Productivity · head to head
Day One vs RemNote
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
- -
RemNote
Productivity
Note-taking where lines become spaced repetition flashcards as you write them
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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.; RemNote the free plan is unlimited on notes and flashcards but meters exactly what a student needs, at three annotated PDFs, five image-occlusion images and one handwritten document, so the trigger to pay arrives in the first week of a term rather than after a year.
- They diverge on capability: Day One covers Multiple journals, RemNote covers Notes and cards in one document.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Day One and RemNote actually diverge.
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 RemNote
- Notes and cards in one document
- Spaced repetition scheduler
- PDF annotation
- Image occlusion
- Handwriting documents
- Exam scheduler
- Unlimited notes and devices
- Metered AI credits
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 RemNote
- A person keeping a travel journal that auto-attaches location and weather to each entrynot RemNote
- Someone who wants encrypted entries kept separate from an unencrypted general journalnot RemNote
- A user who wants automated daily writing prompts and On This Day nostalgia reviewnot RemNote
RemNote
- Medical or law study where the sheer volume of material makes maintaining a separate flashcard deck impractical.not Day One
- Annotating lecture slides and textbook PDFs so that highlights become review material directly.not Day One
- Learning anatomy or any diagram-heavy subject where image occlusion is the effective card type.not Day One
- Language learning where vocabulary emerges from reading notes rather than from a prepared deck.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.
RemNote
- The free plan is unlimited on notes and flashcards but meters exactly what a student needs, at three annotated PDFs, five image-occlusion images and one handwritten document, so the trigger to pay arrives in the first week of a term rather than after a year.
- Notes can be exported as text, but the review history and scheduling state cannot be carried into another spaced repetition system, and after a year of study that scheduling state is the real asset rather than the notes.
- Knowledge bases built over several years slow the application down, and because the method depends on daily reviews, the performance problems arrive exactly when you have the most invested and the least appetite to move.
- AI features are metered in credits at a hundred a month on the free plan, and the tier that makes them usable costs more than double the standard paid plan, so the AI is effectively a second purchase rather than a feature of the product.
- It is a small independent vendor serving individual students, with no organisational sales underwriting it, so anyone committing several years of study material is betting on the company's continuity without an institutional customer base as a safety net.
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
RemNote
Free- Free PlanFree
- Unlimited notes and flashcards
- 3 annotated PDFs
- 5 image occlusion cards
- Pro$8/month
- All Free features
- Unlimited PDF annotation and image occlusion
- Tables and templates
- Pro with AI$18/month
- All Pro features
- 20000 AI credits monthly
- Unlimited flashcard explanations
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.
Choose RemNote if
- You need notes and cards in one document.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want spaced repetition scheduler.
Questions people ask
- Is Day One or RemNote better?
- Neither clearly leads. Day One starts at Free and RemNote at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Day One or RemNote?
- Day One starts at Free and RemNote at Free.
- Does Day One or RemNote run on more platforms?
- Day One runs on iOS, Android, macOS, Web. RemNote runs on Web.
- 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 RemNote is typically brought in for.
- What can Day One do that RemNote cannot?
- Day One covers Multiple journals, Rich entries, End-to-end encryption, On This Day. RemNote covers Notes and cards in one document, Spaced repetition scheduler, PDF annotation, Image occlusion.
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.
RemNote: How is it different from Anki?
Anki is a flashcard system you feed, free and open with an enormous library of shared decks and a long record of stability. RemNote generates the cards from notes you are already writing, which saves the copying step but ties the cards to one vendor.
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.
RemNote: Does it work offline?
An offline mode is offered. Sync conflicts across devices are the usual caveat, so test it with your own workflow before depending on it during an exam period.
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.
RemNote: What does the free plan actually restrict?
Not notes or flashcards, which are unlimited, and not the number of devices. It restricts annotated PDFs, image occlusion images, handwritten documents, daily uploads and AI credits.
RemNote: Can I get my material out?
Notes export in text form. The scheduling state and review history do not transfer, so leaving means keeping your notes and restarting the review cycle from nothing.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- Day One vs Streaks
- Day One vs Paprika Recipe Manager
- Day One vs Alfred
- Day One vs AnyList
- Day One vs Canary Mail
- Day One vs Supernormal
- Day One vs TickTick
- Day One vs Fastmail
- Day One vs Samsung Food
- Day One vs HEY
- Day One vs Mealime
- Day One vs Microsoft 365
- Day One vs tldraw
- Day One vs Ulysses
- Day One vs Anvil
- Day One vs WPS Office
- Day One vs Xmind
- Day One vs Kami
- Day One vs Todoist
- Day One vs Things 3
- Day One vs OmniFocus 3
- Day One vs Brain.fm
- Day One vs Bear
- Day One vs Bear Notes
- Day One vs Capacities
- Day One vs Milanote
- Day One vs Nitro PDF
- Day One vs Bluedot
- Day One vs Remember The Milk
- Day One vs Structured
- RemNote vs Streaks
- RemNote vs Paprika Recipe Manager
- RemNote vs Alfred
- RemNote vs AnyList
- RemNote vs Canary Mail
- RemNote vs Supernormal
- RemNote vs TickTick
- RemNote vs Fastmail
- RemNote vs Samsung Food
- RemNote vs HEY
- RemNote vs Mealime
- RemNote vs Microsoft 365
- RemNote vs tldraw
- RemNote vs Ulysses
- RemNote vs Anvil
- RemNote vs WPS Office
- RemNote vs Xmind
- RemNote vs Kami
- RemNote vs Todoist
- RemNote vs Things 3
- RemNote vs OmniFocus 3
- RemNote vs Brain.fm
- RemNote vs Bear
- RemNote vs Bear Notes
- RemNote vs Capacities
- RemNote vs Milanote
- RemNote vs Nitro PDF
- RemNote vs Bluedot
- RemNote vs Remember The Milk
- RemNote vs Structured