Alternatives › Social Contact Journal
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Ciao! vs Social Contact Journal
Contact Journal - Personal CRM, by Wouter Bron
A personal CRM for iPhone and iPad with a timeline per person, moments with photos and voice messages, and reminders per person or per group.
47 ratings in the App Store, October 2026. iPhone and iPad. Last updated March 2026.
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Ciao!
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Social Contact Journal
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| What it costs | One payment $9.99 |
$1.99 a month, $19.99 a year, or $49.99 once |
| Free tier | 3 friends | Not stated |
| Account needed | None | None |
| Where it runs | iPhone | iPhone and iPad |
| Where your notes live | Your phone and your own iCloud | Your phone, with an iCloud backup |
| A creature for each friend | 15 animals, 6 moods | No |
| A weekly swipe deck | Yes | No |
Every row comes from Social Contact Journal’s own App Store listing or website, read on 2 October 2026. Nothing here is taken from another app’s reviews.
Sources: Social Contact Journal on the App Store · Social Contact Journal on AlternativeTo · Social Contact Journal’s website
Where Social Contact Journal wins
- •Moments can hold photos and voice messages, so each person gets a small journal of the times you shared. Ciao! keeps text notes only.
- •You can set one reminder for a whole group, daily, weekly or whenever you like. It also runs on iPad.
- •It can suggest a message with Apple Intelligence, if you want help with the first words. Ciao! leaves the writing to you.
Where Ciao! wins
- •$9.99 once. Contact Journal’s one-time plan is $49.99, and the yearly one is $19.99 every year.
- •Each friend has an animal that looks bright when you are in touch and fades when it has been a while.
- •One deck on Sunday with only the friends who are due. You swipe right when you have talked.
Which one should you actually get?
Both keep your notes on your phone, with no account. Contact Journal is the better pick if you want photos, voice messages and group reminders, or you also use an iPad. Ciao! is the simpler one: a rhythm per friend, one deck a week, and a price you pay once.
