Compare
Memos vs Day One
Choose Memos if you want a private, self-hosted journal in Markdown with no subscription. Choose Day One if you want journaling-specific features like prompts, memories, and rich media on native apps.
Day One is a purpose-built journaling app with photos, on-this-day memories, templates, and end-to-end encrypted sync on paid plans. Memos is a general-purpose memo timeline that many people use as a journal: timestamped Markdown entries with tags and attachments on a server they own.
| At a glance | Memos | Day One |
|---|---|---|
| License | Open source (MIT) | Proprietary |
| Hosting | Self-hosted web server | Day One's cloud |
| Encryption | Server can read memos; secure the server | Optional end-to-end encryption |
| Format | Markdown with tags and attachments | Rich entries with photos, audio, video |
| Best for | Daily notes and journal on your server | Guided journaling with memories |
| Cost | No license fee (you host) | Free plan; Premium subscription |
The decision
Choose for the work in front of you.
Choose Memos when
You want a journal on your own server, in Markdown, with no subscription.
You mix journal entries with other quick notes and find them by tag and date.
You want to write from any device through a browser.
Choose Day One when
You want journaling features: prompts, streaks, on-this-day memories, templates.
You attach lots of photos, audio, and video to entries.
You want end-to-end encryption and polished native apps.
Feature by feature
What each one actually does.
Memos answers honestly, including the rows where it says no.
| Feature | Memos | Day One |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | ||
| Open source | Yes.MIT license, developed in public on GitHub | No.Proprietary |
| Self-hosting | Yes.Docker image or a single binary on your server | No.Day One's cloud |
| Official hosted service | No.No official hosted plan; you run the instance | Yes.Day One Sync source |
| Where notes live | SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL on your server | Day One's servers, or on-device on the free plan |
| Price | No license fee; you pay for hosting | Free plan; paid subscription for sync and media |
| Writing | ||
| Markdown | Yes.Write in Markdown with live rendering, code blocks, and math | Yes.Markdown and rich text editing |
| Tags | Yes.Inline #tags, nested with a slash | Yes.Tags per entry |
| Links between notes | Yes.Relations link memos to each other | No.No links between entries |
| Attachments | Yes.Images and files, stored on disk or in S3 | Yes.Photos, audio, video; one photo per entry on the free plan |
| Full-text search | Yes.Full-text search with tag, date, and visibility filters | Yes.Full-text search with filters |
| Reach | ||
| Works offline | No.Browser app; reading and writing need a reachable server | Yes.Local-first native apps |
| Desktop app | Partial.Install the web app as a PWA; no official native app | Yes.macOS and Windows |
| Mobile app | Partial.PWA on iOS and Android, plus community-built apps | Yes.iOS, Android, Apple Watch |
| Cross-device sync | Yes.The server is the source of truth, so every device sees the same memos | Partial.One device on the free plan; sync on paid plans source |
| Public sharing | Yes.Per-memo visibility: private, workspace, or public link | Partial.Shared journals on paid plans |
| Data | ||
| API and webhooks | Yes.REST and gRPC APIs, signed webhooks | No.No public API; IFTTT and CLI on macOS |
| Import and export | Partial.ZIP export of Markdown and JSON; import from Memos exports only | Yes.Imports from journaling apps; exports PDF and JSON |
| End-to-end encryption | No.The server you run can read your memos; protect it with TLS and disk encryption | Yes.Optional end-to-end encryption on all plans source |
Questions
Questions people ask.
Can I use Memos as a journal like Day One?
Yes. Every memo is timestamped in a timeline, so a daily entry is just a memo. Filter by date or a tag such as #journal to read back. There are no prompts or streaks.
Can I import Day One entries into Memos?
Day One exports JSON with entry text and dates. Memos has no Day One importer, so create memos through the API and set the created time per entry.
Is a journal in Memos private?
New memos are private by default and stay on your server. Memos does not encrypt them end to end, so protect the server itself.
Keep exploring
Related comparisons and features.
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Memos in detail
Start here
Start with one memo.
Install Memos on a server you choose and write your first memo. Open source under MIT, with no license fee.