Day One vs RedNotebook
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
RedNotebook
Free desktop diary that stores entries as plain text files
Where they differ
- Day One starts at $49.99 per year. RedNotebook is free.
- Only Day One lists a web app.
- Only Day One lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Day One lists a browser extension.
- Only RedNotebook lists a Linux app.
- Day One is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- RedNotebook is open source, according to its own site.
- Day One also covers transcription and Markdown.
At a glance
| Day One | RedNotebook | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Free Software under the GPL with no paid version or feature limits. The downloads page accepts voluntary donations in US dollars or euros. |
| 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 | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Automattic Inc. | Jendrik Seipp |
| Price read from | dayoneapp.com | rednotebook.app |
| 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
RedNotebook
- Linux and Windows users who want a diary kept as plain text on their own disk
- People who tag entries with #hashtags and search across years of them
- Writers who want their journal exported to plain text, HTML or LaTeX
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.
RedNotebook
- There are no mobile apps or web version, and macOS has no official support, only Homebrew or source builds to try on your own.
- There is no built-in encryption or lock; the help suggests an encrypted folder or an encrypted home partition.
- Sync is not built in: using it on several computers means keeping the journal folder in Dropbox, Syncthing or on a server.
- Word clouds are missing from version 2.x on Windows, and there is no direct PDF export.
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.
RedNotebook
- Formatted daily entries
- Text can be bold, italic, underlined or struck through, with lists and links. You write in an edit mode and read the result in a preview mode.
- Hashtags, search and word clouds
- Entries are tagged with #hashtags and found with search-as-you-type. Clouds show the most common words and tags, though not in version 2.x on Windows.
- Templates
- There is one template for each day of the week plus any number of named templates, all kept as editable text files in a template directory.
- Images, files and links
- An Insert menu adds images, files and links at the cursor. Inserted items are linked to, not copied into the journal directory.
- Plain-text storage and backups
- A journal is a directory of plain text files, one per month. Entries save automatically, and a Backup command packs the journal into a zip archive.
- Export
- The journal exports to plain text, HTML or LaTeX. A PDF is made by printing the HTML export from a browser or compiling the LaTeX file.
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.
RedNotebook
RedNotebook$0
The complete desktop journal for Linux and Windows, with every feature included.
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.
RedNotebook
No public discounts listed.
