---
title: "The Sealed Journal vs Joplin"
description: "Joplin is free, open source, and endlessly configurable. The Sealed Journal has nothing to configure. A comparison for journal-keepers."
canonical: "https://sealedjournal.com/j/vs-joplin"
updatedAt: "2026-08-11"
category: "Comparisons"
---

# 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 verified 11 August 2026. Source: https://joplinapp.org/plans

## Questions

### 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.

## 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-joplin