What Diarly does

Diarly is a privacy-focused, local-first journaling application developed by Pure Form Studio (legal entity: Pure Form Studio Krzysztof Nowak), an independent bootstrapped software studio founded in February 2018. The product is distributed exclusively through Apple's App Store across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, with a local-first architecture where user entries, media, and settings reside on-device or in the user's own iCloud — not on Diarly's servers — protected by password-based end-to-end encryption with optional TouchID/FaceID unlock. Notable technical components include a built-in Markdown editor, customizable templates with smart keywords, a mood and emotions tracker synced two-way with Apple Health (State of Mind, sleep, steps, workouts, menstrual cycle), Siri Shortcuts, Apple Journaling Suggestions integration, native Photos-app linking, and an Apple Watch companion supporting dictation and audio capture.

The business model is a freemium consumer subscription. The free tier offers unlimited entries, media attachments, and basic features indefinitely; Premium is an annual subscription priced at less than $24/year (approximately under $2/month) that unlocks an OpenAI-powered AI Assistant, advanced insights, audio recording/transcription, mood tracking, custom themes, and advanced export (PDF, Rich Text). A separate AI+ monthly add-on adds image-to-text and audio transcription; Premium is also available through Setapp. The go-to-market is pure product-led growth via App Store discovery, a 7-day Premium trial, comparison pages targeting Day One and Apple Journal switchers, and a Reddit community for direct developer engagement — there is no enterprise or sales motion.

Diarly serves individual consumers across use cases including daily journaling, mental health and mindfulness, pregnancy/parenting, dream journaling, and developer/technical note-taking. The company is a small, fully remote bootstrapped team with no disclosed venture funding, no M&A history, and no parent entity; it has been continuously operating for 8+ years, was featured by Apple's Editorial Team in 'Best Apps for iOS 18' (2024), and has shipped consistent product releases through 2026 including full redesigns on iPhone (May 2025), iPad (December 2025), and macOS (April 2026).

Name

Diarly

Legal name

Pure Form Studio Krzysztof Nowak

Website

https://diarly.app

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Diarly is a privacy-first journaling application for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch built by bootstrapped studio Pure Form Studio, serving individual consumers with freemium pricing and OpenAI-powered AI features.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Diarly Premium Subscription: Annual subscription (less than $24/year for new users in the US) unlocking all premium features including AI Assistant, advanced insights, advanced export, themes, audio recording and transcription, mood tracker, advanced search, and custom templates. Auto-renews unless cancelled 24 hours before expiry.
2. AI+ Add-on Subscription: Monthly add-on subscription offering advanced AI features: image-to-text conversion and audio transcription. Stacks on top of Premium subscription.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Diarly is a journaling application for the Apple ecosystem (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS) that lets individual users write, organize, and search personal diary entries with multimedia attachments. The app offers a free tier with unlimited entries and one journal, plus a Premium annual subscription (under $24/year) unlocking AI Assistant, advanced insights, audio transcription, mood tracking, advanced themes, and advanced export, with an AI+ monthly add-on for image-to-text and audio transcription. It emphasizes local-first storage, on-device end-to-end encryption, and iCloud sync across the user's own Apple devices.

Product overview

Diarly is a unified journaling app built by Pure Form Studio, available across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch platforms. The core product is Diarly itself, a free tier offering unlimited entries, media attachments, and basic features. Premium subscription ($2/month) unlocks AI Assistant powered by OpenAI, advanced insights, custom themes, audio transcription, mood tracking, and advanced export options. AI+ add-on provides additional AI capabilities like image-to-text conversion. The ecosystem includes companion apps (Apple Watch), feature modules (Insights, Mood Tracker, Today's Photo Gallery, Widgets, Templates), and integrations (Apple Health, iCloud, Siri Shortcuts, Photos App, Calendar, Apple Journaling Suggestions). Data is stored locally-first with optional iCloud sync, protected by password encryption and biometrics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Diarly Premium: Premium subscription tier offering advanced features including AI Assistant, advanced insights, advanced themes, audio recordings, audio transcription, mood tracker, and advanced export options.
• AI+

Products and services

• Diarly Core journaling application for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch offering unlimited entries, multimedia attachments (photos, videos, files, drawings, audio), password and biometric protection, iCloud sync, Markdown editor, templates, mood tracking, multiple views (Timeline, Calendar, Map, Gallery), and customizable themes. Free tier offers unlimited entries and one journal; Premium subscription unlocks advanced features.
• Diarly Premium Premium annual subscription tier (under $24/year for new users) unlocking AI Assistant (/ask, /affirmation, /advice), advanced insights with 90+ days of data, advanced export to PDF and Rich Text, advanced and custom themes, audio recordings and transcription, mood tracker, and advanced search. Includes a 7-day free trial and auto-renews unless cancelled 24 hours before expiry. Also available via Setapp.
• AI+ Add-on Subscription Monthly add-on subscription for advanced AI features stacking on top of Diarly Premium, including image-to-text conversion (extracting text from handwritten notes, scanned documents, and screenshots) and audio transcription of voice recordings. Powered by OpenAI; personal info is not shared with OpenAI.
• Diarly for Apple Watch Companion Apple Watch application enabling quick journal entries via text dictation or scribble, plus audio recording (Premium feature). Entries sync back to the iPhone when Diarly is opened, providing on-the-wrist capture distinct from the main iPhone/iPad/Mac apps.

Quantifiable outcome

• Diarly has been trusted by journal-keepers for 8+ years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability5 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Apple HealthcoreTechnology or IntegrationTwo-way integration with Apple Health: Diarly imports activity data (steps, workouts, sleep, mindfulness minutes, menstrual cycle) into journal entries via templates, and exports mood entries and mindful minutes back to Apple Health's State of Mind feature. Critical integration for health-conscious journaling users.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Notion: Notion is a broad productivity and notes platform with templated journaling use cases and cross-platform support. While not a dedicated journaling app, it competes for users who treat journaling as a use case within a general notes workspace.
• Obsidian: Obsidian is a local-first, Markdown-based knowledge base and note-taking app that uses plain-text files on the user's device. Its privacy-first, local-first, Markdown-driven approach appeals to the same technical user segment as Diarly's developer persona.
• Apple Journal: Apple's built-in Journal app (iOS 17.2+) is preinstalled on every iPhone and integrates directly with Journaling Suggestions, Photos, and Health. It is a free, OS-level competitor that Diarly explicitly targets with comparison landing pages.

Direct peers

• Journey: Journey is a cross-platform journaling app with strong macOS and iOS support, multimedia entries, and end-to-end encryption. It targets the same premium Apple-ecosystem journaling segment as Diarly.
• Day One: Day One is the most established premium journaling app on Apple platforms, offering cross-device sync, multimedia entries, and end-to-end encryption. It is Diarly's closest direct competitor, explicitly cited by Diarly users as the app they switched from.
• Penzu: Penzu is a long-standing private online journaling platform focused on privacy and password-protected entries. It is comparable to Diarly's privacy-first, encrypted journaling positioning.

Emerging players

• Reflectly: Reflectly is an AI-powered journaling and self-care app that uses conversational AI for guided reflection. It competes with Diarly on the AI-assisted journaling use case, especially in the mental health and mindfulness segments.
• Daylio: Daylio is a popular mood and habit tracker with optional journaling that emphasizes quick daily check-ins and emoji-based mood logging. It overlaps with Diarly's mood tracker and habit-building features, and is cross-platform (iOS, Android).
• Bear: Bear is a beautiful Markdown-based notes app exclusive to Apple platforms, with tags, themes, and cross-device sync. It overlaps with Diarly on the Apple-ecosystem, Markdown-editing, design-forward niche.
• Stoic. Stoic. is a mental health and mood journaling app with AI insights, prompts, and Apple Health integration. It overlaps with Diarly's mental health and wellness use-case segment and Apple Health sync.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DiarlyApp
• Facebookfacebook.com/DiarlyApp
• Instagraminstagram.com/diarlyApp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Diarly