The Best Journal and Diary Apps

1. WOYM

Best for: A free journal with no limits on entries, and talking instead of typing.

I make WOYM, so read this one with that in mind. The free plan has no account and no cap: unlimited entries with photos, videos and voice notes, a mood on each entry, habits, todos, search, tags, App Lock and importing from Apple Journal. Premium adds backup and sync, the web version, dictation that types as you talk (in English, Hindi or a mix), Polish Writing, scanning a handwritten page, writing by hand with Apple Pencil, and importing from Notion or Obsidian.

• Price: Free. Premium is optional; prices for your country are in the pricing section.
• Platforms: iPhone and iPad; any computer in the browser with Premium.
• The catch: Not end-to-end encrypted. On the free plan the only copy is on your phone. Export is one entry at a time, as Markdown.

2. Apple Journal

Best for: People who only use Apple devices and want something already installed.

Apple's own journal, the "Journal" app already on your iPhone. It suggests moments to write about from your photos, places and workouts, locks with Face ID, and with the 26 releases added multiple journals, a map of your entries, and drawing with Apple Pencil. If you never leave Apple's world, it's hard to argue with free. How it compares with the paid favourite: Apple Journal vs Day One.

• Price: Free.
• Platforms: iPhone, and iPad and Mac since iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26.
• The catch: Apple devices only: nothing for Android, Windows or the web.

3. Day One

Best for: A polished journal you'll keep for decades, on every platform.

The best-known journaling app. Silver adds sync across devices and up to 30 photos, videos or recordings per entry; Gold adds AI such as Daily Chat, summaries and title suggestions. Journals can be end-to-end encrypted.

• Price: Basic is free. Silver is $49.99 a year; Gold, with the AI features, is $74.99 a year.
• Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and the web.
• The catch: Paid plans are yearly only, and the free plan is limited to one device.

4. Journey

Best for: Windows users who want a native app.

Covers every platform, with map and calendar views, and mood tracking on the paid plan.

• Price: $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year.
• Platforms: iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and the web.
• The catch: The free plan is writing only, with no cloud sync.

5. Diarium

Best for: Paying once instead of every year.

A private diary with trackers for habits and moods, and no subscription.

• Price: A one-time purchase on each platform.
• Platforms: iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows.
• The catch: You buy it separately for each platform, and there's no web version.

6. Rosebud

Best for: An AI that reads your entries and asks follow-up questions.

Built around AI from the start: you write, it reflects back and asks you to go deeper, and it remembers what you said last week.

• Price: Paid plans start at about $12.99 a month.
• Platforms: Phone apps and the web.
• The catch: Most of what makes it different is paid, and your entries go through an AI by design.

7. Notion

Best for: People who already run their life in Notion.

A notes workspace with journal templates. Flexible, and your journal sits next to everything else.

• Price: Free for personal use.
• Platforms: Every platform.
• The catch: It's not built for journaling: no prompts, no mood, no photo memories, and nothing nudging you to write.

8. Obsidian

Best for: Keeping your diary as plain files you own.

Daily notes are Markdown files on your device, so they outlive any app, this one included.

• Price: Free. Obsidian Sync is a paid add-on.
• Platforms: Every platform.
• The catch: You build the journal yourself, and photos and phone capture take setting up.

What is the best free journal app?

If you use an iPhone, WOYM's free plan has no limit on entries, photos, videos or voice notes and needs no account. Apple Journal is free too, but only on Apple devices. Day One's free plan works on one device. Journey's free plan is writing only.

What is the best diary app?

The same apps: a diary and a journal are mostly the same thing in an app. For a private, personal diary on iPhone, WOYM or Apple Journal. Across every platform, Day One or Journey. To pay once, Diarium.

What is the Journal app on my iPhone?

Journal is Apple's own journaling app. It arrived on iPhone in iOS 17.2 and came to iPad and Mac with iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26. It's free, and it suggests moments to write about from your photos, places and workouts.

Is there a good journal app for Windows?

Journey and Diarium have Windows apps. Day One and WOYM also run in the browser on Windows; WOYM's web version comes with Premium.

What is the best AI journal app?

Rosebud is built around AI conversation. Day One Gold adds AI chat and summaries to a regular journal. WOYM Premium uses AI for dictation, polishing your writing and scanning handwritten pages, not for talking back.