If the idea of picking up a pen and paper to journal makes you run away, here are the best journal apps to help you unleash your creativity and explore your feelings.
Let’s be honest – old-school journaling is great, but it’s certainly not for everyone. Especially for the younger, technology-dependent generation, the very idea of journaling in a conventional way can be pretty off-putting.
Most people nowadays don’t even remember the last time they held a pen, let alone make an effort to start writing their feelings on a piece of paper eventually. And don’t even get us started about our handwriting. For some, it’s bad. For the rest, it’s so terrible that you’ll have to spend hours trying to decode what’s written.
However, even with these inconveniences, it’s imperative that you start journaling and get in touch with what you’re actually feeling. It’s one of the best wellness habits that can:
- help you understand yourself better,
- keep track of your moods and triggers,
- engage the creative parts of your brain, and
- ease your stress and anxiety.
But to actually achieve these benefits, you need to start journaling in the first place.
And this is where the best journal apps come into play. If you have ever been put off by the idea of scribbling your feelings on a sheet of paper, these best journal apps will help you dive into the digital aspect of the practice.
To help you get started, here are the best apps for journaling. From beginner-friendly to bullet-journaling and personal diary apps – this list has everything you’ll need to digitize your journaling practice today! Let’s dive in.
The Best Digital Journal Apps
A paper and pen are great, but having apps for daily journaling can provide even better options and tools to record your emotions and make sense of your feelings. They help you get better insights into what you are doing and where you want to reach eventually.
Besides keeping track of your moods, the best online journal apps provide features like adding photos from your phone or social media feeds to your entries. You can also add reminders and get an efficient search feature to navigate through your archives.
Simply put – if you want to elevate your journaling practice to a whole new level and make the most out of it, having apps for daily journaling is a must.
Now, having digital journaling apps is great. But how do you find the best one for yourself? How do you determine the best personal journal app for you? Well, we have got you covered.
Here are some essential factors you should consider before choosing a journaling app for yourself:
1. Ease of entry: The best daily journal apps offer a hassle-free experience to their users. Therefore, choose an app that helps you feed in your daily entries with the least amount of clicks. This reduced friction will work as a motivator to hook you to the practice.
2. User-friendly interface: The best digital journal apps offer clear instructions, an easy-to-navigate structure, and a well-integrated design experience for their users. This user-friendly interface ensures that people can focus on the therapeutic part of the practice rather than worrying about how to get something done in the app.
3. Pricing: There are different pricing for journaling apps. Therefore, it’s essential that you take into consideration what features each app provides before paying hefty amounts. Journaling should be relatively inexpensive, and some exceptional free online journal apps can elevate your practice.
4. Exporting: We live in a technology-driven world. Given the amount of lucrative options in the market, it’s highly likely that you might be updating your devices. Therefore, the best journal apps should allow easy exporting of data and archives across devices.
Now that you have understood how to find the best digital journaling apps for you, let’s dive into YMHP’s list of the best personal journal apps.
1. Day One
Available for: iOS, Android
Cost: Free version and premium subscription plan of $2.92/month (when billed annually).
If you are looking for a free-form online journal app that allows you to unleash your creativity without providing a standard frame of reference, Day One is the best journal app for you. It’s more like an open-ended digital diary that allows you to feed in your thoughts and emotions without obsessing with a structure.
It’s one of the best-rated digital journaling apps and has a host of efficient features. It lets you create journal entries with one click. If you are intimidated by a lack of structure, you can choose from a wide range of templates. Additionally, you can also add metadata like weather, location, etc.
The best part about Day One is that it lets you send multiple specific reminders about your journaling practice so that you can keep track of yourself at different times of the day without fail.
2. Click Up
Available for: iOS, Android
Cost: Free with premium plans for additional features.
Click Up is not just a daily journal app. It’s your one-stop platform to manage your thoughts, ideas, goals, roadmaps, and basically your entire life using a single screen. Whether you are new to bullet journaling or looking for an app that makes your personal growth journey easier – Click Up is the best online journal app.
Maintaining a journal is not easy, especially without a system to hold you accountable. This is precisely why Click Up makes it to our list of the best journaling apps. It has a unique organizational hierarchy factor that will help you cultivate the habit of journaling regularly.
The best Click Up feature is its exceptional document editor with all the tools you need to update your journaling practice. And since all these documents are automatically saved on Click Up, you can effectively access your archives.
3. Five Minute Journal App
Available for: iOS, Android
Cost: Free with premium version at $9.99/month.
If you love print journals but are terrified of creating one, the Five Minute Journal App is your go-to option. It’s basically a digitized version of the print journal. The basic premise is to spend five minutes journaling every day to record your thoughts, emotions, triggers, and moods.
If you struggle with a lack of inspiration, this diary journal app will provide you with daily reminders, journal prompts, and weekly challenges to keep you motivated.
4. Reflectly
Available for: iOS, Android
Cost: Free with premium version
Refelctly’s tagline says it’s the world’s first ‘intelligent journal,’ and we are not complaining. Reflectly focuses on mental health, mood tracking, and mindfulness. It uses scientific approaches like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and positive psychology to help users reduce stress and anxiety.
Apart from being one of the best journal apps, Reflectly is an excellent mood tracker. It uses AI integration and daily prompts to monitor and track your moods. Reflectly moves away from the traditional journaling experiences and leverages technology to integrate your mental well-being with your journaling practice.
5. Momento
Available for: iOS
Cost: Free with premium plans.
Memento is one of the best online diary apps for iOS users. It uses ease of access and accessibility to help users build a habit of journaling. People can plug in their daily entries conveniently. Additionally, Momento can automatically collect information from your social media apps to integrate the data. It pulls in content from your feeds to allow you to paint a picture of your life daily.
Memento is one of the best digital journal apps as it allows you to share specific entries with people you want to. Given its ability to sync all your social media feeds in one place, Memento is the digital journaling revolution that can make your practice more exciting.
6. HappyFeed
Available for: iOS, Android
Cost: Free with subscription plans
Therapists across the spectrum suggest gratitude journaling as a way to boost the mental well-being of their patients. Gratitude journaling is highly beneficial but exceptionally tough at the same time. It’s difficult to feel grateful about life when things aren’t really going your way.
This is why HappyFeed is the best gratitude journal app. It helps you form a habit by sending a customized prompt daily to remind you to continue your practice. The prompt is accompanied by a quote or joke that’ll literally brighten your day.
The best feature of HappyFeed is the ‘happiness jar.’ It’s a coping mechanism for all the days when you need a little ‘pick me up.’ All you need to do is simply click on the option, and you will be reminded of a heartwarming memory from the past.
Conclusion:
We have all heard about how essential and effective journaling is for our mental health. And even though it’s as simple in theory, journaling can be incredibly tough and complex for most people. This is why we have created a list of the best journal apps to help you get started with the practice and make the most out of it.
Whether you are just looking to track your feelings or ready to experiment with digital journaling – this list has something for you.
If you are still struggling to get started, here are some of the best daily journal prompts to help you get started.
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