---
title: "The Sealed Journal vs Day One"
description: "Day One is a polished cloud journal. The Sealed Journal is the opposite. A clear comparison for anyone choosing between them."
canonical: "https://sealedjournal.com/j/vs-day-one"
category: "Comparisons"
---

# The Sealed Journal vs Day One.

_Both are journals. They're built on opposite assumptions about where your writing should live._

Day One is a beautifully made cloud journal owned by Automattic. Your entries sync across devices through their service.

The Sealed Journal does not sync. It does not have an account. It does not own a server that holds your writing — encrypted or otherwise.

If you want polished multi-device syncing and you trust the cloud model, Day One is excellent. If you want your words on your machine and nowhere else, you want this.

## The facts, side by side

| | Day One | The Sealed Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pricing model | Subscription (free tier available) | One-time purchase |
| Current price | Silver: $49.99 / year · Gold (AI): $74.99 / year | One purchase: $24 (rising to $29) once |
| Free tier | — | No — a live demo, then one price |
| Platforms | iOS, macOS, Android, web | Any modern browser, any operating system |
| Account required | Yes — Account required for sync | No — no account, ever |
| Cloud sync | Required | No sync, no server — a single offline HTML file |
| Encryption | End-to-end encryption available; sync runs through Day One's servers | AES-256-GCM client-side, PBKDF2 at 600,000 iterations |

April 2026 restructure: the old Premium plan became Silver, and a Gold AI tier launched alongside it.

Day One prices verified 10 August 2026. Source: https://dayoneapp.com/pricing

## Questions

### What is the main difference from Day One?

Day One syncs your entries through their servers and accounts. The Sealed Journal has neither, so your writing stays on the machine you wrote it on.

### Can I import my Day One entries?

Export from Day One as plain text and paste in what you want to keep. There is no automated importer.

### Is it cheaper than a Day One subscription?

Yes — The Sealed Journal is a single $24 payment, which is less than one year of either current Day One tier (the table above shows today's prices and the date we checked them). You are buying a different thing, though: no sync, no apps, no AI.

## Price

The Sealed Journal is a one-time purchase of $24 (introductory price, rising to $29). No subscription, no account, lifetime updates, 30-day refund. Buy at https://sealedjournal.com/#pricing

## Elsewhere

- Hub: Comparisons — https://sealedjournal.com/journals/comparisons
- All journals — https://sealedjournal.com/journals
- HTML version of this page — https://sealedjournal.com/j/vs-day-one