Best Journal App Free

250+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.7 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated May 2026

If you already know Journal, this is the deeper bench. 250+ journal app free apps for iPhone, all reviewed and ranked by user rating, recency, and download trend as of May 2026.

Top Picks for Journal App Free

Journal#1

Journal by Apple Inc.

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

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Cursor jumps around while typing
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Lack of search and filtering options
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary#2

Day One: Daily Journal & Diary by Bloom Built Inc

Private Gratitude Journaling
Strong Contender
💪 Health & Fitness
4.8😊(117K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
#64in Health & Fitness
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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

Room to Improve

  • 🔒 Subscription model for premium features
  • 🗓️ Issues with syncing and data loss
  • 🖌️ Limited customization options
Diary With Password#3

Diary With Password by 帆 杨

No Ads Journal Diary Notebook
Worth Considering
📊 Productivity
4.7😊(26K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
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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

Room to Improve

  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/accessing past entries
  • 🖼️ No image/media support
  • 🔄 Lack of syncing across devices

More Journal App Free apps to explore

4
My Diary - Journal with Lock
My Diary - Journal with Lock
My Diary - Journal with Lock
Journaling Diary with password
Free

This app offers a secure and personalized digital journal for recording daily thoughts, memories, and emotions. Enhance entries with photos, themes, and mood tracking. It's designed to support mental well-being by providing a private space for self-reflection and emotional processing.

Password-protected diaryAdd photos and drawingsCustomizable themes and backgrounds
🌟 Lifestyle
(28K)
free with in-app purchases
5
Notebook - Diary & Journal App
Notebook - Diary & Journal App
Notebook - Diary & Journal App
A diary that flips like a book
Free

This app offers a natural journaling experience by organizing daily notes on a single page, allowing you to flip through your entries like a physical book. It prioritizes simplicity, security with passcode locks, and seamless iCloud synchronization for easy access across devices.

Realistic page-turning effectOne page per day organizationiCloud sync and backup
📊 Productivity
(14K)
free with in-app purchases
6
Planner & Journal - Zinnia
Planner & Journal - Zinnia
Planner & Journal - Zinnia
Notebook & Creative Diary
Free

This app offers a creative digital journaling and planning experience with a vast library of stickers, templates, and tools. It supports natural handwriting, doodling, and integrates with digital calendars for enhanced productivity and self-care tracking. New content and features are added monthly.

Customizable digital studioMonthly content additionsCalendar and habit trackers
🌟 Lifestyle
(54K)
free with in-app purchases
7
Gratitude: Self-Care Journal
Gratitude: Self-Care Journal
Gratitude: Self-Care Journal
Affirmations and Vision Board
Free

This self-care app helps improve mental health with a private gratitude journal, positive affirmations, and vision boards. It offers daily motivation, prompts, and the ability to record voice entries and add photos to your journal.

Gratitude journal with photo and voice entryHundreds of positive affirmationsCreate multiple vision boards
💪 Health & Fitness
(45K)
free with in-app purchases
8
Memos - Digital Journal Diary
Memos - Digital Journal Diary
Memos - Digital Journal Diary
Private Journal - Photo,Video
Free

Document your life, track goals, and monitor your mood with this versatile journaling app. Enhance well-being, creativity, and productivity through daily reflection. Secure your entries with password protection and sync across devices.

Add photos, videos, and audio recordingsTrack mood, goals, and activitiesCreate to-do lists and business plans
💪 Health & Fitness
(6.5K)
free with in-app purchases
9
stoic. journal & mental health
stoic. journal & mental health
stoic. journal & mental health
AI Self Care & Daily Gratitude
Free

This app guides users through daily preparation and reflection to improve mental well-being. It offers journaling prompts, habit tracking, mood monitoring, and various mental health tools like meditation and breathing exercises. Users can also journal via voice notes or pictures.

Morning preparation & evening reflectionGuided journaling with promptsMood and habit tracking
💪 Health & Fitness
(35K)
freemium
10
DailyBean - simplest journal
DailyBean - simplest journal
DailyBean - simplest journal
The simplest way to log a day
Free

This app provides a simple and enjoyable way to log daily experiences and moods. Customize your journal with themes and icons, and gain insights into your patterns with analysis reports. Easily integrate health data and special moments.

Record in secondsFully customizable icons and blocksDecorate with themes
🌟 Lifestyle
(70K)
free with in-app purchases
11
Quick Journal: just write
Quick Journal: just write
Quick Journal: just write
Simple, easy and customizable
Free

This app offers a straightforward journaling experience with extensive customization options. Personalize themes, fonts, icons, and layouts to create your ideal digital notebook. Widgets and draft saving features enhance usability for daily reflection.

Customizable themes and fontsApp icon and layout personalizationHome screen widgets
🌟 Lifestyle
(20)
free
12
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
CollaNote: Notes & PDF Markup
25+ Pens to Take Better Notes
Free

This app offers a comprehensive note-taking experience with advanced tools for digital planning, PDF markup, and flashcard creation. It features a wide array of pens, handwriting stabilization, and AI-powered assistance for enhanced productivity and creativity. Organize, secure, and share your notes seamlessly across devices.

25+ pens and brushesPDF, PPT, DOC markupFlashcard creation
📊 Productivity
(13K)
free with in-app purchases
13
Prompted Journal - Shadow Work
Prompted Journal - Shadow Work
Prompted Journal - Shadow Work
Private journaling for therapy
Free

This app provides a guided journaling experience with over 190 prompts and "Dive Deeper" questions to encourage self-reflection and personal growth. It helps users establish a consistent self-care routine through daily reminders and offers privacy with no data storage required.

190+ journal prompts"Dive Deeper" questionsDaily reminders
🌟 Lifestyle
(6.9K)
free with in-app purchases
14
5 Minute Journal・Daily Diary
5 Minute Journal・Daily Diary
5 Minute Journal・Daily Diary
Gratitude・Journal・Mood Tracker
Free

This app guides users through a daily gratitude journaling practice using principles of positive psychology. It helps cultivate a more positive outlook by focusing on what's good, with features like guided prompts, reminders, and secure entry protection. The app aims to improve overall well-being and mental health through consistent practice.

Guided journaling promptsDaily gratitude entriesMood tracking
💪 Health & Fitness
(17K)
free with in-app purchases
15
Untold - Voice Journal
Untold - Voice Journal
Untold - Voice Journal
Secure, Personalized Journal
Free

This app provides a secure and private space for users to record their thoughts and experiences through voice. It utilizes AI-powered speech-to-text and generates personalized content based on journal entries, offering a unique way to reflect and understand oneself.

Encrypted voice journalingSpeech-to-text AIPersonalized content generation
💪 Health & Fitness
(2K)
free
16
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker
Private Diary, Health, Habits
Free

This app helps you track your moods and activities to understand your well-being. It offers a private micro-diary experience without requiring extensive typing, allowing you to identify happiness triggers and build positive habits.

Mood tracking with icons and emojisActivity loggingPrivate journaling without typing
🌟 Lifestyle
(60K)
free with in-app purchases
17
Secret Diary With Passcode
Secret Diary With Passcode
Secret Diary With Passcode
Secret diary
Free

This app provides a secure and user-friendly platform to record your daily life, emotions, and secrets. It offers features like password protection, mood selection, and photo attachments to help you preserve your memories privately.

Password protectionAdd photos to entriesSelect moods for entries
🌟 Lifestyle
(8.1K)
free with in-app purchases
18
Reflectly - Journal & AI Diary
Reflectly - Journal & AI Diary
Reflectly - Journal & AI Diary
Mood Tracker & Daily Quotes
Free

This AI-powered journaling app helps you track your mood, process thoughts, and improve mental well-being. It offers personalized prompts and insights based on your entries to encourage self-care and mindfulness.

AI-powered journalingMood tracking and analysisPersonalized prompts and insights
💪 Health & Fitness
(82K)
free with in-app purchases
19
Journey - Diary, Journal
Journey - Diary, Journal
Journey - Diary, Journal
Daily Motivation & Journal
Free

This app helps you capture memories, express yourself through writing, and track your emotions. It offers tools for creating rich journal entries, collaborative journaling, and secure storage. Enhance your experience with templates, plugins, and reminders for a more mindful and organized life.

Capture memories with photos, videos, and audioRich text editor with formatting optionsMood tracking and emotional fluctuation analysis
🌟 Lifestyle
(5K)
freemium
20
Card Diary - Journal, Diary
Card Diary - Journal, Diary
Card Diary - Journal, Diary
Simple Journal & Daily Journal
Free

This app offers a simple and beautiful way to journal your daily experiences. Easily record thoughts, emotions, and memories with text or photos, making each day feel meaningful. Customize your entries with backgrounds, fonts, and tags.

Decorate cards with photos or colorsRecord multiple diaries per dayCalendar view
🌟 Lifestyle
(1.3K)
free with in-app purchases

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