The Best Journaling Apps to Use Instead of Your Phone’s Built-in App
Since you already carry your phone with you everywhere, like a digital appendage, you can use it for journaling. It’s always at hand, can take photos, videos, and voice notes, as well as text, and can record locations, trips, and more. Its new AI features can even automatically create drafts for you.
What’s more, your phone likely now comes pre-installed with a Journal app: Apple’s Journal app was released in 2023, and Google’s all-new Journal app, originally exclusive to the Pixel 10, is now available on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 (obviously, because those phones also feature the Gemini Nano ). Additionally, a wide selection of third-party apps are available in the Android and iOS app stores.
Over the past few days, trying to figure out if keeping a journal on my phone is right for me, I’ve tried solutions from Apple and Google, as well as several top-tier third-party alternatives. Here’s what I found and which apps I’d recommend if you want to record your thoughts and feelings on your phone.
Built-in options
Magazine from Apple
Let’s start with Apple’s Journal app , released in December 2023. To be fair, the app hasn’t seen many updates since then, but all the core features are still there: journal entries can combine text, photos, video, audio, locations, and sketches, and you can even create multiple journals for different purposes.
I love how this app offers journaling suggestions, especially for recent places and photos—it makes it easier to start or return to journaling later. There are also lots of options for what to attach to your journal entries, and I often use the mood slider.
Google Magazine
As for the Journal app, recently released by Google for Android, it’s only available to owners of the Pixel 8, Pixel 9, and Pixel 10 series smartphones. It’s also quite barebones: I was able to record text, photos, videos, and locations, as well as physical activity data collected through Health Connect, but there’s nothing for audio recordings or mood.
Furthermore, the interface is quite basic—much more spartan than Apple’s. While there’s an overview of all your posts, it’s not particularly inspiring, and you can’t set up multiple journals. Furthermore, AI-powered suggestions for topics to write about are only available on the Pixel 10, so you’ll have to forgo them on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9.
None of these apps are bad; each one is up to the task of recording your thoughts digitally, offering a number of useful additional features. The main advantage is good integration with operating systems and no need to register new accounts. Apple’s journaling app is currently certainly better than Google’s, even though it was released two years earlier.
If you need something quick and easy, developed by your phone’s manufacturer (and possibly pre-installed), these are fine. However, these two journal apps are fairly basic compared to other options and also limit you to Android or iOS. So, if you’re serious about journaling, I think you should consider installing a third-party app.
The Best Third-Party Journaling Apps
Day one
Outside of Google and Apple, Day One ( for Android and iOS ) has long been one of the best journaling apps, and you can take it with you if you decide to switch between Apple and Google platforms. It’s been around since 2011 and has a wealth of features, including multiple viewing modes, prompts, tags, summaries, replays, and a stunning design that looks great on any device.
Your entries can include all the standard features, plus weather information, playlists, health data, social media posts, and much more. Much of this is available for free, but there’s also a premium plan for $50 per year. It offers support for unlimited images, videos, and audio, as well as additional features like the ability to create journal entries via email.
5-minute journal
If you’re just starting out in the world of journaling, the 5 Minute Journal app ( for Android and iOS ) will immediately catch your attention. The idea is that you don’t need to spend a lot of time recording your thoughts and ideas daily. The app aims to help you record positive moments in your life, increasing mindfulness and well-being.
I love the writing prompts and journaling reminders this app offers for motivation, as well as the simple way to track my mood. Furthermore, it’s beautifully designed and structured—a completely different aesthetic experience than more utilitarian solutions like Google Journal. However, some features (including unlimited photos and videos) require a premium subscription, which starts at $5 per month.
Rosebud Magazine
Another recommendation from my personal experience: Rosebud ( for Android and iOS ). It’s advertised as “AI-powered,” but fortunately, you don’t have to worry about that: the app does a great job of summarizing and tracking your thoughts, and even encourages you to take notes right then and there.
The app provides frequent help and guidance, but it’s ideal if you’re just starting out or struggling with daily journaling. You can also simply write standard journal entries with text and images if you prefer. As you might have guessed from the other options on my list, there’s a $13/month pro subscription that provides much more insight into past entries, trends, emotional patterns, and triggers, if you’re interested in how AI is describing your life.
The best journaling app is the one you use.
One of the benefits of such a wide variety of journaling apps is that there’s something for everyone. So there’s no harm in trying out Google and Apple’s offerings first—after all, they’re completely free. But when it comes to journaling apps that truly invest in user design and features, there are far better options. Now all that’s left is to choose the one I’ll settle on, because ultimately, the best journaling app is the one you use consistently.