Journey vs RedNotebook
We give Journey a 3.6 GPA and RedNotebook a 3.4, out of 4.0. Journey grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. RedNotebook grades higher on value for money and the free plan.
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
RedNotebook
Free desktop diary that stores entries as plain text files
How we grade them
| 3.6GPAJourneyExcellent | 3.4GPARedNotebookVery 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. | AFree Software under the GPL, with no paid version at all. Paid journal apps typically start at about $4.99 a month. The downloads page takes donations if you want to chip in. |
| 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. | AThe complete app is free on Linux and Windows, with every feature included and no limits. There's nothing to upgrade to. |
| 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. | BFormatted daily entries, #hashtags, search as you type, a template for each day of the week, zip backups and export to plain text, HTML or LaTeX. The gaps are plain, though. No encryption or lock, no sync of its own, no direct PDF export, and word clouds are missing from version 2.x on Windows. |
| 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. | BNo App Store rating on record for a desktop app, so B is as high as we go. Install it, pick a day and type. Entries save automatically, and you flip between an edit mode and a preview. |
| 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. | BLinux and Windows. No phone apps, no web version, and macOS has no official support, only Homebrew or source builds to try on your own. Using it on two computers means putting the journal folder in Dropbox or Syncthing yourself. |
| Best for | a journal on every platform, Linux included | a plain-text diary on Linux or Windows |
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 RedNotebook. How we grade
Where they differ
- Journey starts at $17.99 one-time per platform, or $49.99 per year for Membership. RedNotebook is free.
- Only Journey lists a web app.
- Only Journey lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- Journey is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- RedNotebook is open source, according to its own site.
- Journey also covers mood tracking.
At a glance
| Journey | RedNotebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $17.99 one-time per platform, or $49.99 per year for Membership | Free |
| 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 Software under the GPL with no paid version or feature limits. The downloads page accepts voluntary donations in US dollars or euros. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Two App Studio Pte. Ltd. | Jendrik Seipp |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | rednotebook.app |
| 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
RedNotebook
- Linux and Windows users who want a diary kept as plain text on their own disk
- People who tag entries with #hashtags and search across years of them
- Writers who want their journal exported to plain text, HTML or LaTeX
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.
RedNotebook
- There are no mobile apps or web version, and macOS has no official support, only Homebrew or source builds to try on your own.
- There is no built-in encryption or lock; the help suggests an encrypted folder or an encrypted home partition.
- Sync is not built in: using it on several computers means keeping the journal folder in Dropbox, Syncthing or on a server.
- Word clouds are missing from version 2.x on Windows, and there is no direct PDF export.
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.
RedNotebook
- Formatted daily entries
- Text can be bold, italic, underlined or struck through, with lists and links. You write in an edit mode and read the result in a preview mode.
- Hashtags, search and word clouds
- Entries are tagged with #hashtags and found with search-as-you-type. Clouds show the most common words and tags, though not in version 2.x on Windows.
- Templates
- There is one template for each day of the week plus any number of named templates, all kept as editable text files in a template directory.
- Images, files and links
- An Insert menu adds images, files and links at the cursor. Inserted items are linked to, not copied into the journal directory.
- Plain-text storage and backups
- A journal is a directory of plain text files, one per month. Entries save automatically, and a Backup command packs the journal into a zip archive.
- Export
- The journal exports to plain text, HTML or LaTeX. A PDF is made by printing the HTML export from a browser or compiling the LaTeX file.
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.
RedNotebook
RedNotebook$0
The complete desktop journal for Linux and Windows, with every feature included.
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.
RedNotebook
No public discounts listed.
