How It Felt vs
How It Felt vs Ate Food Diary.
Ate is the closest comparable app to How It Felt — a photo-first, no-calorie food diary built around being mindful at meals. The two share a starting principle and diverge from there: How It Felt leans heavier into emotional depth (21 emotions, hunger and fullness sliders, a breathing-paced eating timer) and keeps everything strictly on the device with no account.
What each app optimises for
Ate Food Diary
Quick photo-based logging with on/off-track tagging.
How It Felt
Deeper emotional + sensory check-ins, on a slower, breathing-paced cadence.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Ate Food Diary | How It Felt |
|---|---|---|
| Counts calories | Ate Food Diary No | How It Felt No |
| Photo-based entries | Ate Food Diary Yes | How It Felt Yes — optional |
| On-track / off-track tag | Ate Food Diary Yes | How It Felt No — no judgement language |
| Emotional check-in | Ate Food Diary Some | How It Felt 21-emotion grid every entry |
| Hunger / fullness sliders | Ate Food Diary Limited | How It Felt Yes |
| Mindful eating timer | Ate Food Diary No | How It Felt Yes — breathing-paced |
| Account / cloud | Ate Food Diary Account; cloud sync | How It Felt No account; local-only |
| Languages | Ate Food Diary Limited | How It Felt EN, DE, ES, FR, IT, PT |
| Pricing | Ate Food Diary Free + paid tier | How It Felt Free; optional Supporter tier |
When to pick which
Pick Ate Food Diary if…
- You want quick, mostly photo-based logging.
- Cross-device sync matters to you.
- An on-track / off-track frame is helpful, not stressful, for you.
Pick How It Felt if…
- You want deeper emotional and sensory detail per entry.
- You'd rather not categorise meals as 'good' or 'bad'.
- Local-only data and no account are non-negotiable for you.
Verdict
If you want a quick photo log and don't mind a cloud account, Ate is a strong fit. If you want a deeper, judgement-free, fully on-device journal, that's How It Felt.
Frequently asked
Are entries also photo-based in How It Felt?
Photos are optional. Each entry is built around hunger, fullness, an emotion (or several), and optional sense notes — a photo or short text note can accompany those if you like.
Does How It Felt label meals as on-track / off-track?
No. There's no good/bad framing, no scoring, and no streak. The point is to notice — not to grade.
Can I sync between devices?
No. Data lives on the device, in a local SQLite database (Drift). You can export to CSV or PDF whenever you want, but there's no cross-device sync.
What's actually unique here?
The combination: a 21-emotion grid, hunger and fullness sliders, a breathing-paced eating timer, and strictly on-device storage with no account. Few apps put all four together.
Sources and review date
Comparison claims are based on the public product information linked below and the How It Felt feature set on this site.
Last reviewed: May 1, 2026.
Learn the concepts
Plain-language explainers behind the comparison.
Try How It Felt
A calmer way to be with food.
Free, no account, all data on your device.
Download the app