In today’s world, a lot is going on. Sometimes, when things get crazy, it helps to write down your thoughts and feelings. Other times, seeing how your daily experiences affect your mood is helpful. For example, suppose you’re feeling cranky and aren’t sure why. One look at your journal app shows you that not only did you miss your scheduled workouts, but you also missed a crucial mood-boosting chat with your best friend. Journaling can profoundly affect our mental health, and the best journaling apps are worth downloading because they help you maintain a positive outlook by helping you identify patterns of behavior or life events that contribute to your current feelings.
If you’re looking for a way to keep track of your thoughts and emotions, a variety of journaling apps are worth downloading. These apps can help you organize your thoughts, be more mindful, set goals, and reflect on your day-to-day experiences. Let’s look closer at our picks for the top six journaling apps worth downloading today.
Best Overall Journal App: Day One
Our pick for the best overall journaling app is Day One. Day One is among the most recommended, highly used, and enjoyed journaling apps. Since its release in 2011, journalers have noted its pleasing look, easy-to-use interface, and metadata integration.
Day One lets you journal in more ways than just writing down words. For example, you can add photos, drawings, videos, and audio to your journal entries. You can also choose the type of your journal entry, be it Daily Diary, Gratitude, or Workout Log. There’s even a separate choice for keeping your favorite quotes in one place.
You can feel safe your Day One data is safe because you can set this app to require biometrics or a passcode for entry. Finally, keeping your momentum is easy with writing streaks, while a personal activity feed makes it easy to look back on your days.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Day One is Visually pleasing and easy and fast to get started. | Day One doesn’t include journal prompts. |
| It’s easy to add photos, videos, and sketches. | Social media integration is for Apple users only. |
Best for Stream of Consciousness Journalers: 750 Words
Inspired by the book The Artist’s Way, 750 Words is our best app pick for those who want to journal using their stream of consciousness. The bare bones 750 Words is an app built around the idea that writing three pages (which works out to around 750 words) a day helps get your thoughts out while clearing your head for the rest of the day.
750 Words tracks your stream of conscious word count and how often you write. It also will give you insights into your writing habits. The journaling app provides insights into when you started, how many words you’ve typed, your mindset, and your feelings. Also, the app has a point system that rewards you the more often you write.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The point system and insights add appeal to an otherwise basic app. | 750 Words has a basic, unappealing interface. |
| Struggling with getting started and keeping the daily momentum could be an issue. |
- Learn how to develop the artist in you
- Uncover barriers to your creative flow
- Hundreds of prompts, exercises, and activities
- Find new opportunities for self-growth
Best for Cross-Platform Journalers: Diarium
If you’re looking for a journaling app that looks good on any platform or operating system, Diarium is our recommendation. Diarium beautifully displays your entries which can be a combination of text, photos, to-do lists, audio recordings, and other files. In addition, you can tag your journal entries and connect with your calendar, social media, and fitness apps. Diarium also lets you keep your journaling away from prying eyes with several ways to protect access, including biometric authentication.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Diarium looks good on every platform. | While the tags help you organize your writing, there’s no option for more than one journal. |
| Backing up your data is easy. |
Best for Visual Journalers: Daylio
If you’re more of a visual person and less of a words person, Daylio is the journaling app for you. Daylio feels like a Kanban board for journalers because it’s easy to visualize your feelings and goals while staying on track.
From the moment you open the app, you pick a mood and plan out your day with activities. However, instead of typing anything out, you’re selecting them from a list of emojis and icons. The easy-to-use app lets you set goals and reminders while allowing you to see and share statistics. This makes for an all-around, no-muss, no-fuss journaling experience. If you do prefer to write, you can always add notes to make Daylio more like a traditional journal.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Quickly enter and track your daily moods and tasks without writing a word. | If you’re into writing long-winded rants, diatribes, or more than just a few sentences, you should try another app. |
| There’s no way to save data to the cloud while backing up data. |
Best for Everything Journalers: Momento
Momento is our best choice for journalers who want it all. Memento features the ability to write about and track your daily moments in one place. Memento is also great for adding a social element to your journal. You can write like a traditional journal or add photos, videos, and events — even tag those you were with.
Plus, if you’ve ever had trouble remembering what you did on a specific day, you can integrate your social media posts, including entertainment like Goodreads and Spotify. Memento has an easy-to-navigate calendar and daily, monthly, and yearly summaries. It also allows you to export data and share memories.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Tagging friends adds to the robustness of the easy-to-use app. | Like Daylio, there’s no way to save data to the cloud while backing up data. |
| There are also extensive social media integration abilities. |
Best For Time-Crunched Jounalers: Five Minute Journal
Our pick for time-crunched journalers is Five Minute Journal. This journaling app focuses on improving your life in just a few minutes a day while using the power of positivity and gratitude.
Five Minute Journal features an easy-to-navigate user interface, or UI, the ability to track mindful minutes, and a handy timeline view. In addition, the journaling app features daily quotes and challenges, completing the overall look and feel of a holistic-minded app for those who don’t have much time in the day but still want to be mindful.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It’s easy to take five minutes out of your day to get inspired and improve your mental health. | Some people may find the app repetitive and not motivating enough to use daily. |
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How to Pick the Best Journaling App: Step-By-Step
Choosing the best journaling app can be daunting, but with a bit of research and careful consideration, you can find the perfect app to suit your needs. While looking for an app to download, most people consider the following:
- Journaling goals
- App features
- App reviews
- Pricing
Let’s explore these in further detail.
Determine Your Journaling Goals
Before you begin your search, think about what you hope to achieve through journaling. For example, are you looking to track your daily activities, manage your emotions, or reflect on your goals? Knowing your goals will help you choose an app that meets your needs.
Consider the App’s Features
Look for an app with the necessary features to achieve your journaling goals. For example, if you want to track your daily activities, look for an app that allows you to create daily checklists. If you’re going to reflect on your goals, look for an app with prompts or guided exercises. If privacy is a concern, consider an app that has two-factor or biometric authentication. Once you have a list of potential journaling apps, try them to see which feels most intuitive and user-friendly. Consider the app’s design, ease of use, and overall user experience.
Read Reviews
Before making a final decision, read reviews from other users to understand the app’s strengths and weaknesses. Look for reviews that discuss the app’s functionality, reliability, and customer support.
Consider the Cost
While many journaling apps are free to download, some may require a monthly or yearly subscription and in-app purchases to access all features. Consider your budget when choosing an app and weigh the cost against the value it provides.
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What to Know Before Downloading Journaling Apps
Before downloading a journaling app, it’s good to consider a few key points. First, you’ll need to know how much it costs. Then, before you download anything, you should see if you have to pay to use the app, its features, or if it’s free.
Secondly, you’ll need to know what operating system supports the app. For example, you can’t download an app specifically for Windows on your iPhone.
Thirdly, it helps to look at the app’s features and if it will help you meet your journaling goals. For example, if you just want a simple, stream-of-conscious-type journal, it won’t behoove you to download an app like Daliyo that is heavy on templates, goals, and a visual aspect.
Using Journaling Apps: What It’s Like
Using a journaling app can be a great addition to your daily routine. Tracking everything from your everyday thoughts to your next great idea can help you become more introspective, reflective, and creative. Also, journaling apps give you a safe place to explore your entire range of thoughts and emotions. You can deal with being mad or sad on the page without letting them overtake your day. Finally, journaling apps can help unlock your creativity while helping you keep your goals on track. By trying one of the apps on our list today, you’ll be sure to reach your journaling goals.
- The Artist's Way: 30th Anniversary Edition
- Learn how to develop the artist in you
- Uncover barriers to your creative flow
- Hundreds of prompts, exercises, and activities
- Find new opportunities for self-growth
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