--- title: "Apple Journal vs Ember | A Journal That Remembers Your People" description: "Apple Journal remembers your days. Ember remembers your people: everyone you write about gets their own page. Compare the two, and bring your Apple Journal with you." url: https://ember.mov/apple-journal-alternative/ language: en updated: 2026-11-09 --- Apple Journal vs Ember # Apple Journal remembers your days. *Ember remembers your people.* You write about the same people again and again. In Ember, each of them gets a page. [Bring your Apple Journal](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6775558241?pt=128905247&ct=site&mt=8) Free on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Your Apple Journal stays where it is. People ## A life is remembered through its people. Think back ten years. You don't remember a Tuesday. You remember who was there. Apple Journal keeps your entries by day, and that is a fine way to keep days. But a name in Apple Journal is a word in the text. Write about your sister fifty times, and search can find the word, but there is no place that is hers. In Ember, you type @ and her name. That's all. The entry lands on her page, beside every other moment you've written about her, in order. Open it in ten years and it is all there, in your own words. ![An entry in Ember with people mentioned by name](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/aj-entry-phone.webp) ![Jane Bennet's page in Ember, gathering what was written about her](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/aj-jane-phone.webp) Your words ## What you noticed. Apple Journal can start you off with suggestions from your photos, workouts and places: what your phone noticed. Ember opens to a blank page with one gentle question, and no AI that writes, summarises or suggests your words. What ends up on the page is what mattered to you. And if you like Apple's suggestions, start from one in Ember too. On iPhone, pick a moment in Apple's own picker: its photos, place and people come into a new entry, and anyone already in Ember is mentioned, so the moment lands on their page. Ember only sees the moment you pick. ![Writing in Ember's focus mode: one entry, nothing else on the screen](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/aj-focus.webp) Memories ## It comes back to you. A year ago today, you met someone. Ember remembers, and brings the moment back on the right day, in the words you wrote then. When someone you're keeping close starts to drift, Ember quietly lets you know. ![A memory card in Ember: a trip to Pemberley, two months ago](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/aj-memory-phone.webp) ![Ember's feed: one year ago you met Mr. Bingley](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/aj-feed-phone.webp) Make it yours ## A journal you open every day should feel like yours. Choose a theme, and the type and spacing you like to write in. Three themes are free; Plus opens all thirteen. ![Ember's journal in the Ember theme, light](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/theme-ember-light.webp) *Ember* ![Ember's journal in the Nord theme](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/theme-nord.webp) *Nord* ![Ember's journal in the Rosé Pine theme, light](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/theme-rose-pine.webp) *Rosé Pine* ![Ember's journal in the Dracula theme](https://ember.mov/assets/compare/theme-dracula.webp) *Dracula* ★★★★★ > When you write about someone, the entry goes onto their profile, so you can scroll back through every moment you've shared or written about them in order. ***hsingasong**App Store review* An honest comparison ## When Apple Journal is the better choice We'd rather you pick the right journal than ours. ### You want sync at no cost. Apple Journal syncs free through iCloud. Ember is free on every device, and keeping them in step is Ember Plus, through your own iCloud. There is no Ember server, so Plus doesn't pay for storage; it keeps a one-person app going. Prices follow purchasing power, so in many countries it costs less. ### You'd rather not add an app. Apple Journal is already on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Ember is one free download, and it brings everything you've written in Apple Journal with it. ### You track your mood. Apple Journal logs your state of mind to Apple Health. Ember doesn't track moods; it keeps people. ### You write about your days, not the people in them. Then Apple Journal already does the job well. Switching ## Nothing to lose by trying. - **Your Apple Journal stays where it is.** Ember imports a copy, on your device. Nothing is uploaded. - **Everything comes across:** your writing, dates, photos, drawings, voice recordings and places. Then Ember lists the names in your entries, and you choose who gets a page. - **Free, with no limits** on what you write. No account to create. - **Leave whenever you like.** Back up everything as one .zip of plain JSON with your original photos, readable without Ember. You can also print your whole journal as a book. Free, with or without Plus. - **Made by one person,** with no investors and no ads. ![Ember's guide to bringing in a journal from Apple Journal](https://ember.mov/help/img/iphone-import-apple-journal.webp) 1. 1**Export from Journal.** On iPhone, open Settings, then Apps, then Journal, and choose Export All Journal Entries. You get a ZIP file. On a Mac, use Export in the Journal app. 2. 2**Import into Ember.** On a Mac, choose File, then Import, then Apple Journal. On iPhone and iPad, open Settings and choose Apple Journal under Import. 3. 3**Find your people.** Ember lists the names in your imported entries, and you link each one to a person, so everyone you wrote about gets a page. [Read the import guide](https://ember.mov/help/apple-journal-import) ## The two apps, side by side | Feature | Apple Journal | Ember | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | Free, built into your devices | Free, with no limits on what you write. Ember Plus adds sync and every theme, from $4.99 a month in the US. | | Devices | iPhone, iPad and Mac | iPhone, iPad and Mac | | Sync | Free, through iCloud | With Ember Plus, through your own iCloud | | People | Names are part of the text | Type @ to mention someone. Each person has a page with every entry, story and conversation you have kept about them. | | Organising | Multiple journals | Worlds, stories and tags | | Starting an entry | Journaling Suggestions from your photos, workouts and places | A blank page with one gentle question, or a moment from Apple's Journaling Suggestions. No AI. | | Mood | Log your state of mind, saved to Apple Health | Not a feature | | Staying in touch | Not a feature | A quiet nudge when someone you keep close starts to drift | | Search | Search your entries | Search the way you remember: a person, a place, a time and a few words, all in one box | | Lock | Yes | Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode | | Export | All entries as a ZIP file, or entries as PDF | A full backup as one .zip of plain JSON with your original photos and media, readable without Ember. PDFs of entries and stories, and your whole journal as a printed book. All free. | | Import from other apps | Not a feature | Apple Journal, Day One, Diarium and Contacts | Apple Journal details checked on October 28, 2026 against [Apple's Journal User Guide for Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/journal/welcome/mac) and Apple Support. Apps change, so check there for the latest. Written by [Nandha](https://ember.mov/author/nandha/), updated November 9, 2026. More comparisons: [all five side by side](https://ember.mov/best-journaling-apps-for-mac/), [Day One](https://ember.mov/day-one-alternative/), [Journey](https://ember.mov/journey-alternative/), [Diarly](https://ember.mov/diarly-alternative/), [Diarium](https://ember.mov/diarium-alternative/). ## Questions from Apple Journal users **Can I move my Apple Journal entries to Ember?** Yes. Your writing, dates, photos, drawings, voice recordings and places come across. Apple's export does not say which journal an entry came from, so entries from several journals arrive together. **Is Ember free like Apple Journal?** Ember is free on every device, with no limits on what you write. Syncing between your devices needs Ember Plus, while Apple Journal syncs through iCloud for free. Prices follow purchasing power, so in many countries Plus costs less than in the US. **Can I still use Journaling Suggestions?** Yes, on iPhone. Start an entry from Apple's Journaling Suggestions, and the moment's photos, place and people come in, with anyone already in Ember mentioned by name. Apple's journaling reminders can open Ember too. Ember only ever sees the moment you pick. **Does Ember use AI?** No. No AI in Ember writes, summarises or suggests your words. Every sentence in your journal is yours. **Can I get my journal back out of Ember?** Yes, at any time and for free. Back up everything as one .zip of plain JSON with your original media, readable without Ember. You can also save entries and stories as PDFs and print your whole journal as a book. Exports keep working if you never subscribe, or stop. ## Give everyone in your journal a page. Import your Apple Journal and pick up where you left off. [Bring your Apple Journal](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6775558241?pt=128905247&ct=site&mt=8) - Free on Mac, iPhone and iPad - No account - No AI