Best Journal Apps

249+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.4 avg rating
18 free apps
Updated July 2026

Finding the right journal apps can be overwhelming with so many options. We've analyzed 249+ apps to bring you the best choices for 2026, from free options to premium solutions with advanced features.

Compare top Journal Apps (July 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1JournalJournalFree4.8★ (231K)NoNoAug 2026
2Umbra: Night Journal & DiaryUmbra: Night Journal & Diary$0.99 was $1.99NoNoAug 2026
3Prism Journal: Mood DiaryPrism Journal: Mood Diary$0.29 was $1.29NoNoAug 2026
4Diary With PasswordDiary With PasswordFree4.7★ (27K)NoYesAug 2026
5Day One: Daily Journal & DiaryDay One: Daily Journal & DiaryFree4.8★ (118K)NoYesAug 2026
6Oriora JournalOriora JournalFreeNoYesJul 2026
7DailyBean - simplest journalDailyBean - simplest journalFree4.8★ (70K)YesYesAug 2026
8Shanti Journal: Diary & VoiceShanti Journal: Diary & VoiceFree3.0★ (1)YesNoAug 2026

Top Picks for Journal Apps

Journal#1

Journal by Apple

Reflect on life’s moments
Editor's Choice
💪 Health & Fitness
4.8😊(231K ratings)
Free
Journal screenshot 1
Journal screenshot 2
Journal screenshot 3
Journal screenshot 4
Journal screenshot 5
Journal screenshot 6

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

More Journal Apps apps to explore

4
Diary With Password
Diary With Password
Diary With Password
No Ads Journal Diary Notebook
Free

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.

Password and biometric securityDaily entry loggingFull text search
📊 Productivity
(27K)
free with in-app purchases
5
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary
Private Gratitude Journaling
Free

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.

Unlimited text entriesRich text formattingPhoto and video support
💪 Health & Fitness
(118K)
freemium
6
Oriora Journal
Oriora Journal
Oriora Journal
Private diary with AI recap
Free
🌟 Lifestyle
(0)
7
DailyBean - simplest journal
DailyBean - simplest journal
DailyBean - simplest journal
Mood tracker, daily log&diary
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
8
Shanti Journal: Diary & Voice
Shanti Journal: Diary & Voice
Shanti Journal: Diary & Voice
Audio, Video, Mood & Gratitude
Free

Record your daily thoughts, feelings, and experiences through text, voice, or video. All entries are stored locally on your device for complete privacy, with options to auto-delete or ceremonially let go of past entries.

Text, voice, and video journaling100% local storagePrivacy password protection
🌟 Lifestyle
(1)
ad-supported
9
Talk Journaling App
Talk Journaling App
Talk Journaling App
Your private voice journal
Free
🌟 Lifestyle
(0)
10
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
11
JournalBear
JournalBear
JournalBear
by Rahul Yedida
Free
🔧 Utilities
(0)
12
Reflectly - Journal & AI Diary
Reflectly - Journal & AI Diary
Reflectly - Journal & AI Diary
Self-Care Mood Tracker & CBT
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
13
Day and Night Journal
Day and Night Journal
Day and Night Journal
Private day and night journal
Free

This app offers a private space for daily reflection, with separate prompts for morning intentions and evening unwinding. Customize your journaling experience with various field types and optional integration with Apple Health for automatic data entry.

Morning and night journaling promptsCustomizable journal fieldsOptional Apple Health integration
🌟 Lifestyle
(1)
free
14
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
(55K)
free with in-app purchases
15
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
16
Journ - Private Journal
Journ - Private Journal
Journ - Private Journal
Voice journal. Safe. No server
Free

This app allows you to create journal entries using your voice. It transcribes your speech, generates summaries, and suggests tags, all processed locally on your device for maximum privacy. It also provides weekly reviews of your entries.

Voice-to-text transcriptionAI-generated summariesAutomatic tag suggestions
🌟 Lifestyle
(1)
freemium
17
stoic. journal & mental health
stoic. journal & mental health
stoic. journal & mental health
AI journaling, Gratitude diary
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
18
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
19
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
20
Journal Notebook
Journal Notebook
Journal Notebook
Personal Diary
Free

A straightforward digital notebook for personal use. It allows users to record thoughts, create to-do lists, and keep records with an intuitive interface. Entries can be searched and organized by topic, with cloud storage for added security.

Simple writing interfaceDictate or scan text entriesOrganize by topic
📊 Productivity
(2)
free

FAQ about Journal Apps

What are the best journal apps for iPhone?
Journal tops our journal apps ranking as of July 2026, with a 4.8-star average from 231K App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 18 of the top journal apps we rank are free to download, including Journal and Diary With Password.
Journal has no ads and has no in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of July 2026.
We track 249+ journal apps on the iOS App Store as of July 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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