Oniri is the app most people find first when they search for a dream journal, and it has earned that. It has been around since 2015, first as "Capture." It has 3,810 ratings on the US App Store, averaging 4.6, and it keeps shipping: its latest version came out on 15 September 2026. We make Dreamlock, so weigh our view accordingly. Here's the honest comparison, including the parts where Oniri is the better pick.
Who should pick which?
Pick Oniri if you want one app that does everything: journal, interpretation, statistics, and serious lucid-dreaming training. It's also the one to pick if you use Android, or want a large free tier with an optional upgrade.
Pick Dreamlock if your mornings are the problem. You want to mumble a dream with your eyes closed and find it waiting as a clean, painted dream card, read through the old traditions and modern psychology. And you want the whole thing locked behind Face ID with no account at all.
What does Oniri do well?
A lot. Per its App Store listing and website, you can write or record and transcribe a dream. Its site describes one-tap recording from the lock screen. It tracks emotions, people and places, and can generate an image of the dream or let you draw it. Its interpretation feature, which Oniri calls AI interpretation, asks follow-up questions to deepen the reading. Newer releases add nightmare analysis that shows how often bad dreams come back and what's in them.
The lucid-dreaming side is the most extensive of the apps we compared: reality-check reminders and widgets, night cues and alarms, guided tracks for WILD, MILD and SSILD, and soundtracks for sleep. It exports to PDF, TXT, CSV or even video, and it's available in seven languages.
Is Oniri free?
Yes, to download and to journal. Oniri's own FAQ says the core dream journal stays free, and an optional Premium plan adds deeper interpretation and advanced lucid-dreaming tools. The US listing shows in-app purchases ranging from $0.99 to $59.99, with several Premium options. Prices vary by country, so check the listing for what you'll actually see.
Dreamlock is free too: unlimited dream capture, three fully interpreted dream cards a week, and ten questions, with no time limit and no card needed. Dreamlock Plus is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial on the annual plan. Every dream is interpreted and painted, plus the personal symbol index, unlimited questions, a monthly dream report and iCloud sync.
Which is more private, Oniri or Dreamlock?
They're built differently. Oniri syncs your journal across devices through a sign-in. Its App Store privacy label lists data linked to your identity: email address (including for the developer's own advertising or marketing), identifiers, usage data, user content and sensitive info. Oniri says your journal is private and encrypted, and that you can export or delete it at any time.
Dreamlock has no accounts, no sign-up and no email. Dreams are recorded and transcribed on the phone, so your voice never leaves it, and the app locks with Face ID. To write the interpretation, the dream's text goes to our servers over an encrypted connection, is processed just long enough to write the card, and isn't stored there. It's never used for training or ads. Optional iCloud sync keeps an encrypted copy in your own iCloud, off by default. See the privacy policy.
How do the interpretations differ?
Oniri offers a personalized reading and asks you questions about your dream. It also has a general dream dictionary with hundreds of entries.
Dreamlock reads every dream in three registers. First, what named traditions say, always attributed: Artemidorus, the tabir books, the Polish sennik. Second, what psychologists notice. Third, one question to sit with. It never predicts the future; our position on that is in do dreams predict the future? Over time Dreamlock builds your personal symbol index, and you can ask it things like "when did I last dream about my father?" Answers cite the dream cards they came from, and if the answer isn't in your vault, it says so.
Side by side
| Oniri | Dreamlock | |
|---|---|---|
| Capture | Write, or record and transcribe; lock-screen recording | One-tap voice note, transcribed on the phone |
| After capture | Tags, stats, images you generate or draw | A dream card: retelling, title, painting, symbols, mood, interpretation |
| Interpretation | Personalized reading with follow-up questions; dream dictionary | Traditions (attributed), psychology, one question; never predictions |
| Lucid dreaming | Extensive: reality checks, night cues, guided WILD/MILD/SSILD | Not what Dreamlock is built for |
| Account | Sign-in for sync across devices | No account, no sign-up, no email |
| Privacy label | Data Linked to You | Data Not Linked to You (voice stays on the phone; dream text isn't stored on our servers) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad and Android | iPhone (iOS 26 or later) |
| Price | Free; in-app purchases $0.99–$59.99 | Free (3 interpreted cards a week); Plus $4.99/month or $39.99/year |
Can I use both?
Yes, and some people will. If lucid dreaming is the project, Oniri's tools are the reason to have it. Our lucid dreaming primer pairs well with them. Dreamlock is for the everyday dreams you want kept, understood and remembered, captured before they evaporate, which is most of them. That first minute after waking is why we built around the voice note; see how to remember your dreams.
Competitor details checked 27 September 2026 against Oniri's App Store listing and oniri.io. Dreamlock details come from our own product fact sheet. For the wider field, see the best dream journal apps for iPhone.