Five Minute Journal vs Reflectly
We give Five Minute Journal and Reflectly the same GPA: 3.0 out of 4.0. Five Minute Journal grades higher on the free plan. Reflectly grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, 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
Reflectly
AI-guided journal and mood tracker for iPhone, iPad and Android
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAFive Minute JournalVery good | 3.0GPAReflectlyVery 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. | BReflectly Premium shows on the US App Store at anything from $4.99 to $59.99, with no billing period beside any of it. The app tells you the real price before you buy. With no period, we can't set it against other journaling apps, so a B. |
| 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 a free download, but the listing doesn't spell out where free stops. Unlimited stories, a new daily question and advanced statistics are all described as Premium. There's a free trial before the subscription is charged, and nobody states how long it is. |
| 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. | BQuestions drawn from your earlier entries, a mood on every entry, graphs and correlations, morning quotes and challenges, and daily, weekly and monthly overviews. That's a solid guided diary. But the App Store shows English only, and the new question each day is Premium. |
| 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. | A4.6 from about 81,700 App Store ratings. You answer a question and say how you feel, which is about as easy as journaling gets. A home-screen widget is there to keep your streak going. |
| 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 and Android only. No desktop or web app is listed, so there's no typing at a proper keyboard. No integrations are on record either. |
| Best for | a quick gratitude habit on your phone | guided journaling when a blank page stops you |
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 Reflectly. 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). Reflectly starts at $4.99 (lowest US App Store in-app purchase; billing period not shown).
- Five Minute Journal can be bought with a one-time purchase.
At a glance
| Five Minute Journal | Reflectly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 to $9.99 per month (US App Store in-app purchase list) | $4.99 (lowest US App Store in-app purchase; billing period not shown) |
| 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 download with in-app purchases. The listing does not spell out free limits; unlimited stories, a new daily question and advanced statistics are described as Premium. |
| Free trial | Subscriptions come with free trials; the US App Store lists an annual plan with a 3-day trial. | The App Store listing refers to a free trial before the subscription is charged; its length is not stated. |
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Intelligent Change | Kodeon, Inc. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 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
Reflectly
- People new to journaling who want questions to answer, not a blank page
- Tracking mood alongside short daily reflections on a phone
- Readers who like a daily quote or challenge with their diary
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.
Reflectly
- Offered for iPhone, iPad and Android only; no desktop or web app is listed.
- No price list is published: the App Store listing says pricing is shown in the app before purchase and varies by region.
- Unlimited stories, a new question each day and advanced statistics are described as Premium features.
- The App Store listing shows English as the only supported language.
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.
Reflectly
- Personalized questions
- The app asks questions based on your earlier diary entries, so there is always a prompt to answer. Premium adds a new question and reminder each day.
- Mood tracking and correlations
- Each entry records how you feel, and the mood tracker shows graphs and correlations to help explain a run of good or bad days.
- Daily quotes and challenges
- Mornings bring motivation quotes and challenges, and evenings bring daily insights, with the option to write whenever you want to vent.
- Daily, weekly and monthly overviews
- Overviews summarize each day, week and month with personalized insights and reminders. Advanced statistics are part of Premium.
- Widget and streaks
- The App Store listing describes a home-screen widget meant to keep a journaling streak going. Earlier entries can be read and edited at any time.
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.
Reflectly
Free$0
The app as downloaded from the App Store or Google Play, without the features the listing describes as Premium.
Reflectly Premium$4.99 to $59.99
billing period not shown on the US App Store listing
Unlimited stories, a new question and reminder each day, and advanced statistics. The US App Store lists $4.99, $9.99, $35.99, $39.99, $47.99 and $59.99.
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.
Reflectly
No public discounts listed.
