The Build-Your-Own
The Sealed Journal vs Joplin for journaling.
One you configure. One you open.
Joplin is admirable software: free, open source, markdown-native, with optional end-to-end encryption and sync through nearly anything — your own cloud, your own server, or theirs. For notes, for research, for a life's archive of clipped pages, it is a gift.
It is also a project. Sync targets, encryption toggles, plugins, editors, themes — configuring Joplin can quietly become the hobby that replaces the writing. Some people love that. Some people have been meaning to start journaling for three years.
The Sealed Journal has no configuration surface. Open the file, enter your passphrase, write. The absence of choices is not a missing feature; it is the thing being sold.
The Facts, Side by Side
| Joplin | The Sealed Journal | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free and open source; optional paid Joplin Cloud | One-time purchase |
| Current price | Joplin Cloud Basic: €2.40 / month · Joplin Cloud Pro: €4.79 / month · Joplin Cloud Teams (per user): €6.69 / month | One purchase: $24 (rising to $29) once |
| Free tier | The app itself is free and open source | No — a live demo, then one price |
| Platforms | All major platforms | Any modern browser, any operating system |
| Account required | No — No account needed for local use | No — no account, ever |
| Cloud sync | Optional — Sync optional — your own cloud or Joplin Cloud | No sync, no server — a single offline HTML file |
| Encryption | End-to-end encryption optional | AES-256-GCM client-side, PBKDF2 at 600,000 iterations |
Joplin prices checked 11 August 2026. Source: joplinapp.org/plans. If you find a figure out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
The Typewriter Experience
The cursor stays. The text moves.
In Write mode, your cursor remains exactly at the centre of the screen. The page rises up to meet it. Past words fade into soft shadow at the edges, leaving the present sentence in clear focus. Switch to Read mode and the entry flattens into an evenly lit document — the fade is for writing; the flat light is for returning.
Radical Privacy & Encryption
AES-256-GCM, in your browser, with a key only you derive.
- ·PBKDF2 key derivation at 600,000 iterations — the OWASP 2024 recommendation. Existing journals upgrade transparently on first unlock.
- ·No accounts, no telemetry, no analytics, no cookies, no third-party scripts.
- ·IndexedDB storage with a localStorage fallback. Encrypted before it touches the disk.
- ·The file is not minified. You can read the source. We'd rather you trust it than us.
What It Does Not Do
- ✕No word counts chasing you across the screen.
- ✕No formatting toolbar wrestling your thoughts into neatness.
- ✕No cloud sync. No distant servers. Your words stay yours.
- ✕No social sharing. Your vulnerability is not content.
- ✕No AI assistant finishing your sentences.
- ✕No streak counters. No guilt. No gamification.
- ✕No subscriptions. No mood trackers. No noise.
Licensing & Gift Copy
One purchase covers up to three of your personal devices. It also includes a second untouched copy of the file — meant to be given to one person you trust. Lifetime updates. 30-day, no-questions refund. If you run a clinic, school, or workplace and want a copy for everyone, ask us about a site licence.
One Purchase. Yours Forever.
The price is $24 today. It will become $29.
One-time payment
Get The Sealed JournalQuestions
Joplin is free. Why would I pay $24?
Free software plus your evenings is one price; twenty-four dollars for something finished is another. Both are fair. Joplin remains a great answer for notes — this is an answer for the practice Joplin's flexibility tends to postpone.
How does the encryption compare?
Joplin's E2EE is optional and applies to what you sync. Ours is not optional and there is nothing to sync: every entry is encrypted with your passphrase before it touches the disk, always.
Does The Sealed Journal support markdown?
No — no formatting at all. Formatting is a decision, and decisions interrupt. In Read mode your entry flows as clean text with nothing to fix.
More in Comparisons
See all →The Sealed Journal vs Obsidian for journaling.
Obsidian is for building a second brain. The Sealed Journal is for emptying the first one for a moment.
The Sealed Journal vs Standard Notes.
Same values. Different rooms.
The Sealed Journal vs Day One.
Both are journals. They're built on opposite assumptions about where your writing should live.
The Sealed Journal vs journaling in Notion.
Notion is a brilliant tool for organising work. It is a strange place to put your inner life.
The Sealed Journal vs Apple Notes.
Apple Notes is the path of least resistance. The Sealed Journal is the path that takes the journaling seriously.
The Sealed Journal vs a paper notebook.
Paper is excellent. It also can't be locked, searched, or carried in the pocket of a thousand future devices.
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