Dogood or Day One?
Both are journals made to keep for years. Day One is a polished app with its own cloud and a yearly subscription. Dogood is paid once, needs no account and keeps your words on your device. Here is what really differs.
In short.
Day One suits you if…
- you want apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and Android, refined over many years;
- you attach audio, video or scanned PDFs to your entries;
- you connect your journal to other services, such as Strava or IFTTT;
- a yearly subscription and an account in Day One’s own cloud suit you.
Dogood suits you if…
- you would rather pay once, for life, than every year;
- you want no account at all: your words stay on your device, and sync, with Dogood Plus, goes through your own Google Drive, sealed;
- you want goals, habits and chapters beside your journal, and last year’s page on the same date;
- you like a question to start with, from great journal keepers such as Franklin, Seneca or Virginia Woolf;
- you want your years as books from any print shop.
Side by side.
Day One’s figures come from its plans page, read on October 26, 2026. Its prices are those shown in the United States and can differ where you live.
| Dogood | Day One | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Writing is free. Dogood Plus: €29 / $29, paid once, for life. | Basic: free. Silver: $49.99 a year. Gold: $74.99 a year. |
| Three years with sync | $29 | $149.97 with Silver |
| Account | None | Needed to sync |
| Where entries live | On your device. With sync (Dogood Plus), a sealed copy in a hidden folder of your own Google Drive. | On your devices, synced through Day One’s own service. |
| Encryption | Optional: a passphrase seals your words (AES-256). | End-to-end encryption on every plan. |
| More than one device | With Dogood Plus. Without it, move a backup file. | With Silver or Gold. Basic is one device. |
| Photos | One a day for free; unlimited with Dogood Plus. | One per entry on Basic; up to 30 media per entry on Silver. |
| Prompts | Optional: a question a day from a great journal keeper. | Daily prompts. |
| Printed books | Print at home for free; with Dogood Plus, two PDFs, pages and cover, for any print shop or online printer. | Printed journals ordered from Day One, 25% off with Silver. |
| Where it runs | In any recent browser; installs like an app on iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows; works offline. | Apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and Android, and on the web. |
Build Dogood with us.
Dogood is shaped by the people who write in it. An idea, something missing, a detail that gets in the way: tell us. Every message is read, and the next improvements come from them.
Questions people ask.
Something wrong or out of date? Write to [email protected] and it will be corrected.
If you want a private journal you pay for once, with no account, yes: writing is free, and Dogood Plus is €29 ($29) for life. If you rely on audio, video or integrations with other services, Day One does more of that today.
Day One is a trademark of its owner. Dogood is not affiliated with Day One. Facts about Day One come from its plans page, read on October 26, 2026.