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Productivity · head to head

Day One vs Microsoft OneNote

Day One logo

Day One

Productivity

Journalling app for iOS, Android and Mac now sold as a subscription after years as a one-time purchase

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft OneNote logo

Microsoft OneNote

Productivity

Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Day One it moved from a one-time purchase to a subscription after the Automattic acquisition, so long-term cost is materially higher than the original pricing implied.; Microsoft OneNote notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • They diverge on capability: Day One covers Multiple journals, Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Day One and Microsoft OneNote actually diverge.

Attributes where Day One and Microsoft OneNote differ
AttributeDay OneMicrosoft OneNote
Pricing modelFree tier plus subscriptionfreemium
PlatformsiOS, Android, macOS, WebWeb, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows
FoundedUnknown1975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Day One

  • Multiple journals
  • Rich entries
  • End-to-end encryption
  • On This Day
  • Cross-platform sync
  • PDF and Day One export

Only in Microsoft OneNote

  • Free-form page canvas
  • Notebook hierarchy
  • Indexed handwriting
  • Audio recording
  • Web clipper and Outlook capture
  • Shared notebooks
  • Cross-platform clients
  • Tags and cross-notebook search

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Day One

  • Someone wanting a private daily journal with photos that syncs between phone and laptopnot Microsoft OneNote
  • A person keeping a travel journal that auto-attaches location and weather to each entrynot Microsoft OneNote
  • Someone who wants encrypted entries kept separate from an unencrypted general journalnot Microsoft OneNote
  • A user who wants automated daily writing prompts and On This Day nostalgia reviewnot Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote

  • Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not Day One
  • Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not Day One
  • A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not Day One
  • Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not Day One

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Day One

  • It moved from a one-time purchase to a subscription after the Automattic acquisition, so long-term cost is materially higher than the original pricing implied.
  • The free tier caps at one journal and 25 photo entries, which is restrictive enough that anyone journalling seriously for more than a few weeks needs to pay.
  • End-to-end encryption is opt-in per journal rather than on by default, so users have to actively choose it and understand which journals are protected.
  • Cancelling Premium after using multiple journals or heavy photo storage can leave content viewable but with sync and some features disabled, so people should export before cancelling.
  • As an Automattic product, its roadmap sits behind a company whose primary focus is WordPress and Tumblr, not journalling specifically.

Microsoft OneNote

  • Notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • Personal notebooks consume OneDrive quota, which is 5 GB on a free Microsoft account, so a notebook full of scans, images and recordings quietly exhausts the whole account including the space Outlook needs for mail.
  • Sync happens at section level and conflicts are resolved by placing both versions on the page, so simultaneous edits to a large or media-heavy section produce duplicated content that somebody has to merge by hand.
  • Search behaves differently across clients, so what the Windows desktop app finds inside handwriting, images and attachments is not necessarily what the browser or mobile version finds, and the same query gives different answers on different devices.
  • There is no relational structure, no database and no properties, so anything that needs a table of records with fields has to be maintained by hand or moved elsewhere, and OneNote's own tables cannot be queried or filtered.

Pricing, plan by plan

Day One

Free
  • FreeFree
    • One journal
    • Up to 25 photo entries
    • Basic sync
  • Day One Premium$3.99/month
    • Unlimited journals and photos
    • End-to-end encryption
    • On This Day and audio transcription
  • Day One Premium Annual$34.99/year
    • Same as monthly Premium at a lower effective rate

Microsoft OneNote

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Day One if

  • You need multiple journals.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, macOS, Web.
  • You also want rich entries.
Day One review

Choose Microsoft OneNote if

  • You need free-form page canvas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
  • You also want notebook hierarchy.
Microsoft OneNote review

Questions people ask

Is Day One or Microsoft OneNote better?
Neither clearly leads. Day One starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Day One or Microsoft OneNote?
Day One starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free.
Does Day One or Microsoft OneNote run on more platforms?
Day One runs on iOS, Android, macOS, Web. Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
Can I use Day One for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Day One best used for?
Day One is most often used for someone wanting a private daily journal with photos that syncs between phone and laptop, a person keeping a travel journal that auto-attaches location and weather to each entry, someone who wants encrypted entries kept separate from an unencrypted general journal, a user who wants automated daily writing prompts and on this day nostalgia review. Of those, someone wanting a private daily journal with photos that syncs between phone and laptop and a person keeping a travel journal that auto-attaches location and weather to each entry are not what Microsoft OneNote is typically brought in for.
What can Day One do that Microsoft OneNote cannot?
Day One covers Multiple journals, Rich entries, End-to-end encryption, On This Day. Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Day One: Is Day One still a one-time purchase?

No. Since the 2021 Automattic acquisition it is sold as Day One Premium, a subscription. Older lifetime purchasers were grandfathered but new users pay a subscription.

Microsoft OneNote: Is OneNote really free?

Yes. The application is free with a Microsoft account, with no time limit and no feature gate. What you may end up paying for is the OneDrive storage the notebooks consume.

Day One: Is encryption on by default?

No, end-to-end encryption is an option users turn on per journal, not a default for all entries.

Microsoft OneNote: Can I keep notebooks off Microsoft's cloud?

The Windows desktop app can keep local notebooks, but they will not sync to other devices and any shared access requires OneDrive or SharePoint.

Day One: Can I export my entries if I cancel?

Yes, PDF and native Day One export formats are available regardless of subscription status, though some sync and premium features stop working.

Microsoft OneNote: How do I get my notes out?

Section by section as a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document. A OneNote package preserves a whole notebook but only for another copy of OneNote. Third-party converters exist and the page layout usually does not survive them.

Microsoft OneNote: Which version should I install?

Microsoft consolidated onto a single OneNote application on Windows after retiring the Store version, so install the one distributed with Microsoft 365 rather than looking for an alternative.

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