Diarium vs Diarly

Diarium

• People who want to pay once instead of subscribing
• Journaling across Windows, Android, iPhone, iPad and Mac
• Keeping a journal on your own device and cloud storage with no account
• Pulling calendar, fitness and social activity into daily entries

Diarly

• Apple users who want a journal stored on their devices and their own iCloud
• Writers who prefer plain-text Markdown entries they can export
• People moving from Day One, Apple Journal or Journey, which have importers

Diarium

• Pro is bought separately for each platform, and iOS and macOS count as separate purchases.
• Cloud Sync, unlimited attachments, Word export, widgets and integrations require Pro.
• There is no free version on Windows, where Diarium is a paid app listed at $19.99 in the Microsoft Store.
• By default the journal is stored only on the device, so without Cloud Sync you need to make your own backups.

Diarly

• Built only for Apple devices: there is no Windows, Android or web version.
• Sync between devices needs Premium and runs through iCloud; the free version keeps one journal on one device.
• Encryption covers the text of entries, needs Premium, and entries cannot be recovered if the encryption password is forgotten.
• The vendor's pricing page shows no amounts; the US App Store lists yearly Premium at both $24.99 and $29.99.

Diarium

Rich entries with attachments

Entries support rich text formatting, tags and locations, plus photos, videos, audio recordings, PDFs and other files. Several entries can be created per day.

Calendar, timeline and map views

Look back through a calendar, a scrolling timeline, a map of places visited, an attachments gallery and an On this day page with optional notifications.

Automatic feeds

Connected services add context to a day: camera roll photos, calendar events, weather, Strava and Apple Health data, Microsoft To Do tasks and Last.fm scrobbles. Some feeds require Pro.

Sync through your own cloud

Pro syncs the journal across platforms using your OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud or WebDAV storage. The uploaded data is compressed and encrypted.

Import and export

Migrates journals from Day One, Diaro, Journey, Daylio, Diarly, Daybook, Evernote and Apple Journal, and exports to Word, plain text, HTML or JSON.

Lock without an account

No login or sign-up is required and the app carries no ads. The journal can be protected with a password, PIN or biometrics such as Face ID and Windows Hello.

Diarly

Markdown editor

Entries are written in Markdown with slash commands, checklists, tables and a typewriter mode. The Mac version is a native app with a menu bar and keyboard shortcuts.

Media and context in entries

Add photos, videos, drawings, audio recordings, files, tags and map locations. Templates can insert the weather, calendar events and Apple Health details automatically.

Timeline, calendar, map and gallery

Browse entries by date on a timeline or calendar, by place on a map or by image in a gallery. On This Day brings back entries from earlier years.

Mood tracker and insights

Log moods and emotions inside entries and see how they change in a mood calendar and Insights. Writing goals, streaks and reminders support a daily habit.

On-device storage and iCloud sync

Journals are saved on the device and never on Diarly's servers. Premium syncs them through your iCloud Drive and can encrypt entry text with a password only you know.

AI Assistant and AI+

Premium includes an OpenAI-powered assistant reached with the /ask command, plus daily affirmations and advice. AI+ is a separate subscription for audio transcription and OCR.

Diarium

• Free$0

  The app on Android, iPhone, iPad and Mac without Cloud Sync, unlimited attachments, Word export, widgets, custom fonts, weather or integrations.

• Pro version (Android, iOS or macOS)$14.99

  one-time purchase per platform

  Unlocks Cloud Sync, unlimited attachments, Word export, connected feeds, custom fonts, widgets and weather. iOS and macOS count as separate platforms.

• Diarium for Windows$19.99

  one-time purchase (Microsoft Store)

  A paid app that already includes Pro. The same app is also sold as a direct download on Gumroad for $30.

Diarly

• Free$0

  One journal with unlimited entries and media, Markdown editing and export, saved on a single device without sync.

• Monthly Premium$2.99

  per month

  iCloud sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, multiple journals, entry encryption, themes, more export formats and the AI Assistant.

• Yearly Premium$24.99

  per year

  The same Premium features billed yearly. The US App Store lists the promoted yearly plan at $24.99 and a second yearly entry at $29.99.

• AI+$1.99

  per month

  Optional separate subscription that transcribes audio entries into text and extracts text from photos with OCR.

Diarium

No public discounts listed.

Diarly

• Annual discount

  Yearly Premium saves about 30% over monthly

  The US App Store lists Monthly Premium at $2.99 and the yearly plan at $24.99. Twelve monthly payments come to $35.88, so paying yearly saves $10.89.