Day One
A journal that has been quietly perfecting one job since 2011.
By Automattic · since 2011 · dayoneapp.com
B+ · out of 10
Day One is a journaling app, not a notes app, and the difference shows in every screen. Entries carry the date, the weather, the place and the photos from that day, and the app spends its energy on getting you to write another one: prompts, streaks, reminders and an "On This Day" view of your own past. Everything is end-to-end encrypted, and the Gold plan adds a chat that reflects your entries back at you.
How it scores
Features25% of score
7.4Depth and breadth of what the app can do.
Ease of use20% of score
9.2Speed, polish and how long it takes to feel at home.
AI15% of score
6.2Quality and usefulness of the built-in AI, not just its presence.
Sync & reliability15% of score
8.6How dependably notes move between devices.
Value15% of score
6.4What you get for what you pay.
Platform coverage10% of score
8.2How many places you can actually use it.
Pricing
$49.99/year
Free tier: Unlimited text entries and journals on one device, with one photo per entry.
Silver is $49.99/year for sync across devices, unlimited photos and video, and audio with transcription. Gold is $74.99/year and adds the AI: Daily Chat, entry summaries and image generation.
Platforms
- Windows
- macOS
- iOS
- Android
- Linux
- Web
43 tracked features supported
What it does well
- The nicest place there is to keep a private diary
- End-to-end encryption on every plan, including the free one
- Date, place, weather and photos attach themselves without any effort
- Prompts, streaks and reminders that actually build the habit
Where it falls short
- Fifty dollars a year is steep next to general note apps
- The free tier is capped at one device and one photo per entry
- No links between entries, so it never becomes a knowledge base
- The AI is locked behind the top tier
Our take
Buy it to write about your life, not to organize your work. At that one job it has no real rival.
Best for: Anyone keeping a personal journal who wants it to outlive the app.
Feature by feature
Capture & input
How notes get into the app in the first place.
- Voice recording
- Audio transcription
- Speaker identification
- Meeting recording
- Handwriting / stylusPartly
- Drawing canvasPartly
- OCR / handwriting searchPartly
- Web clipper
- Share extension
- Quick capture
- Images
- PDF & documentsPartly
- Document scanning
Organization
How notes are structured, linked and found again.
- Tags
- Folders / notebooksPartly
- Multi-level folders
- Internal links
- Backlinks
- Graph view
- Databases / boards
- Daily notes / journal
- Note templates
- Saved searchesPartly
- Pins / favorites
- Merge notes
AI
Assistants, generators and meaning-based search.
- AI chat / writing assistantPartly
- AI agent with tools
- Custom AI agents
- Semantic search
- AI web search
- Connected apps for AI
- Prompt templates
- Custom AI instructions
- AI memory
- Scheduled AI tasks
- Flashcard generator
- Spaced repetition
- Quiz generator
- Fill in the blank
- Mind maps
- AI image generation
- Infographic generator
- Slide deck generator
- AI mini apps
- Brainrot video generator
- AI audio overview
- Bring your own model
- AI job notifications
Writing & editing
What the editor itself can actually do.
- Markdown
- Rich text
- Code blocks
- Math / LaTeX
- Tables
- Find and replace
- Version history
- Note info
Sync & data ownership
Where your notes live and how easily they leave.
- Cloud sync
- Sync through your own cloud
- Offline support
- Offline-first / own your dataPartly
- Self-hosting
- End-to-end encryption
- Locked notesPartly
- Daily backup
- Import
- Export
- Public APIPartly
- Command line tool
- Remote MCP serverPartly
- Plugins / extensions
Sharing & collaboration
Working with other people inside your notes.
- Share with people
- Real-time collaborationPartly
- Comments
- Public sharingPartly
Experience
The everyday polish around the writing surface.
- Dark mode
- Custom themesPartly
- Multi-language
- Command palette
- Split viewPartly
- Focus modePartly
- Home screen widgets
- Apple Shortcuts
Compare with
All Day One alternatives
Day One vs Grape
Adds: AI agent with tools, AI memory
Day One vs Obsidian
Plain markdown files on your disk, with a plugin ecosystem bolted on top.
Day One vs Apple Notes
Already on your phone, and better than it has any right to be.
Day One vs Craft
Documents that look designed before you touch anything.