Penzu is a simple, well-known free online journal. EK Diary is also free and browser-based, but adds habit, goal, and mood tracking, plus real Indian-language support with voice dictation.
Penzu is a straightforward, long-running free online journal — write an entry, lock it with a password, done. EK Diary is also free and works entirely in the browser, but it's built around a wider daily practice: habit tracking, goal tracking, mood tracking, and a time-blocked day planner sit alongside the diary itself, with full Hindi and Indian-language support built in.
Penzu has been around a long time and does one thing simply and reliably — a distraction-free entry editor with password-protected journals and email reminders to write. If all you want is a bare-bones private online diary with no extra tracking features to learn, Penzu's simplicity is a real advantage.
EK Diary is the better fit if you write in Hindi or another Indian language and want proper voice dictation, if you want your habit tracker, goal tracker, and mood tracker in the same app as your diary, or if you'd rather not see ads on the free tier.
Penzu's long track record and dead-simple interface can feel more focused if journaling is the only thing you want an app for. EK Diary asks a little more of you upfront — there's more in the dashboard to look at — in exchange for not needing three other apps once you also want habits, goals, and a day plan.
Yes — EK Diary's core diary, habit tracker, goal tracker, mood tracker, and day planner are free with no ads. An optional premium tier exists for extra themes and sections.
EK Diary has a separate PIN/fingerprint-locked Secure Vault for your most private notes, alongside account-level login security for your main diary.
See the full FAQ, or compare against Day One and Diarium as well.