Five Minute Journal vs Stoic

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

Stoic

• People who want a structured morning and evening journaling routine
• Apple users who want entries kept on-device and in their own iCloud
• Combining journaling with mood tracking, meditation and breathing exercises

Five Minute Journal

• Listed for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android; 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 App Store listing covers four languages: English, French, German and Spanish.

Stoic

• No price list is published; subscription prices appear in the app and on app store listings.
• The help center lists the mood and habit tracker, custom templates, widgets, iCloud sync and the app lock under Premium.
• The Android app is newer and, by the vendor's own account, has fewer features than the iOS app.
• Free trials apply only to the annual plan and can be used once per Apple ID.

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.

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.

Photos, video and notes (Premium)

Premium lets you attach a daily photo or video to any prompt, browse a photo timeline and write freely in a notes section.

Custom questions and mood tracker (Premium)

Premium adds your own custom questions, a mood check-in with insights, On this Day look-back reminders and a home screen widget.

Stoic

Morning and evening reflections

Each day starts with a short preparation and ends with a reflection, with mood check-ins in between. Personalizing the two reflections is listed as a Premium feature.

Guided journals and daily prompts

A new prompt appears each day under a weekly theme, alongside guided journals on topics such as gratitude, stress and relationships. The full library needs Premium.

Mood and trend tracking

Log your mood and the factors that influence it, then view trends for mood, emotions, sleep, health and writing. The help center lists the mood and habit tracker under Premium.

Meditation and breathing exercises

Guided or unguided meditation sessions and breathing exercises sit beside the journal. The free plan includes a limited selection.

AI mentor and entry analysis

On Premium + AI, a chosen mentor style writes custom prompts, analyzes past entries for patterns in mood and themes, and times reminders to your routine.

On-device storage with iCloud sync

Entries are kept on your devices; the help center says Stoic has no servers of its own. Premium adds iCloud sync and backup across Apple devices and a passcode or Face ID lock.

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.

Stoic

• Free$0

  Daily prompts, quotes and affirmations, basic guided journals and a limited selection of breathing and meditation exercises.

• Stoic Premium$6.99 to $39.99

  monthly or yearly; the US App Store does not label each price

  Full library of guided journals and exercises, custom templates, mood and habit tracker, widgets, iCloud sync and app lock. Listed at $6.99, $17.99, $26.99 and $39.99.

• Stoic Premium + AI$12.99 to $99.99

  monthly or yearly; the US App Store does not label each price

  Everything in Premium plus AI mentors, Dig Deeper analysis of entries and AI-tuned notifications. Listed at $12.99, $69.99 and $99.99.

• Stoic Lifetime Premium$299.00

  one-time purchase

  A single in-app purchase listed on the US App Store as an alternative to the Premium subscription.

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.

Stoic

• Education

  Student discount on application

  Stoic's help center says students can apply for a Student Discount through a form linked from its website. The size of the discount is not stated.

• Lifetime license

  Stoic Lifetime Premium for $299.00

  Stoic's terms describe a Lifetime purchase that grants ongoing access to Stoic Premium for as long as the app remains available. The US App Store lists it at $299.00.