Best Personal Journal Apps

249+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.7 avg rating
19 free apps
Updated September 2026

Out of 249+ personal journal apps on iOS, 19 are free and the rest sit in the paid tier. This page sorts them so you can compare both sides before you commit.

Compare top Personal Journal Apps (September 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1JournalJournalFree4.8★ (231K)NoNoSep 2026
2Notebook - Diary & Journal AppNotebook - Diary & Journal AppFree4.7★ (14K)YesYesSep 2026
3Day One: Daily Journal & DiaryDay One: Daily Journal & DiaryFree4.8★ (118K)NoYesSep 2026
4Stillroom – Personal JournalStillroom – Personal JournalFreeNoYesMay 2026
5My Diary - Journal with LockMy Diary - Journal with LockFree4.7★ (28K)YesYesSep 2026
6LifeLogix: Personal JournalLifeLogix: Personal JournalFreeNoYesJul 2026
7Diary With PasswordDiary With PasswordFree4.7★ (27K)NoYesSep 2026
8FlowJournal: Personal JournalFlowJournal: Personal JournalFreeNoNoMay 2026

Top Picks for Personal Journal

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
Notebook - Diary & Journal App#2

Notebook - Diary & Journal App by Koji Ito

A diary that flips like a book
Strong Contender
📊 Productivity
4.7😊(14K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
Notebook - Diary & Journal App screenshot 1
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Notebook - Diary & Journal App screenshot 4
Notebook - Diary & Journal App screenshot 5

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.

What We Love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🔒 Password protection
  • 💡 Convenient for journaling and note-taking
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 👍 Organized by date

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
  • 🚫 Unable to insert photos or attachments
  • 🚫 Limited formatting options
  • 🚫 No cloud sync or backup
  • 🚫 Not compatible with iPad
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
#84in Health & Fitness
Day One: Daily Journal & Diary screenshot 1
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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

More Personal Journal apps to explore

FAQ about Personal Journal

What are the best personal journal apps for iPhone?
Journal tops our personal journal apps ranking as of September 2026, with a 4.8-star average from 231K App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 19 of the top personal journal apps we rank are free to download, including Journal and Notebook - Diary & Journal App.
Journal has no ads and has no in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of September 2026.
We track 249+ personal journal 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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