Best Journaling App

247+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.8 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated August 2026

Looking for free journaling app? 20 of our 247+ tracked titles are free to download — no subscription, no trial. The rest are premium picks worth paying for.

Compare top Journaling App (August 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1JournalJournalFree4.8★ (231K)NoNoSep 2026
2Diary With PasswordDiary With PasswordFree4.7★ (27K)NoYesSep 2026
3Day One: Daily Journal & DiaryDay One: Daily Journal & DiaryFree4.8★ (118K)NoYesSep 2026
4Daylio Journal - Mood TrackerDaylio Journal - Mood TrackerFree4.8★ (61K)NoYesSep 2026
5My Diary - Journal with LockMy Diary - Journal with LockFree4.7★ (28K)YesYesSep 2026
6Planner & Journal - ZinniaPlanner & Journal - ZinniaFree4.6★ (56K)YesYesSep 2026
7Journaling BuddyJournaling BuddyFreeNoYesAug 2026
8Notebook - Diary & Journal AppNotebook - Diary & Journal AppFree4.7★ (14K)YesYesSep 2026

Top Picks for Journaling App

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
Diary With Password#2

Diary With Password by 帆 杨

No Ads Journal Diary Notebook
Strong Contender
📊 Productivity
4.7😊(27K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
Diary With Password screenshot 1
Diary With Password screenshot 2
Diary With Password screenshot 3
Diary With Password screenshot 4
Diary With Password screenshot 5
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

Room to Improve

  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/accessing past entries
  • 🖼️ No image/media support
  • 🔄 Lack of syncing across devices
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
#79in 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 App apps to explore

4
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
5
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
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
(56K)
free with in-app purchases
7
Journaling Buddy
Journaling Buddy
Journaling Buddy
AI Journal & Self-Reflection
Free
🌟 Lifestyle
(0)
8
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
9
Tend Journaling App
Tend Journaling App
Tend Journaling App
by JOSHUA ANDREW SEPRODI
Free

This private journal app offers a simple way to record your life without complex software. Write in rich text, add media, and organize entries with tags and collections. It prioritizes privacy with offline-first functionality and optional security features.

Rich text writing canvasMood tracking and taggingPhoto and voice note attachments
🌟 Lifestyle
(1)
free
10
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
11
Grief Support: Hello Angel
Grief Support: Hello Angel
Grief Support: Hello Angel
by Thomas Carlton
Free

This app offers a guided approach to navigating grief through creative and reflective exercises. It allows users to send messages to loved ones and provides structured prompts to help process loss at their own pace. The app aims to externalize emotions and reduce the overwhelm associated with bereavement.

Send messages to loved onesGuided reflection promptsTactile creative methods
💪 Health & Fitness
(2)
freemium
12
Papyr: Journaling App
Papyr: Journaling App
Papyr: Journaling App
Private journaling, your way
Free
📊 Productivity
(0)
13
Real Self
Real Self
Real Self
Understand yourself, deeply
Free
💪 Health & Fitness
(0)
14
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
15
Emma - Coaching and Journaling
Emma - Coaching and Journaling
Emma - Coaching and Journaling
AI Enabled Life Coach
Free

This AI-powered coach and journal helps improve mental well-being by offering daily check-ins, focused sessions, and journaling prompts. It assists in combating stress, understanding emotions, and building resilience through personalized, reflective dialogues.

Personalized AI ConversationsDeep Dives on thoughts and emotionsAI-Assisted Journaling with prompts
💪 Health & Fitness
(2)
free
16
DeepLog - Grow by Journaling
DeepLog - Grow by Journaling
DeepLog - Grow by Journaling
AI Emotion Diary & Comfort
Free
💪 Health & Fitness
(0)
17
Ally: Stress & Wellbeing Coach
Ally: Stress & Wellbeing Coach
Ally: Stress & Wellbeing Coach
Companion, Diary & Motivation
Free

This AI-powered coach offers a confidential space to talk through stress, overwhelm, and loneliness. Developed with psychologists, it provides supportive conversations and helps you understand emotional patterns for greater clarity and calm.

AI-powered listening and supportConfidential and non-judgmental conversationsPsychology-based guidance
💪 Health & Fitness
(2)
free with in-app purchases
18
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
19
openers: question card games
openers: question card games
openers: question card games
icebreakers, no small talk
Free

This app provides a curated collection of offline question cards designed to spark meaningful conversations in various social situations. It aims to combat awkward silences and foster deeper connections by offering prompts for dates, family gatherings, and friend hangouts.

Offline question cardsSituation-based promptsFun, Deep, and Casual question categories
🌟 Lifestyle
(22)
free with in-app purchases
20
Being - Simple Journaling
Being - Simple Journaling
Being - Simple Journaling
by Michael Caesario
Free

This app provides a private and secure space to record your daily thoughts, feelings, and moods. It offers features like photo attachments, mood tracking, and categorization to make journaling a therapeutic self-care habit. Secure your entries with password and biometric locks.

Private journalingAttach photosTrack 12 moods
🌟 Lifestyle
(0)
free

FAQ about Journaling App

What is the best journaling app for iPhone?
Journal tops our journaling app 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 app 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 August 2026.
We track 247+ journaling app 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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