Why switch from Day One?

Three reasons come up. The best features (unlimited photos, multiple journals with everything on) sit on the Silver and Gold plans at $49.99 and $74.99 a year. The journal lives in Day One’s cloud behind an account, which some people would rather not have. And Day One is Apple-and-Android only on the desktop side of things, with no Windows or Linux app. Its free Basic plan with end-to-end encryption is generous, so if none of those bother you, there is no need to leave.

What is the best free Day One alternative?

Apple Journal, if you are on Apple devices: free, locked with Face ID or Touch ID, and synced through iCloud. Obsidian is free for personal use and keeps the journal in plain Markdown files. Diarium is free with a one-time Pro upgrade. Dash is free on iPhone and the web.

Is there a Day One alternative with encryption?

Dash locks any entry with AES-256 on the device and encrypts sync end to end. Journey offers end-to-end encryption. Apple says Journal entries synced through iCloud are end-to-end encrypted. Bear encrypts individual notes on Pro. Obsidian encrypts its sync but not the files on your disk.

Can I import my Day One journal?

Export the journal from Day One as JSON, Markdown or PDF. Diarium and Journey import Day One exports directly. Obsidian reads the Markdown files as they are. In Dash, keep the export as an encrypted archive and paste in the entries you want at hand; Dash does not read Day One’s format directly.

Is Day One end-to-end encrypted?

Yes. Day One lists end-to-end encryption on every plan, including the free Basic plan. The difference with the apps here is not whether the vendor can read your journal but whether there is a vendor and an account in the loop at all, and whether you are paying once or every year.

Dash Notes

Free on iPhone

Alternatives

Day One Alternatives for a Private Journal

Six journals for people who want their entries on their own device, without a subscription or an account, and how to move a Day One journal across.

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Updated September 2026 · Dash team

Day One is the journaling app most people are measured against, and for good reason: it is polished, it runs everywhere Apple and Android do, and its free plan now includes end-to-end encryption. People still look for a Day One alternative for three reasons: the yearly plans, the account and cloud at the centre of it, and a wish to keep a diary in something simpler or more durable.

The six apps below each answer one of those. We build Dash, so it is listed first and judged by the same rules as the others.

Six Day One alternatives

01
Dash
Our app
A private notebook that makes a good diary: entries stay on your Mac or iPhone, any entry can be locked with AES-256, and the Mac app is a one-time purchase.
Best for
A journal that is genuinely yours, bought once
Price
$14.99 once on Mac; free on iPhone and the web
Privacy
No account; offline by default; locked entries AES-256; optional end-to-end encrypted sync
- No account and nothing uploaded unless you turn sync on
- Lock entries, lock the app, duress password
- Open source (MIT); exports to Markdown, PDF, DOCX and an encrypted backup
- No prompts, streaks or “on this day”
- No Windows or Linux app
- Sync is a separate subscription
02
Apple Journal
Free with your iPhone, iPad and Mac, with suggestions from your photos and activity and a lock behind Face ID or Touch ID.
Best for
The free, no-setup option on Apple devices
Price
Free
Privacy
Apple says entries synced through iCloud are end-to-end encrypted; tied to your Apple Account
- Free and already installed
- Locks with Face ID or Touch ID
- Suggestions from your own photos and workouts
- Apple devices only
- Little control over export
- Needs an Apple Account and iCloud to sync
03
Diarium
A traditional diary with media, templates and a calendar; free with a one-time Pro purchase per platform and no account.
Best for
A Day One-style diary without the subscription
Price
Free; Pro is a one-time purchase per platform
Privacy
Entries on the device; password, PIN or biometrics; syncs through your own cloud storage
- One-time purchase, no account
- Imports Day One exports directly
- Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and iPad
- Sync relies on your OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud or WebDAV
- Pro is bought separately on each platform
- Plainer design
04
Journey
The closest match to Day One’s feature list, with moods, prompts and media, on every platform including Windows, Linux and the web.
Best for
Day One features on non-Apple platforms
Price
Free tier; Premium as a subscription or a one-time purchase
Privacy
Journey Cloud sync; end-to-end encryption offered; passcode and biometrics
- Runs everywhere, including Windows and Linux
- End-to-end encryption available
- Imports from Day One
- Cloud-first, with an account
- Prices are not on the website
- Busier than the others
05
Obsidian
Plain Markdown files with a Daily Notes plugin. The most portable journal there is, and the most work to set up.
Best for
A journal in files you will own forever
Price
Free for personal use; Obsidian Sync $4 a month billed yearly
Privacy
Files on your disk; Sync is end-to-end encrypted; no entry lock built in
- Your entries are plain text files
- Reads a Day One Markdown export as it is
- End-to-end encrypted sync
- No encryption at rest without plugins or FileVault
- Set-up before you write
- Heavier on the phone
06
Bear
A Markdown notes app with the nicest typography on the Mac; a daily-note habit built from tags, and per-note encryption on Pro.
Best for
Journaling inside a notes app on Apple devices
Price
Free; Bear Pro $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year
Privacy
iCloud sync; per-note encryption and app lock with Pro
- Beautiful writing environment
- Encrypt individual entries on Pro
- Exports to Markdown, PDF and DOCX
- Apple platforms only
- iCloud sync is not end-to-end encrypted by Bear
- Journaling features are do-it-yourself

A diary you buy once and nobody else can open. Dash is $14.99 on Mac, free on iPhone.

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Why people leave Day One

The yearly plans. Basic is free with one photo per entry. Unlimited photos, more journals and the rest sit on Silver at $49.99 a year and Gold at $74.99 a year. Over a decade of journaling that is a real sum.
The account and the cloud. Your journal lives in Day One’s service, now part of Automattic. It is end-to-end encrypted, which is the right design, but some people would rather there was no service to trust at all.
Wanting something simpler. Prompts, streaks and memories are motivating for some and noise for others. A page and a lock is enough for a lot of diaries.

What to keep and what to fix

Keep the habit. Day One’s real product is the daily nudge, and any replacement needs its own: a page per day that is one keystroke away, a reminder, or a journal folder that opens on launch. Keep end-to-end encryption as the floor, not a feature to pay for. Fix the two things that bothered you: pick an app you buy once if it was the price, and an app with no account if it was the cloud.

Moving your journal out of Day One

Export from Day One. In the app’s settings, export the journal as JSON (the complete record, with metadata), Markdown (the text, one file per entry) and PDF (a readable archive).
Import where it is supported. Diarium and Journey read Day One exports directly. Obsidian opens the Markdown folder as a vault with no import at all.
Or start fresh with an archive. In Dash, begin the new journal from today, paste in the handful of entries you return to, and keep the full export as an encrypted .dashpack backup on your own drive.

Pay once for the app. Sync is the only subscription.

No plan needed to take notes. Ever.

Dash for iPhone

Freeon the App Store

Same encryption, Face ID
Works fully offline
No account to make

Download

Dash Sync (optional)

$4.99/ month, or $47.99 / year

Mac, iPhone, iPad and web in step
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Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

Journal apps for MacSeven journaling apps compared on privacy, price and offline use.Encrypted diary and journal appHow Dash keeps a diary on your device, with a Day One and Journey comparison.App lockLock the whole journal behind Touch ID or Face ID.

Your journal. Your device. Bought once.

$14.99 once on Mac. Free on iPhone.

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