Apple Journal vs Reflectly

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.

Reflectly is an AI-driven journal and mood tracker for reflecting on daily thoughts and feelings. It offers personalized prompts and questions based on diary entries, while its mood tracker shows correlations, graphs, and daily, weekly, and monthly overviews. Entries can include photos, and listed features include AI summaries and personalized insights. Reflectly says its approach draws on positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy to support self-care. Daily quotes, reminders, a habit tracker, and a home-screen widget provide additional ways to engage with the journal. The app is available on Android and iOS. Its free plan includes free journal features; Reflectly Premium adds unlimited stories in the personal planner, a daily question and reminder, advanced statistics, and actionable insights. A monthly Reflectly Premium plan costs $9.99 a month, and a free trial is offered without a stated length. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. The iPhone app requires iOS 16.0 or later, and the iPad app requires iPadOS 16.0 or later.