Comparison
Day One alternative
A good Day One alternative keeps the journaling you do there, with daily prompts, photos and voice entries, and adds what Day One’s own pages do not list: where your hours went. Think in Numbers, a smart journaling app with time tracking built in, does both.
Last updated
Reviewed by Mohammed Raqeeb
Side by side
The journaling you know, plus your hours.
Day One and Think in Numbers share the basics of a journaling app, so the first half of the table has checks on both sides. The difference is the second half: time tracking, a to-do list your entries can tick off, and targets, such as hours of exercise a week, checked against the hours you really spent.
- Listed on its own pages
- Not listed on its own pages
| Feature | Think in Numbersours | Day One |
|---|---|---|
| The journaling you know | ||
| Daily prompts | ||
| Photos in entries | ||
| Voice entriesDay One: audio on its paid plans | ||
| Plus your hours | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| To-dos your entries tick off | ||
| Targets against your real hours | ||
Day One’s column is from Day One’s own features and plans pages, read on . A dash means those pages do not list it, which is not proof Day One lacks it. We are not affiliated with Day One.
Who it is for
Who Think in Numbers is for.
The table comes down to one difference, and it decides who a switch suits: people who want to keep journaling the way they do now and also see where their hours go.
A Day One entry keeps what happened and how it felt, with photos and audio beside the words. Day One’s own pages do not list a way to add up where the hours of those days went, so a month of entries can still leave you guessing how much went to work, sleep or the people around you.
A good Day One alternative keeps that journaling and adds the missing half, counting your hours from the words you already write or say, with no timer to start or stop. Most journaling apps stop at how the day felt, which is worth keeping, but it is only half of the day.
One app built for this is Think in Numbers, a smart journaling app with time tracking built in.
You write or say your day in your own words, as it happens or all at once. The app reads what you wrote and counts the hours that went to each part of it: work, sleep, time with people, your phone, and the time you never mentioned (shown as unaccounted). Then it shows those hours over days and weeks. Beside the hours sits the journaling you would do in Day One: daily prompts, photos and voice notes on journal pages, and morning and evening reflections with a mood and energy check-in. The app runs on iPhone and Android and costs $4.99 for the first month, then $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year.
For iPhone and Android. Try it on your own day before you pay.
Keep reading.
- Time journalingThe method: write or say your day in your own words, then see it as hours.
- Journaling apps comparedJournaling apps on the same criteria, from their own sites.
- Reflective journalingWhat happened, what it meant, what comes next.
- Daily journal templateOne page: the day in your words, then where the hours went.
- Where did my week go? calculatorEnter a typical day and see your week accounted and unaccounted.
Questions
Questions people ask.
Is Think in Numbers a Day One alternative?
Yes, if you want your journaling to also show where the day went. A good alternative keeps the daily prompts, photos and voice entries you have in Day One, and Think in Numbers has all three. It also turns what you write or say into hours by category, such as work, sleep and time with people.
Does Day One track time?
Day One's own features and plans pages do not list time tracking, to-dos or targets. If you want those beside your journaling, look for an app that counts your hours from what you already write. Think in Numbers has all three: time tracking, to-dos your entries tick off, and targets against your real hours.
Can I switch from Day One to Think in Numbers?
Yes. Start Think in Numbers with today: write or say your day, and see it as hours. After a week, you can see that whole week as hours by category. Your Day One journal can keep the years you have already written.
What does Think in Numbers cost?
It costs $4.99 for the first month ($5 on Google Play), then $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year ($12 and $120 on Google Play). You try it on your own day before you pay.
Try it on my day.
Write today down in your own words, and see where the hours went.
For iPhone and Android. Try it on your own day before you pay.