Best Journaling Apps

250+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.9 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated August 2026

Every iPhone needs a few good journaling apps. We benchmark 250+ of them on App Store rating, freshness, and pricing, then surface the standouts so you don't have to scroll the App Store yourself.

Compare top Journaling Apps (August 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1JournalJournalFree4.8★ (231K)NoNoAug 2026
2Sol - Inner Growth & CommunitySol - Inner Growth & CommunityFree4.9★ (1.2K)NoYesAug 2026
3Day One: Daily Journal & DiaryDay One: Daily Journal & DiaryFree4.8★ (118K)NoYesAug 2026
4DailyBean - simplest journalDailyBean - simplest journalFree4.8★ (70K)YesYesAug 2026
5Planner & Journal - ZinniaPlanner & Journal - ZinniaFree4.6★ (55K)YesYesAug 2026
6stoic. journal & mental healthstoic. journal & mental healthFree4.8★ (35K)NoYesAug 2026
7Diary With PasswordDiary With PasswordFree4.7★ (27K)NoYesAug 2026
8My Diary - Journal with LockMy Diary - Journal with LockFree4.7★ (28K)YesYesAug 2026

Top Picks for Journaling

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
Sol - Inner Growth & Community#2

Sol - Inner Growth & Community by Sol Technologies, Inc.

Self-care, support, & purpose
Strong Contender
💪 Health & Fitness
4.9😊(1.2K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
Sol - Inner Growth & Community screenshot 1
Sol - Inner Growth & Community screenshot 2
Sol - Inner Growth & Community screenshot 3
Sol - Inner Growth & Community screenshot 4
Sol - Inner Growth & Community screenshot 5
Sol - Inner Growth & Community screenshot 6

Discover your inner self through personality assessments, name meanings, and astrological insights. Build healthy daily rituals like mood journaling, affirmations, and meditations. Connect with a supportive community to foster personal growth and live a more purposeful life.

What We Love

  • 🌟 Comprehensive and informative
  • 👍 Aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate
  • 🧘‍♀️ Helpful for mental and spiritual well-being
  • 🌍 Diverse range of spiritual and cultural practices

Room to Improve

  • 🔒 Limited free features
  • 🤖 Inaccurate or incomplete information
  • 🕰️ Desire for more free content and features
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary#3

Day One: Daily Journal & Diary by Bloom Built Inc

Private Gratitude Journaling
Worth Considering
💪 Health & Fitness
4.8😊(118K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
#71in Health & Fitness
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary screenshot 1
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary screenshot 2
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary screenshot 3
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary screenshot 4
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary screenshot 5
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

Room to Improve

  • 🔒 Subscription model for premium features
  • 🗓️ Issues with syncing and data loss
  • 🖌️ Limited customization options

More Journaling apps to explore

4
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
5
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
6
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
7
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
8
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
9
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
10
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
(61K)
free with in-app purchases
11
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
12
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
13
Mark - Make Your Mark
Mark - Make Your Mark
Mark - Make Your Mark
Journal, Diary, Habits & Tasks
Free

This app helps you capture and organize life's moments, rituals, and tasks in a single, private timeline. It allows you to build meaningful habits and look back on your memories without pressure or streaks.

Capture moments with photos, notes, location, or voice memosTrack tasks and build meaningful ritualsUnified timeline for all entries
🌟 Lifestyle
(3)
freemium
14
STR8 Gym Workout Planner
STR8 Gym Workout Planner
STR8 Gym Workout Planner
Muscle Booster & Weight Loss
Free

This app creates personalized, structured gym workout plans tailored to your goals, equipment, and fitness level. It adapts as you progress, offering a vast exercise library and progress tracking to guide your strength training and weight loss journey.

Smart gym workout plannerPersonalized workout plansEvidence-based training methodology
💪 Health & Fitness
(1)
free with in-app purchases
15
Vault: Pole Vault Training
Vault: Pole Vault Training
Vault: Pole Vault Training
Jump Log, Video & Stats
Free

This app helps pole vaulters and coaches log jumps, analyze video, and track progress. It offers detailed jump logging, voice note recording, and equipment management. Features include performance trend analysis, a drill library, and session sharing with coaches.

Detailed jump logging (height, pole, grip, takeoff, etc.)Voice note recording for multiple jumpsPole and equipment library
⚽ Sports
(1)
freemium
16
Friendever
Friendever
Friendever
Emotional growth for families
Free

This platform helps children develop emotional intelligence through interactive lessons and activities designed for families. It offers guided learning modules, daily affirmations, and a private memory vault to capture precious childhood moments and milestones.

Guided emotional learning lessonsDaily affirmationsParent Deep Dives
📚 Education
(1)
free
17
Clarity: CBT Self Help Journal
Clarity: CBT Self Help Journal
Clarity: CBT Self Help Journal
Mood Tracker & Thought Diary
Free

This app helps manage stress, anxiety, and low mood through AI-infused journaling, mood tracking, and guided exercises. It offers tools to reframe negative thoughts, build resilience, and foster personal growth with science-backed techniques.

AI-infused journaling and chatbotMood, emotion, and activity trackingGuided journals for self-awareness
🏥 Medical
(29K)
free with in-app purchases
18
Simple Todo: Four Boxes
Simple Todo: Four Boxes
Simple Todo: Four Boxes
Reminders at a glance
Free

This app consolidates your Apple Reminders and Calendar events into a single, organized dashboard. It allows for easy viewing of weekly and monthly schedules, quick task creation, and customization of appearance and displayed lists. Seamless synchronization with Apple's native apps ensures your tasks are always up-to-date across devices.

Time-based task dashboardApple Reminders and Calendar integrationWeekly agenda and monthly calendar views
📊 Productivity
(1)
free
19
FeelTrack: Mood Journal
FeelTrack: Mood Journal
FeelTrack: Mood Journal
Track Mood & Daily Notes
Free

Easily record your daily feelings and thoughts in a private, offline journal. Build a consistent habit with quick entries, clear history, and helpful reminders. Gain insights into your mood patterns over time.

Mood trackingDaily journal & notesOffline mode
🌟 Lifestyle
(1)
free with in-app purchases
20
EasyFasting: Fasting Tracker
EasyFasting: Fasting Tracker
EasyFasting: Fasting Tracker
Intermittent Fasting Timer
Free

This app simplifies intermittent fasting with a clear, front-and-center timer and guided explanations of your body's fasting phases. It offers customizable plans, weight tracking, and smart reminders to help you build consistent habits. Widgets provide at-a-glance progress updates.

Customizable fasting plansClear fasting window timerFasting phase explanations
💪 Health & Fitness
(1)
freemium

FAQ about Journaling

What are the best journaling apps for iPhone?
Journal tops our journaling apps ranking as of August 2026, with a 4.8-star average from 231K App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 20 of the top journaling apps we rank are free to download, including Journal and Sol - Inner Growth & Community.
Journal has no ads and has no in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of August 2026.
We track 250+ journaling apps on the iOS App Store as of August 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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