The 7 Best Journal Apps for 2021

These apps offer the best digital journaling features

by
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Freelance Contributor
Elise Moreau is a writer that has covered social media, texting, messaging, and streaming for Lifewire. Her work has appeared on Techvibes, SlashGear, Lifehack and others.
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Elise Moreau
Updated on April 21, 2020
reviewed by
Michael Heine headshot
Michael Barton Heine Jr
Lifewire Tech Review Board Member
Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.
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Article reviewed on Aug 24, 2020
Michael Barton Heine Jr

With the right journal app, you can make a journal or diary entry truly yours by adding images, tagging locations, setting reminders to write, enabling password protection, and so much more.

Here are the best journal and diary apps you can use both online and offline, either from a web browser or on a mobile device.

01
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Diaro: The Best Journal App for Including Images in Your Entries

An image of the Diaro app on various devices.

Pixel Crater Ltd.
What We Like

  • The ability to attach an unlimited number of images to your entries.

  • You can search for entries by folder, tag, location, date, or other helpful filters.

What We Don't Like

  • You'll need to upgrade to Diaro Pro for an ad-free journaling experience, import/export functionality, and multilingual support.

Diaro's powerful interface is great for journaling enthusiasts who love to stay organized and liven up their entries with a wide variety of visuals. You can even swipe between entries just like a real journal or diary.

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02
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Journey: The Most Intuitive Interface and Best Looking Layout

A screenshot of the Journey app.
What We Like

  • The ability to attach multiple images and videos to journal entries.

  • You can protect your journal with Touch ID, Face ID, or PIN-protected journals.

  • Automatic backups in Google Drive.

What We Don't Like

  • You'll have to upgrade to a recurring $3.99 monthly or $29.99 annual fee if you want access to more features.

  • You'll have to pay a separate fee for each different platform version if you plan to use the app on different platforms.

Whether you're keeping a dream journal, a gratitude journal, a work journal, or any other type of journal, Journey is simply one of the best apps out there. Its crisp, clean layout is a pleasure to use for crafting your journal entries so they suit your personal journaling style. 

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03
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Penzu: The Most Secure Journal App to Protect Your Information

A screenshot of the Penzu app on a laptop.
What We Like

  • An incredibly secure journal for ultimate protection and privacy.

  • Fully customizable journal features for personalized journal covers, backgrounds, and font faces.

  • You can easily insert images between text in entries.

What We Don't Like

  • You'll have to upgrade to a $4.99 a month plan or a $19.99 a year plan if you want access to its full offering of customization features.

  • Some users report issues with saving entries and the app crashing.

  • Last updated in 2017.

Many journal apps offer security and privacy features, but Penzu is one that excels at it. This great journal app keeps your entries 100% safe with double password protection and military-grade 256-bit AES encryption.

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04
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Day One: Simple and Beautiful Design With All the Right Features

An image of the Day One app on various devices.

 Day One
What We Like

  • You can create multiple journals if you upgrade to a premium account for $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year.

  • There's a nifty dark mode for writing in lower light.

  • You can take advantage of IFTTT integration for creating automatic journal entries.

  • It's available for Android. Previously, it was only available for iOS devices.

What We Don't Like

  • It's inaccessible from a web browser.

  • There's a Mac app, but no options for PC users.

Similar to Journey, Day One features an interface that's clean, minimal and very pleasing to the eye. Despite its simple look, it packs all the features you'd want in a powerful journal app–including search, tags, maps, photos, and so much more.

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05
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Diary: Great Diary App for Quick, Short Journal or Diary Entries

A screenshot of the Diary app in a YouTube video.
What We Like

  • Fully customizable background colors, text, and fonts.

  • The ability to share diary/journal entries with friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms.

  • You can insert emojis directly into your entries.

What We Don't Like

  • Only available on Android and via the web. No iOS app.

  • Occasional pop-up ads with no premium version to upgrade to if you want to get rid of them.

If you're looking for an app that makes it as quick, easy, and effortless as possible to start and keep a diary or journal, Diary has you covered. It's a simple, yet powerful journal app that combines an easy-to-use interface with more advanced features like password protection, cloud storage, reminders and more.

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06
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Daylio: Capture Your Exeriences Without Having to Write Anything

Two screenshots of the Daylio app for Android.
What We Like

  • Ideal for people who want to journal without having to write anything.

  • A smart interface and beautiful icons.

  • If you do want to write more, you can always add notes to your entries.

What We Don't Like

  • No traditional diary/journal writing options for wordier entries.

Not so much into writing, but want to find a super quick and easy way to record the things you experience in a day? Daylio is a micro-diary app that lets you simply pick your mood state and activities so you can spend more time doing things and less time writing.

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07
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Grid Diary: Use Grid-Style Templates to Encourage Yourself to Write

An image of the Grid Diary app on a tablet and a smartphone.
What We Like

  • Inspirational questions and prompts to help give you ideas for what to journal about.

  • The freedom to pick what you want to write about and personalize journal entries with images, etc.

What We Don't Like

  • Only available on iOS. No access via the web or from an Android device.

  • Features like password protection and cloud storage syncing are only available to Pro users for either a $1.99 monthly subscription or a $4.99 one-time purchase.

Grid Diary puts a unique spin on journaling by displaying a series of different questions in a grid-style layout, essentially making it easier for you to keep a diary or journal. It has a built-in library of suggested prompts so you never get stuck with writer's block.

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