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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Finch vs Daylio Journal

Finch 4.9★ · Free + IAP 85
Winner Finch
Daylio Journal 4.8★ · Free + IAP 78

Finch is the better choice for users seeking a gamified, habit-building self-care experience with a strong community aspect, while Daylio Journal excels as a highly customizable mood and activity tracker for detailed self-reflection.

Full reviews: Finch · Daylio Journal

Finch offers a gamified approach to self-care with a cute virtual pet, focusing on habit building and social interaction, making it engaging for a wide age range. Daylio Journal provides robust mood and activity tracking with extensive customization, ideal for in-depth self-reflection and identifying patterns over time.

Head to head

Features and Approach to Self-Care edge: FinchR1R11R12R13
Finch Finch is praised for its gamified self-care, where users raise a virtual pet by completing self-care tasks and building routines R1R11R12R13. It offers activities, checks, and quizzes, along with customization for the pet and its home R17R19. The social aspect, like sending 'vibes' to friends and buddying up for accountability, is a key draw R11R17R18.
Daylio Journal Daylio Journal is highly valued for its comprehensive mood and activity tracking, allowing users to customize emotions, activities, and add notes, photos, and even audio recordings . It focuses on providing visual data and reports to help users identify patterns in their moods and habits over long periods .
Ease of Use and Interface tieR9R12R17R40
Finch Finch is described as cute, colorful, and fun, with a design that doesn't feel stressful or overwhelming R12R17. Users find it easy to use for setting reminders and building routines, making self-care enjoyable R9R12R40.
Daylio Journal Daylio Journal is consistently praised for being simple, intuitive, and easy to use, even for those with ADHD who find many apps overwhelming R55. Its customizable interface allows users to tailor it to their needs, whether they want to be simple or detailed R55.
Reliability and Performance edge: FinchR1R3R8R10
Finch Some Finch users report issues with the app lagging, closing randomly, or experiencing glitches where their pet disappears or streaks aren't registered R1R3R8R10. There are also concerns about account progress being deleted R3.
Daylio Journal Daylio Journal users have reported significant reliability issues, including the app crashing frequently, especially when starting new entries . More critically, some users have experienced the deletion of voice recordings and other personal data, leading to a loss of important memories R60R63. There are also complaints about not being able to edit previous goal entries .
Price and Value tieR2R6R9R20
Finch Finch offers a free version that many users find sufficient and valuable, helping them with mental health and habit building R2. However, some users feel that desirable features, like certain clothing items, are locked behind the paid 'Plus' subscription, which they find expensive R9R20. There are also complaints about accidental subscriptions and difficulty canceling R6.
Daylio Journal Daylio Journal has a free version that many users find perfect for their needs, offering many features without requiring payment R55R67. However, there are strong complaints about features being locked behind a paywall after a short trial, with some users feeling misled about the app's cost structure R57R68. Some premium users also report issues with restoring purchases on new devices and unresponsive support .
Support and Data Management edge: FinchR3R6R60R63
Finch Finch reviews mention concerns about account deletion and progress loss R3. There's also a report of unresponsiveness from support regarding subscription cancellation disputes R6.
Daylio Journal Daylio Journal users report significant issues with customer support, stating that developers stopped responding to requests, especially concerning restoring lifetime memberships on new devices . Critically, there are multiple reports of data loss, including voice recordings, due to backup/sync issues on iPhone, which is a major concern for an app storing personal memories and medical tracking data R60R63R68R95.
Pick Finch if

you are looking for a fun, gamified approach to self-care and habit building, enjoy virtual pet elements, and appreciate a supportive community aspect R11R12R13R18. It's also suitable if you want an app that helps with mental health in an engaging, less overwhelming way R17R36.

Pick Daylio Journal if

you need a highly customizable and detailed mood and activity tracker for in-depth self-reflection, pattern identification, and journaling . It's ideal if you track chronic conditions or want a tool to support therapy discussions .

Evidence note: Finch has a significantly higher number of ratings and a slightly higher lifetime rating, indicating broader user satisfaction despite some recent negative reviews. Daylio Journal's negative reviews often highlight critical issues like data loss and unresponsive support, which are serious concerns for a journaling app.

Frequently asked

Is Finch good for mental health?
Yes, Finch is widely praised for helping users with mental health, wellbeing, and building positive habits, with many finding it an effective and fun tool for self-care and improving productivity R13R24R30R36.
Can I use Daylio Journal for free?
Yes, you can use Daylio Journal for free, and many users find the free version sufficient for their needs, offering features like mood tracking, activity logging, and customization R55R67. However, some advanced features and access to historical data may be locked behind a paid subscription R57R68.
Does Finch have a social feature?
Yes, Finch includes social features such as adding friends, sending 'vibes' to them, and buddying up for accountability, which many users find motivating and enjoyable R11R17R18R19.
Are there data loss issues with Daylio Journal?
Yes, several Daylio Journal users have reported serious data loss issues, including the deletion of voice recordings and problems with iCloud backup/sync, leading to the loss of important personal memories and tracking data R60R63R95.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 110 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] Finch 2/5 · GB Not really a self-care app: I’ve been using finch for years and I’ve found it’s become more of an idle tap game than a self-care tool. Fun enough if your phone can handle it (mine lags and closes the app randomly) but not really a mental health tool
  2. [R11] Finch 5/5 · GB Gamified self-care / self-improvement: It's cute and fun and doing it with friends really helps!
  3. [R12] Finch 5/5 · GB Brilliant little tool!: I bloody love this App! I use it every day, especially in the morning to help me start my day off mindfully. It’s fun, easy and very cute, I’m soooo invested in raising and nurturing my little birb it’s hilarious 🤣
  4. [R13] Finch 5/5 · GB Great for building habits: I got Finch just over a month ago and my mental health has drastically improved. Every day your self care pet will go on an adventure and share something with you when they’re back. You will always have a micro pet egg and when you complete a goal 7 times it will hatch. Finch is amazing
  5. [R9] Finch 4/5 · GB Finch: It's a good app to set you reminders and is great to start your own routine. I love it and I use it everyday. You get to have a friend that helps you enjoy routine. the on thing is that you have to pay for it every month. And that's a lot. But it's great. So you should get it.❤️😄
  6. [R17] Finch 5/5 · GB AMASINGG: First of all, I love the design of this app It’s so cute and colourful and doesn’t make you feel stressed or overwhelmed. Second note I love all the features of this app. I love how you can have activities checks and quizzes I got this game because a friend recommended it to me and they said it was really good. Speaking of friends I love how you can have friends on this app. It’s really
  7. [R40] Finch 5/5 · GB Brilliant: This app helps me take care of myself better! If you’re looking for an easy cute way to get healthier or just be happier I absolutely recommend this app!!! Btw watch liv and maddie on Disney+ for the best content! ✌️
  8. [R3] Finch 3/5 · GB 🪶: Such a lovely app ! Thank you! Just one disappointment: my friend saved her progress and her account has been deleted. Please work on this
  9. [R8] Finch 1/5 · GB My bird disappeared today: It says she went on an adventure but I don’t see her only the micropet nor is she even on the profile page! Must be a glitch! Please sort as I love the app
  10. [R10] Finch 1/5 · GB Good App but very unstable: Good self care but keep minimum saved favorite and use the App shorter time trying not to be closed suddenly.
  11. [R2] Finch 5/5 · GB Great app: Great app - the free version is fine. Makes me think about the small wins in life.
  12. [R6] Finch 1/5 · GB Warning: This so say self help app has been stealing money off me i cancelled my subscription which i activated by accident they do not reply and have actually contested my complaint and payment avoid this app
  13. [R20] Finch 4/5 · GB I like it but …..: It really helps but fist the clothes are good but then the only good clothes are on plus snd it’s jard to get friends
  14. [R60] Daylio Journal 1/5 · US Pls Daylio Read this: I’ve been using Daylio for over 2 years and it contains some of the most important memories of my life. I trusted this app with very personal moments, including audio recordings, photos, and journal entries. Unfortunately, there are serious issues on iPhone that need improvement. When I receive a phone call while recording an audio entry, the recording gets interrupted or cu
  15. [R63] Daylio Journal 1/5 · US Delete all my voice recordings DO NOW DOWNLOAD: Daylio Randomly decided to delete all my voice recordings for the past 237 days . DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS APP. I have been a loyal user since 2022 and I regret it. Personally memory with my grandma are gone I suffer from memory loss and this was the app I used to remember things and now that’s gone. DO NOT DOWNLOAD
  16. [R24] Finch 5/5 · GB Love This App!!: This game is super adorable and has 100% helped me to improve my mental health and lifestyle. Definitely recommend if you want a cute pet and a good to-do list.
  17. [R30] Finch 5/5 · GB I love it: It helps a lot with self care, and it is also fun!
  18. [R36] Finch 5/5 · GB Finch self-care pets: So good helping my. Mental health and wellbeing 5 STARS LOLA
  19. [R55] Daylio Journal 5/5 · US Perfect for my needs!: Super simple and customizable. I have adhd, so many apps can be too overwhelming to look at. The free version is perfect for all I need, and you can customize everything to make it your own. I recommend!
  20. [R57] Daylio Journal 1/5 · US Not "in-app purchases": I really wish app descriptions were required to be honest about their costs - this is NOT an app with "in-app purchases" available, it's an app that requires a PAID SUBSCRIPTION to use after five days.
  21. [R67] Daylio Journal 4/5 · US Amazing app: I can record how I feel for the day, set myself goals, set important days and the free version is super good. I can’t add more than 1 goal though. Highly recommend!
  22. [R68] Daylio Journal 2/5 · US Locks your data: Just found out after 1 month of daily tracking, that I CANNOT SEE MY DATA. My own records are locked behind a paywall. I was enjoying the app and considering Premium, but really disappointed. I was using this data for MEDICAL TRACKING and foolishly trusted Daylio to hold onto it.
  23. [R18] Finch 5/5 · GB Love it!: It’s helped me build up little habits that I’ve struggled for years to maintain! It’s so cute and whimsical and reminds me of playing on Neopets when I was young. Love that I get to send things to my friends and buddy up with them - it’s the accountability I need to help me do certain things like going for a walk in a FUN non stressful way!!
  24. [R19] Finch 4/5 · GB Finch review: Finch helps me get through each day and helps me get ready for any thing to happen in life. I love waking up and learning with cupcake the birb and making friendships with everyone we come across I also love the cute micropets and love getting sent cuddles from my friends I also love the cute aesthetic of everything like how we can travel and decorate the birbs clothing and house so
  25. [R95] Daylio Journal 5/5 · US Love the app: I have loved being able to monitor my emotions over the years and see where I am and where the body keeps the score bc of something three years ago to the day is still making my belly hurt. The only think I don’t like is I don’t remember my password and I don’t know how to fix it. If I get a new phone I fear I’ll lose this.

Synthesized from 110 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store