Best Life Journal Apps

235+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.7 avg rating
19 free apps
Updated July 2026

Day One is the household name in life journal, but it's far from the only option. We track 235+ alternatives and competitors on iOS — many free, many higher-rated than you'd expect.

Compare top Life Journal Apps (July 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1Day One: Daily Journal & DiaryDay One: Daily Journal & DiaryFree4.8★ (117K)NoYesJul 2026
2JournalJournalFree4.8★ (231K)NoNoJul 2026
3Daylio Journal - Mood TrackerDaylio Journal - Mood TrackerFree4.8★ (60K)NoYesJul 2026
4stoic. journal & mental healthstoic. journal & mental healthFree4.8★ (35K)NoYesJul 2026
5DailyBean - простой дневникDailyBean - простой дневникFree4.8★ (70K)YesYesJul 2026
6Moleskine JournalMoleskine JournalFree4.5★ (2.6K)NoYesJul 2026
7Gratitude: Self-Care JournalGratitude: Self-Care JournalFree4.9★ (45K)NoYesJul 2026
8Elephant JournalElephant JournalFree4.9★ (14K)YesYesJul 2026

Top Picks for Life Journal

Day One: Daily Journal & Diary#1

Day One: Daily Journal & Diary by Bloom Built Inc

Личный дневник благодарности
Editor's Choice
💪 Health & Fitness
4.8😊(117K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
#91in 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
Journal#2

Journal by Apple Inc.

Reflect on life’s moments
Strong Contender
💪 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
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker#3

Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker by Relaxio s.r.o.

Private Diary, Health, Habits
Worth Considering
🌟 Lifestyle
4.8😊(60K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker screenshot 1
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker screenshot 2
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker screenshot 3
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker screenshot 4
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker screenshot 5
Daylio Journal - Mood Tracker screenshot 6

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.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Customizable moods and activities
  • 📊 Helpful statistics and analytics
  • 🗓️ Consistent daily logging

Room to Improve

  • 🔒 Backup feature locked behind premium
  • 🔍 Limited mood/activity options in free version
  • 📱 No Apple Watch app

More Life Journal apps to explore

4
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
5
DailyBean - простой дневник
DailyBean - простой дневник
DailyBean - простой дневник
Просто Нажимай на Иконки !
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
6
Moleskine Journal
Moleskine Journal
Moleskine Journal
Record your life
Free

This app helps you capture life's moments by allowing you to add various media to written entries, adding depth to your memories. It's designed to transform your journaling routine into a daily ritual that inspires consistency and mindfulness.

Text journal entriesCustom and suggested promptsHabit tracker
💪 Health & Fitness
(2.6K)
free with in-app purchases
7
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
8
Elephant Journal
Elephant Journal
Elephant Journal
It's about the mindful life.
Free

Explore mindful living through articles, videos, and podcasts on topics like meditation, relationships, and environmental tips. Engage with content, support authors, and join discussions to foster a sense of community and personal growth.

Daily Front Page updatesBrowse articles by topicComment and share content
🌟 Lifestyle
(14K)
free with in-app purchases
9
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
10
Journey - Diary, Journal
Journey - Diary, Journal
Journey - Diary, Journal
Daily Motivation & Journal
Free

This app helps you capture memories, express yourself through writing, and track your emotions. It offers tools for creating rich journal entries, collaborative journaling, and secure storage. Enhance your experience with templates, plugins, and reminders for a more mindful and organized life.

Capture memories with photos, videos, and audioRich text editor with formatting optionsMood tracking and emotional fluctuation analysis
🌟 Lifestyle
(5K)
freemium
11
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
12
Momento: Private Journal Diary
Momento: Private Journal Diary
Momento: Private Journal Diary
Easily capture life's memories
Free

This app helps you privately capture and organize life's memories using notes, photos, and videos. It automatically imports your digital history from social networks and apps, creating a beautiful, searchable journal of your life story.

Capture notes, photos, and videosImport digital history from social mediaPowerful search and explore functionality
🌟 Lifestyle
(870)
freemium
13
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
14
My Life Journal: Video Diary
My Life Journal: Video Diary
My Life Journal: Video Diary
Private Photos & Life Movies
Free

Capture and privately store photos, videos, audio notes, and journal entries. Automatically generate yearly "life movies" to relive memories. Share specific moments with a select group of friends or family.

Record videos up to 5 minutesSave photos and audio notesWrite journal entries
🌟 Lifestyle
(421)
free with in-app purchases
15
Collect - Photo Journal, Diary
Collect - Photo Journal, Diary
Collect - Photo Journal, Diary
Daily picture calendar & album
$2.99

This app helps you create a rich, visual journal of your life by letting you date and caption photos. Add detailed notes, organize with tags, and create monthly collages. Keep your memories private with passcode lock and sync them with iCloud.

Date and caption photosAdd detailed notesBulk photo import
📷 Photo & Video
(1.5K)
free with in-app purchases
16
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
17
Lifelight: AI Journal & Memory
Lifelight: AI Journal & Memory
Lifelight: AI Journal & Memory
Track mood, anxiety & growth
Free

This app helps you capture daily thoughts, photos, and moods, transforming them into a growing digital garden. It offers AI-powered insights into emotional patterns and personal growth, with features for deeper connection and support.

Daily thought and dream capturePhoto and mood loggingMemories visualized as a growing garden
🌟 Lifestyle
(408)
subscription
18
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
19
DailyLife - Diary, Journal
DailyLife - Diary, Journal
DailyLife - Diary, Journal
Keep your precious daily life.
Free

This free diary app allows you to securely record your daily thoughts, moods, and memories. Protect your entries with a password and pin, add photos, customize fonts, and even tag your moments. It offers backup options and a photo album to cherish your experiences.

Attach multiple picturesPassword & pin code protectionVarious font formats
🌟 Lifestyle
(240)
free with in-app purchases
20
Journal X: My Diary with Lock
Journal X: My Diary with Lock
Journal X: My Diary with Lock
Personal Locked Journaling
Free

This app allows you to create a private digital journal with passcode protection. Add photos, stickers, and organize entries into multiple journals. Sync across devices and receive reminders to encourage daily writing.

Daily photo entriesPasscode lockMultiple photo uploads per entry
🌟 Lifestyle
(1.8K)
free with in-app purchases

FAQ about Life Journal

What are the best life journal apps for iPhone?
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary tops our life journal apps ranking as of July 2026, with a 4.8-star average from 117K App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 19 of the top life journal apps we rank are free to download, including Day One: Daily Journal & Diary and Journal.
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary has no ads and offers in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of July 2026.
We track 235+ life journal apps on the iOS App Store as of July 2026, ranked by rating, recency, and analysis of real user reviews.
Day One is a digital journaling app designed to help you record your life as you live it. It allows you to securely save text, photos, audio, and video entries. The app focuses on privacy, ease of use, and features that encourage consistent journaling and reminiscing.
Key features include unlimited text entries, rich text formatting with markdown, support for unlimited photos and videos, voice recording with transcription, daily journal prompts, streaks and calendar views for consistency, and automatic import of data like weather and location. It also offers end-to-end encryption for privacy.

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