Virtual Diary vs Day One: Which Journal App Is Right for You?

Day One is one of the best-known journaling apps, and for good reason: it is polished, rich in features, and runs almost everywhere. Virtual Diary is built on a different idea. This is an honest look at the differences, so you can pick the one that suits how you write.

Philosophy

Day One is a digital journal. It holds text, photos, video, audio, locations and multiple journals, and it is designed to capture your life in many forms.

Virtual Diary is a paper diary. One ruled page a day, inside a leather cover, written by hand or typed. It is designed for writing, and for keeping that writing private for decades.

Privacy

Day One syncs through its own service and offers end-to-end encryption for journals; you sign in with a Day One account to sync.

Virtual Diary has no account and no servers of ours. Your pages live on your iPad and Mac, and the copy that keeps them safe is in your own iCloud Drive. The diary opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. There is no analytics and no AI.

Handwriting

Day One is built around typing and media. Virtual Diary is built around Apple Pencil: black, blue or sepia ink on ruled paper, an eraser, and handwriting search that runs on your iPad.

Features

Day One offers far more: photos and video, audio, maps, templates, multiple journals, integrations, and apps for iPhone, Android, Apple Watch and the web.

Virtual Diary deliberately offers less: one page a day, handwriting or typing, On This Day, search, a calendar, locked pages, a daily reminder, export, and sync between iPad and Mac. If you want a scrapbook of your life, choose Day One. If you want a quiet place to write, choose Virtual Diary.

Price

Day One has a free plan and paid plans billed yearly (at the time of writing, its Silver plan is listed at $49.99 a year on dayoneapp.com). Virtual Diary is free for your first page, then $49 once per device, or $79 once for iPad and Mac. No subscription.

Which should you choose?

Choose Day One if you:

• Want photos, video and audio in your journal
• Journal on iPhone, Android or the web
• Like templates, prompts and multiple journals

Choose Virtual Diary if you:

• Want to write by hand with Apple Pencil, or type on a page that feels like paper
• Want your diary to stay off other people's servers, with no account at all
• Prefer one page a day and nothing else on the screen
• Would rather pay once than subscribe

Both are good apps. They are simply made for different writers. Try Virtual Diary free →