Five Minute Journal vs Gratitude
We give Five Minute Journal a 3.0 GPA and Gratitude a 3.2, out of 4.0. Five Minute Journal grades higher on the free plan. Gratitude grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Five Minute Journal
Guided gratitude journal with short morning and evening prompts
Gratitude
Gratitude journal with affirmations and vision boards
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAFive Minute JournalVery good | 3.2GPAGratitudeVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPremium is listed at $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US App Store, next to cheaper $4.99 and $19.99 to $24.99 items, some marked for existing users. Day One's paid plan is $49.99 a year and does far more. | BPro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year on the US App Store, which is about typical for a journaling app. The yearly plan is about half the cost of paying monthly. But Gratitude doesn't publish what Pro adds, so we can't say what the money buys. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole morning and evening routine is free: prompts, timeline, calendar, reminders, streaks, a passcode lock and export. You can keep this going for years and never pay. | BIt's free to download, with the journal, affirmations, vision board and Daily Zen all in the app. But nothing says which features are held back for Pro. Free trials of Pro are offered in the app, with no length stated. |
| Features | BIt does one job, a short guided entry twice a day, with quotes, weekly challenges and streaks around it. Export goes to PDF, HTML or Dropbox. It's no full diary, though. Free writing is a Premium notes section. | AThe journal has hundreds of prompts, reminders, photos, streaks and entries in your own voice. Around it sit affirmations you can record yourself, vision boards that turn into a video with music, and a daily feed of quotes. Entries export to CSV or PDF. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 17,600 App Store ratings. It asks, you answer, and you're done in a few minutes. Reviewers who dropped other journaling apps say they kept this one up. | A4.9 from about 45,000 App Store ratings. There's no account to make: install it and write what you're thankful for. Prompts are there for the days when nothing comes to mind. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android, and that's it. No web or desktop version, so no typing at a proper keyboard. It talks to Apple Health and Dropbox. Four languages: English, French, German and Spanish. | CiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android, with no web or Windows version. iCloud sync covers Apple devices only, so moving between iPhone and Android means a Google Drive backup. Apple Health and Siri are on its list too. |
| Best for | a quick gratitude habit on your phone | a daily gratitude habit with prompts |
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: Five Minute Journal and Gratitude. How we grade
Where they differ
- Five Minute Journal starts at $4.99 to $9.99 per month (US App Store in-app purchase list). Gratitude starts at $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year (US App Store in-app purchases).
- Five Minute Journal can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Five Minute Journal also covers mood tracking.
At a glance
| Five Minute Journal | Gratitude | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 to $9.99 per month (US App Store in-app purchase list) | $4.99 per month, or $29.99 per year (US App Store in-app purchases) |
| Free plan | Free basic version: guided morning and evening entries, timeline and calendar, reminders, daily quotes, weekly challenges, streaks, passcode lock and backup or export. | Free to download, and the vendor describes the app as a freemium service. Its site and store listings do not spell out which features need a Pro plan. |
| Free trial | Subscriptions come with free trials; the US App Store lists an annual plan with a 3-day trial. | Free trials are offered on Pro plans inside the app; the length is not stated on the pages read. |
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Intelligent Change | Hapjoy Technologies Pvt. Ltd. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Five Minute Journal
- People who want a short guided gratitude routine each morning and evening
- Users of the paper Five Minute Journal who want the same format on a phone
- Beginners who prefer answering set prompts to free writing
Gratitude
- People building a daily gratitude habit with prompts and reminders
- Keeping a journal, affirmations and vision boards in one app
- Users who want entries kept on their own device, with no account
Worth knowing
Five Minute Journal
- Listed for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android in English, French, German and Spanish; no web or desktop version is offered.
- Photos and video, custom questions, the notes section, the mood tracker and the widget need Premium.
- The vendor's site shows no prices; the US App Store lists several monthly and annual price points, some marked for existing users.
- The privacy policy says journal entries are stored on the vendor's servers, and that AI features send your messages to Anthropic's Claude once you consent in the app.
Gratitude
- The vendor's site shows no prices and no list of Pro features; plan prices appear in the app and on app store listings.
- Data lives on the device by default: deleting the app loses it unless you backed up to Google Drive or exported it.
- iCloud sync covers Apple devices only, so moving between iPhone and Android relies on a Google Drive backup.
- No web or Windows version is listed; the App Store listing says the iPad app also runs on Macs with Apple silicon.
Key features
Five Minute Journal
- Guided morning and evening entries
- A guided flow takes you through gratitude prompts at the start and end of the day, in a format modeled on the paper Five Minute Journal.
- Timeline and calendar
- Past entries appear as short daily excerpts on a timeline, and tapping a date in the calendar view opens that day's full entry.
- Eva AI coach and voice memos
- The App Store version notes introduce Eva, an AI coach that reflects on a finished entry with you, and voice memos that are transcribed. They do not say which plan each needs.
- Quotes, challenges and streaks
- The app delivers a daily quote and a weekly challenge, sends optional daily reminders and tracks your journaling streak.
- Lock and export
- Entries can be protected with a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, and backed up or exported to PDF, HTML or Dropbox for a chosen date range.
- Premium extras
- Premium adds a daily photo or video on any prompt, a photo timeline, a notes section, custom questions, a mood check-in, On this Day reminders and a home screen widget.
Gratitude
- Gratitude journal
- Daily entries with reminders, hundreds of prompts, photos and a streak counter. The App Store listing also describes recording journal entries in your own voice.
- Affirmations
- Hundreds of affirmations to read or listen to. You can write your own, add music and record them in your voice.
- Vision boards
- Boards collect photos, quotes and affirmations for your goals, organized in sections with goal ideas. A board can be turned into a video with music, and you can keep several.
- Daily Zen
- A daily feed of gratitude and motivation quotes, thank-you cards, affirmations, blog articles and reader stories, with an optional morning notification.
- On-device storage, backup and sync
- Data is stored only on the device, with no account. You can back up to your own Google Drive on Android and Apple devices, or sync between Apple devices through iCloud.
- Export to CSV or PDF
- Journal entries can be exported as a CSV or PDF file and saved on the phone or shared through other apps.
Plans
Five Minute Journal
Free$0
Guided morning and evening entries, timeline and calendar views, reminders, quotes, challenges, streaks, passcode lock and export.
Premium (monthly)$4.99 to $9.99
per month
Adds photos and video, custom questions, notes, mood tracker and On this Day. The US App Store lists $9.99 for Journaling Premium and $4.99 monthly items.
Premium (yearly)$19.99 to $39.99
per year
The same Premium features billed yearly. The US App Store lists $39.99 for Annual Journaling Premium, plus $24.99 and $19.99 annual items.
Gratitude
Free$0
Free download of the journal, affirmations, vision board and Daily Zen app. The vendor does not publish which features are held back for Pro.
Monthly pro plan$4.99
per month
Pro subscription billed monthly. The US App Store also lists a monthly Pro entry with a free trial at the same price.
Quarterly pro plan$9.99
per quarter
The same Pro subscription billed every three months, as labelled in the US App Store in-app purchase list.
Annual pro plan$29.99
per year
The same Pro subscription billed once a year, as labelled in the US App Store in-app purchase list.
Gratitude Pro$6.99 to $39.99
billing period not shown on the US App Store listing
Further in-app purchases named Gratitude Pro are listed at $6.99, $34.99 and $39.99 with no period given.
Ways to pay less
Five Minute Journal
- Annual discount
About 67% less with the annual plan
The US App Store lists Journaling Premium at $9.99 for one month and $39.99 for a year, about 67% less than twelve monthly payments.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime plan as an alternative to subscribing
Intelligent Change's help center says Premium is sold under monthly, yearly and lifetime plans. The lifetime price is not published on its site.
Gratitude
- Annual discount
Annual plan costs half of twelve monthly payments
The US App Store lists the monthly Pro plan at $4.99 and the annual Pro plan at $29.99, so a year on the annual plan costs about half of twelve monthly payments ($59.88).
