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There’s a reason so many successful people keep a journal: it works. A simple way to manage stress, increase creativity, improve happiness, improve health, and improve work performance is to write down your thoughts and experiences. The trouble is, keeping a journal isn’t easy. When writing on a blank page, it takes dedication to this new habit and an open mind. What have you done today? Who exactly are you? Journaling apps can help you figure this out and help you establish a daily writing routine.
These are the best journaling apps for recording memories this year and in the future, after testing nearly two dozen alternatives. Click on any app to learn more about why I chose it, or keep reading for more context on journal apps.
The best journaling apps
Day 1 for the best journal app overall Diarium for a single payment Grid Diary for quick templated journaling
Dabble Me for journaling over email
You can always use your current note-taking app as a journal if you don’t want to switch apps. Alternately, go one step further and create your very own journal application with only a brief automation and no coding involved.
What makes the best online journal app?
How we evaluate and test apps
Our best apps roundups are written by humans who’ve spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. We spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it is intended to be used and comparing it to the category’s criteria, unless otherwise stated. We value the trust our readers place in us to provide honest evaluations of the categories and apps we review and are never compensated for app placement in our articles or links to other websites. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier blog.
A paper notebook and pen are fine for journaling—in fact, for many people, they’re the best option. But apps are great if you’re a digital sort of person—plus, they give you more context on what you’ve accomplished and where you might want to go. To make journaling more enjoyable, they also allow you to include posts from your social media feeds or photos from your phone. Add in reminders and the ability to search your journal entries, and digital journaling is almost a no-brainer.
I’ve been testing and writing about software professionally for over a decade. Additionally, I have journaled every day for years. It’s an important ritual for me, personally, and it’s also where a lot of the best ideas in my writing originate. The best journaling apps, in my opinion, share a few characteristics: Easy entry: If it takes more than a couple of clicks or taps to add a journal entry, chances are you’re not going to do it.
Pleasant interface: A minimalist, uncluttered interface helps you focus on your thoughts and makes journaling a pleasant experience.
- Reminders: Perhaps the biggest challenge to online journaling is remembering to do it. You can keep up the habit with automatic reminders.
- Exporting: If you want to switch to a different journaling platform or the app stops being developed, you’ll want to be able to export your entries in a format that other programs can read, like PDF or RTF.
- Syncing: Syncing will ensure that your journal is up to date on every device.
- Affordability: I eliminated some apps because of the high price. Journaling shouldn’t cost a lot. If you’re looking for a free journal app, some of the options on this list will do the trick, just with fewer features than the premium plans.
Other features for a digital journal that might be important to you include password protection, Markdown support, the ability to add more than one photo, location and weather tags, and journaling prompts.
Keep in mind that this article is focused on general-purpose journaling apps. As a result, apps focused on a single objective, such as mental health, are excluded. The journal apps on this list can all be used for whatever purpose you like: business, personal development, or anything else you might want to write privately about every day.
To update the list this year, I spent time testing every diary app I could get my hands on. For each one, I started by creating a handful of new entries, complete with images. I then spent some time exploring the settings, testing the daily reminders, and ensuring that syncing and exporting worked as described. These are the journal apps that came out on top.
Overall best journal app
The first day (Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and watchOS) Pros from Day One: Beautiful interface that is easy to use Native apps for all the main platforms
Simple to set up and use Excellent reminders Cons on Day One: Paid version required for core features like syncing
Day One has been one of the most widely recommended journaling apps for Apple devices ever since it was released in 2011. It now has a Windows version as well, and both platforms give it high marks. It’s easy to understand why. The app offers a wide array of features—just about everything you might want or need in a digital journal. You can use templates to make journaling easier. Metadata like location, weather, motion activity, currently playing music, and step count can be automatically added to your entries. In addition, you can format entries in Markdown, add photos and videos, password-protect your journal, and tag entries with hashtags. And there are optional prompts, if you’re not sure what to write about.
All of this is within an elegant, unobtrusive design that fits into all four major platforms. There are no gaudy, cluttered toolbars in sight—everything on the screen is useful for journaling.
Perhaps Day One’s best feature is the ability to customize multiple reminders. The majority of other journal apps will only send you one reminder each day. However, with Day One, you may be prompted to write, for example, at the beginning of the day, during lunch, and at the conclusion of your workday to record your activities and thoughts. The free app offers pretty much all of the core journaling features, but for syncing, unlimited photos, handwritten and audio entries, and multiple journals, you’ll need to subscribe to the Day One Premium service.