Apple Journal vs Grid Diary
Apple Journal
apple.comGrid Diary
griddiaryapp.comSide by side
| Figure | Apple Journal | Grid Diary |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Spec score · Journal Apps | 8.4 (#6) | 8.1 (#16) |
| Spec score · Journaling Software | 8.3 (#11) | 8.3 (#12) |
| Spec score · Journaling apps | 8.3 (#13) | 8.1 (#21) |
| End-to-end encryption | Yes | No |
| Export formats | multiple | multiple |
| Founded | 1977 | 2013 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Cupertino, California, United States | Xiamen, Fujian, China |
| Purpose | Journal helps people reflect on everyday moments and special events through journaling. | Grid Diary combines diary and planner templates with reflective prompts to help people focus on areas of life they want to track. |
| Writing tools | The app supports text formatting, inline attachments, drawings, and audio recording with transcription; Apple says audio transcription is available in English except Singapore and India locales. | The app includes a prompt library and a Markdown editor with rich preview, inline images, and to-dos. |
Plans
Grid Diary
- MembershipPrice not published
- Monthly membership$2.99 a month
- Annual membership$22.99 a year
In their own words
Apple Journal
Apple Journal is a free journaling app for recording everyday moments and special events. Entries can combine text, photos, videos, audio, places, drawings, and a logged state of mind. On-device intelligence groups outings, workouts, photos, and media into suggestions, while reflection prompts and scheduled notifications support regular writing. You can create multiple journals, search and sort entries, browse a calendar, and view entries by location. Writing tools include formatting, inline attachments, drawings, and audio recording with transcription; Apple says transcription in English excludes Singapore and India locales. State-of-mind entries can be saved to Health, and writing time can become Mindful Minutes. Suggestions are processed on device, with sharing controlled by the user. Device passcodes encrypt entries; iCloud entries receive end-to-end encryption with default two-factor authentication and a passcode. iCloud sync covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but Journal entries are not included in iCloud backups.
Grid Diary
Grid Diary has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.