Best Journaling App Free Guided

227+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.7 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated May 2026

Looking for free journaling app free guided apps? 20 of our 227+ tracked titles are free to download — no subscription, no trial. The rest are premium picks worth paying for.

Top Picks for Journaling App Free Guided

Prompted Journal - Shadow Work#1

Prompted Journal - Shadow Work by Oatmeal Apps

Private journaling for therapy
Editor's Choice
🌟 Lifestyle
4.8😊(6.9K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
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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.

What We Love

  • 💖 Great for self-reflection
  • 🔒 No ads or data collection
  • 👍 Simple and user-friendly interface
  • 🤗 Helpful and thought-provoking prompts

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Issues with editing/deleting past entries
  • 🔍 Lack of search/filter functionality
  • 📱 Compatibility issues on larger screens
Journal & Mood Tracker - Halo#2

Journal & Mood Tracker - Halo by Perigee AB

Private Diary for Mindfulness
Strong Contender
🌟 Lifestyle
4.8😊(1.1K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
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This app provides a private space for daily journaling to improve mindfulness and self-discovery. It offers guided reflections, helpful prompts, and voice recording to help users understand their thoughts, emotions, and habits. Designed with input from psychologists, it utilizes proven techniques to foster a happier life.

What We Love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient journaling
  • 💡 Helpful prompts and guidance
  • 🌟 Positive impact on mental health

Room to Improve

  • 💰 Paid features required for full functionality
  • 🔍 Limited free content
  • 🤔 Repetitive prompts
My Diary - Journal with Lock#3

My Diary - Journal with Lock by BetterApp Tech Co., Limited

Journaling Diary with password
Worth Considering
🌟 Lifestyle
4.7😊(28K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
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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.

What We Love

  • 🔒 Secure with password, fingerprint, and security question options
  • 📝 Easy to write and express thoughts
  • 🎨 Customizable with themes, stickers, and photos
  • 🗓️ Helpful for tracking moods and daily activities

Room to Improve

  • 💰 Many features locked behind premium paywall
  • 🔍 Limited free theme and sticker options
  • 🐛 Issues with formatting, text editing, and photo placement

More Journaling App Free Guided apps to explore

4
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
(117K)
freemium
5
Reflect - guided daily journal
Reflect - guided daily journal
Reflect - guided daily journal
Self reflection journaling
Free

This app provides a guided journaling experience to help you capture thoughts and feelings, fostering self-awareness and a more positive outlook. It intelligently guides your reflections with structured topics and questions based on proven psychological methods.

Guided reflection topics and questionsDaily check-ins with yourselfLibrary of self-reflection topics
💪 Health & Fitness
(360)
subscription
6
Gratitude Journal - The Life-changing App
Gratitude Journal - The Life-changing App
Gratitude Journal - The Life-changing App
by PPL Development Company LLC
Free

This digital journal helps you capture moments of gratitude with a distraction-free interface. It offers customizable backgrounds and fonts, easy organization with list and calendar views, and seamless iCloud syncing across your devices.

Distraction-free daily entriesCustomizable backgrounds and fontsVertical list and calendar view
🌟 Lifestyle
(559)
free
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
(26K)
free with in-app purchases
8
Mood‏ - Guided Journaling
Mood‏ - Guided Journaling
Mood‏ - Guided Journaling
Become the best version of you
Free

This app offers guided journaling prompts to help users reflect on their day, foster gratitude, and improve concentration. It features a user-friendly interface, mood tracking over time, and a privacy lock for reflections. Daily reminders ensure consistent use.

Guided daily journaling promptsDaily mood rating and notesMood tracking over time
💪 Health & Fitness
(62)
freemium
9
The Mindfulness App
The Mindfulness App
The Mindfulness App
Meditation, sleep & relaxation
Free

Access over 500 guided meditations, sleep stories, and courses from global experts. Customize silent or guided sessions with various background sounds and durations. Track your progress and integrate with Apple Health and Apple Watch.

500+ guided meditations and coursesSleep stories for relaxationCustomizable silent or guided sessions
💪 Health & Fitness
(7.5K)
free with in-app purchases
10
Guided Journaling - DoEntry
Guided Journaling - DoEntry
Guided Journaling - DoEntry
Record anything in one place
Free

This app helps you reflect on your life, form habits, and reduce stress through personalized guided journaling. Analyze trends with over 60 charts, manage tags, and set goals with reminders. Secure your data with on-device encryption and cloud sync.

Personalized guided journalsHabit formation and goal settingMood and activity tracking
🌟 Lifestyle
(5)
free with in-app purchases
11
DayNote • Guided Journaling
DayNote • Guided Journaling
DayNote • Guided Journaling
Answer Four Questions a Day
Free

This guided journaling app prompts users with four daily questions to encourage reflection on learning, achievements, positive experiences, and areas for improvement. It helps users build a personal knowledge base for growth by recording thoughts and memories over time.

Four daily reflection questionsGuided journaling promptsPersonal growth tracking
💪 Health & Fitness
(9)
freemium
12
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
13
Daily Journal: Diary with Lock
Daily Journal: Diary with Lock
Daily Journal: Diary with Lock
Your Private Secret Journaling
Free

This app serves as a private digital journal to record daily experiences, emotions, and memories. Secure your entries with password, fingerprint, or face ID, and enhance them with photos. Track your moods and use built-in reminders to cultivate a consistent journaling habit.

Password, fingerprint, and face ID securityAdd photos to journal entriesMood and emotion tracking
🌟 Lifestyle
(5.3K)
free with in-app purchases
14
Grateful: A Gratitude Journal
Grateful: A Gratitude Journal
Grateful: A Gratitude Journal
Focus on what truly matters
Free

This app helps you cultivate a more positive outlook by making gratitude easy and fun. It offers daily prompts, allows you to add photos, and lets you easily browse past entries. Your journal remains completely private, stored only on your device.

Daily gratitude promptsAdd photos to entriesBrowse entries by time or prompt
🌟 Lifestyle
(3K)
freemium
15
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
16
Waffle: Shared Journal
Waffle: Shared Journal
Waffle: Shared Journal
One Question A Day
Free

This app facilitates shared journaling for couples, families, and friends to deepen connections. Users can share daily updates, photos, and videos, and answer prompts to get to know each other better. It offers a private space to document memories and strengthen relationships.

Shared journaling for groupsPhoto and video sharingDaily prompts to foster connection
🌟 Lifestyle
(8.1K)
free with in-app purchases
17
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft OneNote
Capture Notes, Ideas and Memos
Free

Capture thoughts, ideas, and plans in a digital notepad. Organize, search, and secure your notes, memos, and sketches. Sync across devices for access anywhere, anytime. Collaborate with others on shared notepads.

Capture thoughts and ideasDigital sketchbookOrganize and search notes
📊 Productivity
(1M)
free with in-app purchases
18
Mindsera: Daily AI Journaling
Mindsera: Daily AI Journaling
Mindsera: Daily AI Journaling
Reflect, CBT & Self-Care Diary
Free

This smart diary enhances mental health and cognitive skills by reflecting on your thoughts, boosting emotional intelligence, and uncovering hidden patterns. It offers AI-powered insights, customizable reflections, and voice journaling for a personalized self-care experience.

AI-powered reflective journalingCBT and self-care toolsUncover hidden patterns and insights
💪 Health & Fitness
(230)
free with in-app purchases
19
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
20
Perspective, a mindful journal
Perspective, a mindful journal
Perspective, a mindful journal
Daily reflection, mood tracker
Free

This app provides a safe space for daily reflection and self-discovery. It helps you capture thoughts, moods, and interests to gain insights, make better decisions, and manage anxiety. Rediscover yourself and improve your mental well-being through guided journaling.

Daily reflection promptsMood trackingCapture thoughts and interests
💪 Health & Fitness
(1.6K)
free