Diarium vs FutureMe (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Diarium: it is second in our ranking of journaling apps, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Diarium grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms. FutureMe grades higher on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Diarium
Private journal with a one-time Pro purchase and your own cloud sync
Free plan · from $14.99 one-time
FutureMe
Write a letter now and have it emailed to you on a date you pick
Free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Diarium if
- Fits if you'd rather pay once than subscribe
- Works for journaling across Windows, Android and Apple devices with no account
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want sync for free, as Cloud Sync is a Pro feature
- Not for you if you hate buying the same app twice, since iOS and macOS are separate purchases
- Tight if you're on Windows, where there's no free version and it's $19.99 up front
- Watch out: without Cloud Sync the journal lives only on the device, so backups are up to you
- Not for you if you want a web version, as none is listed
Pick FutureMe if
- Fits if you want one letter to arrive in a year or five
- Works for people who want a prompt to start writing
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a daily journal, since it has no entries, moods or search
- Tight if you want pictures or files, as attachments are Premium
- Watch out: the Premium price could not be read from its public pages
- Watch out: no app is listed, only the browser
How we grade them
| 3.2GPADiariumVery good | 2.2GPAFutureMeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APro is a one-time $14.99 on Android, iOS or macOS, where a year of a middling journaling subscription here is about $50, and the one-time prices in this category sit around $17.99. Windows is $19.99 with Pro included. You do pay again per platform, and iOS and macOS count as two. | CThe Premium price could not be read from the public pages, so nothing can be compared. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree on Android, iPhone, iPad and Mac, but without Cloud Sync, unlimited attachments, Word export, widgets or integrations, so it's one device and your own backups. Windows has no free version at all. A 7-day trial of Pro runs on the other three. | BWriting and scheduling letters is free, and one person could live on it. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job: formatted text with photos, video, audio and files, several entries a day, views by calendar, timeline, map and On this day, import from Day One, Journey, Daylio and five more, and export to Word, text, HTML or JSON. The feeds and sync all sit behind Pro, bought per platform. | DOne narrow function: a letter scheduled for a date, with prompts and public letters. No entries, moods or search. |
| Ease of use | A4.81 from about 2,000 App Store ratings. There's no login or sign-up at all: install it and write. The only setup is sync, where you point it at your own OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud or WebDAV storage. | BNo rating on record, but it is a web page where you write and pick a date. |
| Platforms and integrations | BComputer and both phones: Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android, with no web version listed. It syncs through your own OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud or WebDAV, and connects to Strava, Apple Health, Microsoft To Do and Last.fm. | CA browser only, with no app listed anywhere on the pages we read. |
| Best for | paying once for a private journal | letters to your future self |
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: Diarium and FutureMe. How we grade
Where they differ
- Diarium can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Diarium also covers templates and mood tracking.
- FutureMe also covers notes.
In commonFree planDaily notes
At a glance
| Diarium | FutureMe | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $14.99 one-time purchase per platform | Not published |
| Free plan | Free to use on Android, iPhone, iPad and Mac, without Pro features such as Cloud Sync, unlimited attachments, Word export, widgets, custom fonts, weather and integrations. Windows is a paid app. | Writing and scheduling a letter to your future self on the site; images, videos and files are marked as a Premium feature. |
| Free trial | 7-day trial of all Pro features on Android, iOS and macOS before buying. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Timo Partl | Memories Technologies Pty Ltd |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
FutureMe
- It is a letter scheduler, not a daily journal with entries, moods or search.
- The price of the consumer Premium membership could not be read from the public pages, so it is not listed here.
- FutureMe Pro for organizations is listed at $99 per year on its own page.
- It runs in a browser only; no app is listed on the pages we read.
Key features
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.
FutureMe
- Scheduled delivery
- Pick a delivery date from presets of 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years or 10 years, or choose any date in the calendar.
- Writing prompts
- An "Inspire me" button in the editor offers prompts when you are unsure what to write.
- Public letters
- A Read Public Letters section lets visitors read letters that other people chose to share.
- Attachments on Premium
- The editor says images, videos and files need a Premium upgrade.
- FutureMe Pro for organizations
- A branded letter-writing module that embeds in a school's or company's own website, with unlimited users and letters.
Plans
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.
FutureMe
Pricing could not be confirmed. See futureme.org.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Diarium or FutureMe?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Diarium starts at $14.99 one-time purchase per platform, and FutureMe has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Diarium or FutureMe?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Diarium and FutureMe have a free plan.
Which platforms do Diarium and FutureMe run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Diarium lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps and only FutureMe lists a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.