Otay vs SumOne
Last checked: October 21, 2026, against each app’s own website and App Store listing.
SumOne and Otay are both cute, daily and built for two. SumOne asks you a question at a time you choose and you answer in words; a shared pet grows as you do. Otay asks you to notice something and answer with a photo; your two characters live on a hill and your answers fill a journal.
In their words: SumOne describes itself as a daily question game for couples, where you raise a little character called EggMon together by answering. Otay: Otay is a private photo journal app for two people, on iPhone. Every day both of you get the same small photo quest and answer it with a back-camera photo and a selfie, a caption and a place, and your two answers sit side by side in a shared journal only the two of you can see, with a photo calendar, a map, throwbacks, a kind streak map, a wardrobe for your two little characters and Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets.
We make Otay. We have tried to be fair, and every fact about SumOne below comes from the sources listed at the end. If something is out of date, tell us at hi@otay.app and we will fix it.
At a glance
| Feature | Otay | SumOne |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | A daily photo quest you both answer, kept as a shared journal | A daily question you both answer in words |
| Daily prompt | One photo quest a day; roll another if you do not like it | One question a day, delivered at a time you both pick |
| Characters | Two characters, one each, dressed with coins earned from quests | One pet (EggMon) you raise together and a room you decorate with pebbles |
| Photos | Photo first: a back-camera photo and a selfie each, in a journal, calendar and map | Answers are written; photos go in SumLog posts |
| Widgets | Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets | Memo and anniversary widgets |
| Platforms | iPhone, iOS 17 or later (the App Store also lists iPad). Not on Android yet. | iOS and Android |
| Free plan | Free, no time limit and no ads. You see your last 30 days of memories (at least your newest 15); older ones lock, never deleted. | Free with ads; SumOne Gold removes them |
| One subscription for both? | Yes. When either partner subscribes to Otay Premium, both get it. | Yes. SumOne Gold applies to both partners if one buys it |
| App Store rating (US) | Not enough ratings for the App Store to show an average yet. | 4.9 from about 19,000 ratings |
| Paid plan (US App Store) | Otay Premium, monthly or yearly. See /pricing. | SumOne Gold, $5.99 a month or $29.99 a year |
SumOne is the better pick if
- You want daily conversation questions, from deep to silly.
- You love the idea of raising one little pet together.
- One of you uses Android.
- You want a large, well-reviewed app with years of history.
Otay is the better pick if
- You would rather answer with a photo than with words.
- You want both of your views on the same moment, side by side.
- You want a journal, a photo calendar and a map of everywhere you have been.
- You want no ads on the free plan.
The short version
Pick SumOne if your favourite part of the day is answering a question together. Pick Otay if it is showing each other what your day looked like.
Sources
All checked on October 21, 2026.
- sumone.co, English home page: https://sumone.co/en/
- sumone.co, FAQ (SumOne Gold, store refunds): https://sumone.co/faq-en/
- SumOne on the App Store (US): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sumone-for-relationships/id1469506430
- Otay on the App Store (US): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/couples-photo-journal-otay/id6769610508
- otay.app, Otay's privacy page: https://otay.app/privacy
- otay.app, Otay's pricing page: https://otay.app/pricing
Otay turns small moments into a shared journal, just for the two of you.
One small photo quest a day. You both answer, and your two halves hang side by side, in a journal with no feed, no algorithm and no ads. Free to download on the App Store.
Download Otay on the App Store
