Best Journaling Apps

250+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.8 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated September 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 (September 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1JournalJournalFree4.8★ (231K)NoNoSep 2026
2Day One: Daily Journal & DiaryDay One: Daily Journal & DiaryFree4.8★ (118K)NoYesSep 2026
3DailyBean - simplest journalDailyBean - simplest journalFree4.8★ (70K)YesYesSep 2026
4Sol: Journal, Habit, CommunitySol: Journal, Habit, CommunityFree4.9★ (1.3K)NoYesSep 2026
5Diary With PasswordDiary With PasswordFree4.7★ (27K)NoYesSep 2026
6Planner & Journal - ZinniaPlanner & Journal - ZinniaFree4.6★ (56K)YesYesSep 2026
7stoic. journal & mental healthstoic. journal & mental healthFree4.8★ (36K)NoYesSep 2026
8My Diary - Journal with LockMy Diary - Journal with LockFree4.7★ (28K)YesYesSep 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
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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
  • 👍 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
#88in Health & Fitness
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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
  • 🗺️ 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
DailyBean - simplest journal#3

DailyBean - simplest journal by BlueSignum Corp.

Mood tracker, daily log, diary
Worth Considering
🌟 Lifestyle
4.8😊(70K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
DailyBean - simplest journal screenshot 1
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DailyBean - simplest journal screenshot 4
DailyBean - simplest journal screenshot 5
DailyBean - simplest journal screenshot 6

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.

What We Love

  • 💻 Great app for journaling and mood tracking
  • 🎨 Cute and visually appealing design
  • 🕰️ Easy to use and quick to record daily entries
  • 📊 Helpful data insights and analytics
  • 🔒 Secure with password/fingerprint option
  • 🆓 Decent free version with limited ads

Room to Improve

  • 💰 Premium subscription required for full features
  • 🗓️ Limited data history without premium
  • 🚫 Inability to customize/add new categories
  • 📂 No option to export data
  • 🔍 Lack of search functionality in journal entries
  • 🧭 Sensitive swiping between months

More Journaling apps to explore

FAQ about Journaling

What are the best journaling apps for iPhone?
Journal tops our journaling 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 journaling 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+ journaling 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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