Journey vs My Diary
We give Journey a 3.6 GPA and My Diary a 3.4, out of 4.0. Journey grades higher on features and platforms. My Diary grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Journey
Cross-platform diary with maps, mood tracking and guided programs
My Diary
Locked diary with themes, stickers and a mood calendar
How we grade them
| 3.6GPAJourneyExcellent | 3.4GPAMy DiaryVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BMembership is $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year, about typical for a journaling app, and it unlocks every platform with 10GB and 5,000 entries of cloud sync. Premium is $17.99 once, but only for Android or iOS, whichever you bought it on. Lifetime Membership is $199.00. | APremium is $2.99 a month, or $16.99 to $23.99 a year, which is cheap next to other journaling apps. A permanent purchase is listed at $29.99, $39.99 and $49.99, with nothing to say how the three differ. What it unlocks is mostly extra themes and backgrounds. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree never runs out and syncs through Google Drive. But on Journey Cloud Sync it stops at 70MB and 60 entries, photo uploads are limited, and there's no desktop app, audio, video or text formatting. You get 10 Odyssey AI questions a day. | ABetterApp Tech says most features are free: the lock, photo entries, mood tracking and tags. You could stay here for good. The cost is advertising, which both app stores flag, and some themes and backgrounds are locked. |
| Features | AEntries with photos, video and audio, tables and checklists. Browse by calendar, by map in Atlas or by Throwback to past dates. There are more than 60 guided programs, shared journals, entries by email and optional end-to-end encryption. One catch: turning encryption on disables search, for good. | BA passcode lock, entries with photos, videos, recordings and drawings, a mood calendar with statistics, and tags. Solid for a personal diary. But Google Drive or Dropbox sync and TXT or PDF export are described for the app in general, and the iPhone and iPad listing doesn't mention them. |
| Ease of use | A4.6 from about 5,100 App Store ratings. Coach programs and prompt templates give you a way in. What takes thought is the buying: Premium, Membership, Lifetime and a separate Signature plan each cover different things. | A4.7 from about 28,200 App Store ratings. It's a diary: open it, write, pick a mood, add a sticker if you fancy. The vendor suggests setting a security question with your passcode, in case you forget it. |
| Platforms and integrations | AAndroid, iOS, Mac, Windows, Linux and the web, which is everything. It connects to Google Drive, Zapier, WhatsApp, Apple Health, WordPress and Siri Shortcuts, among others. There's even a Docker image if you want to host the sync drive yourself. | CAndroid, iPhone and iPad only, with no web or desktop version listed. The vendor's page describes syncing to Google Drive or Dropbox for use on other devices, and that's as far as its connections go. |
| Best for | a journal on every platform, Linux included | a locked, decorated diary on your phone |
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: Journey and My Diary. How we grade
Where they differ
- Journey starts at $17.99 one-time per platform, or $49.99 per year for Membership. My Diary starts at $2.99 per month (US App Store in-app purchase).
- Only Journey lists a web app.
- Only Journey lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Journey is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- My Diary can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Journey also covers templates.
At a glance
| Journey | My Diary | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $17.99 one-time per platform, or $49.99 per year for Membership | $2.99 per month (US App Store in-app purchase) |
| Free plan | Free version with no time limit: Google Drive sync, or 70MB and 60 entries on Journey Cloud Sync, limited photo uploads and 10 Odyssey AI questions a day. No desktop app, audio or video. | Free with ads: the vendor says most features are free, including the lock, photo entries, mood tracking and tags. Some themes and backgrounds need a Premium membership. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Two App Studio Pte. Ltd. | BetterApp Tech Co., Limited |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Journey
- People who want one journal on phone, desktop (including Linux) and web
- Travel journals, with entries tagged by place and shown on a map
- Guided journaling through coach programs and templates
- Buyers who would rather pay once than subscribe
My Diary
- People who want a decorated diary with themes, stickers and fonts
- Keeping a locked diary with photos, videos and recordings
- Tracking mood alongside entries in a calendar
Worth knowing
Journey
- The free version has no desktop app access and caps Journey Cloud Sync at 70MB and 60 entries.
- A Premium license covers a single platform; the help center says the Journey Desktop and web apps do not support it.
- Turning on end-to-end encryption disables search, and the vendor says it cannot be reversed.
- Membership stops at 10GB and 5,000 entries; more needs the separate Signature subscription, whose price is not shown publicly.
My Diary
- Both app stores label the app as containing advertising, and some themes and backgrounds require Premium.
- Phone and tablet only: no web or desktop version is listed.
- The vendor's site shows no prices, and the App Store lists several yearly and permanent purchases at different prices without explaining them.
- Google Drive and Dropbox sync and TXT or PDF export are described for the app in general; the App Store listing for iPhone and iPad does not mention them.
Key features
Journey
- Multimedia entries
- Entries hold photos, videos and audio, with formatting such as tables, checklists and text color. The free version limits photo uploads and has no audio, video or text formatting.
- Atlas, calendar and Throwback
- Atlas maps entries and media by tagged location, the calendar shows entries by date, and Throwback resurfaces entries from a week, a month or years ago.
- Sync and end-to-end encryption
- Journals sync through Google Drive or Journey Cloud Sync. Journey Cloud Sync has optional end-to-end encryption with a passphrase the company does not store, and a Docker image for a self-hosted sync drive is offered.
- Coach programs and templates
- More than 60 guided journaling programs and a set of prompt templates. Free and Premium get limited access; Membership unlocks all programs and custom templates.
- Odyssey AI
- A chat assistant answers questions about your own past entries. Free and Premium accounts can ask 10 questions a day, and Membership raises that to 50.
- Shared journals and web links
- Journals can be shared with other people, and selected entries published as web links that open in a browser. Free accounts get 2 web links, Membership 50.
My Diary
- Diary lock
- A passcode locks the app, with fingerprint unlock on supported devices. The vendor recommends setting a security question in case the password is forgotten.
- Photo, video and audio entries
- Entries can hold pictures, videos, recordings and drawings as well as rich text, and a media view shows all the photos in the journal.
- Themes, backgrounds and stickers
- Illustrated themes, a dark theme, entry backgrounds, stickers, emoji and font effects decorate the diary. Some themes and backgrounds are Premium only.
- Mood tracker
- Pick a mood symbol when writing an entry, then review moods in a mood calendar and see trends in statistics.
- Tags
- Tags sort entries into categories such as travel, work or daily notes, so you can view all the entries of one type together.
- Sync and export
- The vendor's product page describes syncing the diary to Google Drive or Dropbox for use on other devices, and exporting entries to TXT or PDF or printing them.
Plans
Journey
Free$0
Mobile and limited web access, Google Drive sync, 70MB and 60 entries on Journey Cloud Sync, shared journals and limited photo uploads.
Premium$17.99
one-time purchase per platform (US App Store price)
Unlocks rich text, audio, themes, Throwback and export on the platform it was bought for, Android or iOS. Not supported on the desktop or web apps.
Membership$6.99
per month, or $49.99 per year
Every platform including desktop and web, 10GB and 5,000 entries on Journey Cloud Sync, all coach programs, custom templates, email entries and Zapier.
Lifetime Membership$199.00
one-time purchase
The Membership features on every platform for a single payment instead of a subscription.
My Diary
Free$0
Diary entries with photos, a passcode lock, mood tracking and tags. Shows advertising, and some themes and backgrounds are locked.
Diary VIP (Month)$2.99
per month
Premium membership billed monthly, which unlocks the additional themes, backgrounds and other Premium extras.
Premium Yearly$16.99 to $23.99
per year
The US App Store lists three yearly entries: Diary Subscription Yearly $16.99, My Diary Premium Yearly $19.99 and My Diary Yearly VIP $23.99.
Permanent VIP$29.99 to $49.99
one-time purchase
Three permanent entries are listed at $29.99, $39.99 and $49.99. The listing does not explain how they differ.
Ways to pay less
Journey
- Annual discount
About 40% less with the annual Membership
The US App Store listing prices Membership at $6.99 monthly or $49.99 a year, which works out to about 40% less than twelve monthly payments.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Membership for a single payment
Journey's membership page offers a lifetime purchase as an alternative to the subscription. The US App Store lists Lifetime Membership at $199.00.
My Diary
- Lifetime license
Permanent VIP as a one-time purchase
The US App Store lists Permanent VIP in-app purchases at $29.99, $39.99 and $49.99 as alternatives to the monthly and yearly memberships.
- Annual discount
Yearly membership costs less than twelve months
The US App Store lists the monthly membership at $2.99 and yearly entries at $16.99 to $23.99, against $35.88 for twelve monthly payments.
