Best Journal Apps

250+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.8 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated September 2026

Out of 250+ journal apps on iOS, 20 are free and the rest sit in the paid tier. This page sorts them so you can compare both sides before you commit.

Compare top Journal Apps (September 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1JournalJournalFree4.8★ (231K)NoNoSep 2026
2Day One: Daily Journal & DiaryDay One: Daily Journal & DiaryFree4.8★ (118K)NoYesSep 2026
3Diary With PasswordDiary With PasswordFree4.7★ (27K)NoYesSep 2026
4Planner & Journal - ZinniaPlanner & Journal - ZinniaFree4.6★ (56K)YesYesSep 2026
5DailyBean - simplest journalDailyBean - simplest journalFree4.8★ (70K)YesYesSep 2026
6My Diary - Journal with LockMy Diary - Journal with LockFree4.7★ (28K)YesYesSep 2026
7Notebook - Diary & Journal AppNotebook - Diary & Journal AppFree4.7★ (14K)YesYesSep 2026
8stoic. journal & mental healthstoic. journal & mental healthFree4.8★ (35K)NoYesSep 2026

Top Picks for Journal

Journal#1

Journal by Apple

Reflect on life’s moments
Editor's Choice
💪 Health & Fitness
4.8😊(231K ratings)
Free
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Capture and reflect on life's moments with rich media like photos, videos, and audio. Intelligent suggestions and prompts help you start writing, while multiple journals and goal tracking support a consistent practice. Sync across devices for seamless access.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Journaling made easy
  • 🔒 Private and secure
  • 👍 Organized and intuitive
  • 👍 Helpful suggestions and prompts
  • 👍 Convenient voice recording
  • 👍 Integrates with photos and activities

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Cursor jumps around while typing
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Lack of search and filtering options
  • 🔍 Inability to organize entries into folders or tags
  • 🔍 Limited customization options for fonts, colors, etc.
  • 📱 Not available on iPad or Mac
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary#2

Day One: Daily Journal & Diary by Bloom Built Inc

Private Gratitude Journaling
Strong Contender
💪 Health & Fitness
4.8😊(118K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
#79in Health & Fitness
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Day One: Daily Journal & Diary screenshot 6

Record your life with a private digital journal. Securely save text, photos, audio, and video. Features include reminders, prompts, and automatic data import to help you stay consistent and reminisce.

What We Love

  • 💻 Excellent journaling app
  • 🗓️ Ability to create multiple journals
  • 🎨 Customizable journal templates
  • 🔍 Powerful search and filtering
  • 🗺️ Location and weather tracking
  • 🔒 Secure and private
  • 🤖 Voice recording and transcription
  • 📚 Ability to print journal books
  • 🧠 Helps with mental health and personal growth

Room to Improve

  • 🔒 Subscription model for premium features
  • 🗓️ Issues with syncing and data loss
  • 🖌️ Limited customization options
  • 🔍 Clunky search and navigation
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🗣️ Poor customer support
Diary With Password#3

Diary With Password by 帆 杨

No Ads Journal Diary Notebook
Worth Considering
📊 Productivity
4.7😊(27K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
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Diary With Password screenshot 6

This app provides a private digital space to record daily thoughts, emotions, and life events. It offers robust security features like password and biometric locks, alongside tools for organizing, searching, and exporting your entries. Enjoy a customizable and ad-free journaling experience.

What We Love

  • 💻 Simple and easy to use
  • 🔒 Password protection
  • 📝 Customizable fonts and layout
  • ⏱️ Time stamp feature
  • 🔓 No ads or paywalls
  • 🧠 Helps with mental health and journaling
  • 🗓️ Organized and easy to navigate entries

Room to Improve

  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/accessing past entries
  • 🖼️ No image/media support
  • 🔄 Lack of syncing across devices
  • 🔒 Password recovery issues
  • 🔧 Limited customization options

More Journal apps to explore

FAQ about Journal

What are the best journal apps for iPhone?
Journal tops our journal apps ranking as of September 2026, with a 4.8-star average from 231K App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 20 of the top journal apps we rank are free to download, including Journal and Day One: Daily Journal & Diary.
Journal has no ads and has no in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of September 2026.
We track 250+ journal apps on the iOS App Store as of September 2026, ranked by rating, recency, and analysis of real user reviews.
This app allows you to capture and reflect on your daily moments and special events. You can write entries, add photos, videos, audio recordings, and even your state of mind. It provides journaling suggestions and prompts to help you get started and maintain a consistent practice.
Key features include intelligent journaling suggestions based on your iPhone usage, the ability to illustrate entries with rich media, handwriting and sketching capabilities, organization into multiple journals, habit tracking with streaks and insights, and secure syncing across iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud.

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