An iOS journal app · iPhone only · iOS 17+

One line.
One place.
Miss a day —
your line is still here when you come back.

One open text field per day. No prompts. No AI. No streak counter. Free for full text-only journaling. Premium $29 a year unlocks photos, year-over-year scroll, search, PDF export, and themes.

Get the app See how it works
No streak counter. No AI. No analytics. No social. No ads.
April 2026
seven lines
Wed · Apr 30
shipped the calendar view. all hairlines, no shame.
Mon · Apr 28
biked to the lake. the path was empty.
Sun · Apr 27
found my grandfather's pen in the bottom drawer.
— three days, no lines. that's fine. —
Wed · Apr 23
made bread that actually rose this time.
Mon · Apr 21
saw the same fox three nights in a row.
gaps look
like this —
no red dots
Why we built this

Every journal app made us feel like we were failing.

A pattern from r/Journaling and r/decidingtobebetter: people download a journal app, write for a week, miss a day, see the broken streak, feel guilty, abandon the app. We built OneLine to break the pattern.

"
I had a 47-day streak going on Stoic. Missed one travel day and felt physically sick about it. Haven't opened the app since.
r/Journaling · 2024
"
The AI prompts feel like a therapist who watched too many TED talks. I just want a place to write down that I made soup.
r/decidingtobebetter · 2024
"
I've tried Day One, Stoic, Finch, Reflectly, Notion. They're all good. They all make me feel watched.
r/Journaling · 2023
How it works

A short list of things, and a longer list of things we left out.

What's in
+
One open text field per day. 280 characters. The constraint is the feature.
+
Calendar. Written days have a hairline mark. Empty days look identical.
+
Year-end scroll. Every line you kept, in one continuous view.
+
Photos, search, PDF export, themes. Premium add-ons. Free is the full text journal.
+
An optional evening reminder. Opt-in. Default off. Copy is gentle.
What's out
✕
Streak counter. Anywhere. Ever.
✕
AI prompts. AI anything.
✕
Mood scoring, emoji pickers, "rate today 1–10."
✕
Weekly insights or analytics dashboards.
✕
Daily prompts. The field is empty when you open it.
✕
Social features. Friends. Shared journals.
✕
Mental-health claims. Therapy-adjacent copy.
An honest comparison

Different journals for different journalers.

The other apps are good. We use them. Each one is right for a different reader. OneLine is the right call only if every journal app made you feel like you were failing.

Apple Journal free
Excellent and built into your phone. Smart suggestions from Photos, Places, Workouts. The right tool if you want your journal to remember the run, the sunset, the song.
If you want feature density · use Apple Journal
Day One $35 / yr
Years of polish. Rich text, multiple journals, cross-platform, encryption. The right tool if you want long-form journaling with real depth.
If you want long-form polish · use Day One
Stoic $60 / yr
Daily philosophy prompts, mood tracking, meditation. The right tool if you want guided wisdom + a structured practice.
If you want guided prompts · use Stoic
Finch $70 / yr
An adorable pet who grows with your self-care. Beloved for a reason. The right tool if gamification + a virtual companion helps you show up.
If you want a gentle character · use Finch
us
OneLine free · or $29 / yr premium
One open text field per day. No prompts. No AI. No streak counter. No shame for missed days. At year-end, scroll through everything you kept. The right call if every other journal app made you feel watched, behind, or rated.
If you want the smallest possible surface area · use OneLine
Pricing

Free is the journal. Premium is the rest.

The free tier is the full text-only journal — that's not a demo, it's the product. Premium adds the photos, search, year-over-year scroll, and PDF export.

Free
$0forever
No card. No expiry. No "premium trial."
  • One line a day, current year
  • Calendar view
  • Cream theme
  • Optional evening reminder
  • Sign in with Apple, encrypted, iCloud sync
Get the app
Premium
$29per year · or $4.99 / mo
7-day trial on annual. Saves 52% vs monthly.
  • Everything in free
  • One photo per entry
  • Year-over-year scroll, across every year you keep
  • Search across every line
  • PDF export, any date range
  • Light and dark themes
Start 7-day trial
Honest answers

A small FAQ.

Will you ever add a streak counter?
No. Not hidden. Not optional. The absence of a streak counter is the product. If you want streaks, Stoic and Finch are wonderful.
Why 280 characters?
It's a Twitter-length unit of thought. One sentence usually fits. The constraint forces "one line" structurally rather than by convention. If you want long-form, Day One is better.
Where do my lines live?
On your phone and in your iCloud. End-to-end encrypted. We can't read them. We won't sell anything.
What if I miss a week?
Your line for today is still here when you come back. That is, structurally, the entire point.
Will there be Android?
Not at MVP. Maybe in year two. For now, iOS only, iOS 17+.
Will there be an AI feature later?
No. We do not pretend to be your therapist. We do not generate prompts. The empty field is the wedge.
Today.
Your line is waiting whenever you have one.
Get the app