long entries
- Keeping count of activities and people with #tags and @mentions
- Logging dreams alongside a daily journal
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.
Journalistic
- A Pro plan at $4.90 a month is announced but not on sale; the docs say Focus, Insights and other Pro features will leave free accounts when it launches.
- There is no App Store app, and the Google Play listing the site links to was not found when checked; phones install it from the browser.
- Nothing can be imported, not even Journalistic's own exports; Day One and Journey imports are on the roadmap.
- End-to-end encryption is planned but not available, and the site's news page has no post after January 2024.
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.
Journalistic
- Bulleted micro entries
- Each day is logged as a few short bullet points instead of long paragraphs, which the vendor describes as a bullet journal with a low word count.
- Tags, people and highlights
- A #tag marks an activity and an @mention marks a person, and tapping a bullet marks it as a highlight. Tags and mentions are visible only to you.
- Optional modules
- Dreams, Notes, Wisdom (quotes and lessons), Ideas and Focus (a prioritized goal list) sit beside the daily log, and each module can be switched off.
- Reflect
- A customizable stream shows yesterday's entry, the past week's notable items, the entry from one year ago and a random older entry called Memory lane.
- Insights
- Statistics, timelines and charts are compiled from your entries, such as words per day or which weekdays you dream most. It is marked as a Pro feature and is free for now.
- Data export
- All journal data can be downloaded from the Account page as plain text, Markdown or JSON. The JSON file carries most of the metadata.
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.
Journalistic
Basic$0
Unlimited entries, the standard modules (Reflect, Dreams, Highlights, Tags, People, Notes, Wisdom, Ideas) and sync on unlimited devices.
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.
Journalistic
No public discounts listed.
