Best Journal Writing Apps in 2026

Joplin is an open source note-taking app. Capture your thoughts and securely access them from any device.

Platforms: Android, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Journal, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://joplinapp.org/

Also rated 4.3 ★ on the App Store

Chapters lets you manage multiple notebooks, each fully searchable and with its own settings. Keep a personal journal, a photo diary, notes about that project at work, and a travel journal in a single app.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac

Best for: Note-taking and Journal

Website: http://slidetorock.com/apps/Chapters-iPad-notebooks.html

Also rated 4.0 ★ on the App Store

From boardroom to lecture hall, project plan to daily diary, Nebo makes note-taking smarter, more efficient and more enjoyable.

Platforms: Android, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Journal, Poetry, and Blog

Website: https://www.nebo.app/

Also rated 4.3 ★ on the App Store

Traditional notes apps are great for writing, but getting things done requires something more. Clover’s Daily Notes introduce a new way of documenting thoughts, keeping track of tasks, and planning work within the context of your daily agenda.

Platforms: PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Journal, and Free

Website: https://cloverapp.com/

Also rated 4.6 ★ on the App Store

The Internet's best write-reward system! Write one hundred words, get an image of a kitten!

Platforms: Online

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Blog, and Free

Website: https://writtenkitten.co/

Create beautiful handwritten notes, sketch your ideas, record audio, and organize your notes like never before.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android

Best for: Note-taking, Journal, Book, Story, Essay, Poetry, and Blog

Website: https://www.noteshelf.net/

Also rated 4.4 ★ on the App Store

Elevate your writing, create beautiful documents, and collaborate with others—anywhere, anytime.

Platforms: Online, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Chrome, PC

Best for: Drafting, Essay, Journal, Book, Story, Poetry, and Blog

Website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/word

Also rated 4.0 ★ on TechRadar

Life Note is an AI journaling app that lets you reflect with history's greatest minds—Jung, Marcus Aurelius, Thich Nhat Hanh, and 1000+ others—each trained on their actual writings.

Platforms: Online, iPhone, Android

Best for: Journal

Website: https://www.mylifenote.ai

Also rated 5.0 ★ on Apple Store

Enjoy a distraction-free writing experience, including a full screen mode and a clean interface. With Markdown, you can write now, and format later.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, Poetry, Journal, Blog, Essay, and Free

Website: https://ghostwriter.kde.org/

FreeOffice 2021 is a complete Office suite with a word processor, a spreadsheet application and a presentation program – all seamlessly compatible with their counterparts in Microsoft Office.

Platforms: Mac, PC, Windows

Best for: Drafting, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.freeoffice.com/en/

Also rated 4.0 ★ on TechRadar

Don’t stop typing. If you do all your work will disappear and be gone forever. Danger Notes is the ultimate writing tool to help fight writer’s block. Whether you are writing a term paper, an essay, a book, your best-man speech, promising rap lyrics or just free writing, Danger Notes will help you fight writer’s block by forcing you to keep writing in order to save your progress from being deleted.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Book, Story, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Blog, and Free

Website: http://swivelapps.com/apps-by-david/dangernotes.html

Also rated 4.8 ★ on Capterra

You have a story to tell, article to publish, or class notes to take. Scrivo Pro can help you organize your writing, research, generate ideas, and remove distractions so you can focus on the most important thing: writing.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Journal, Book, Story, Essay, Poetry, and Blog

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scrivo-pro-for-scriveners-a...

Also rated 4.4 ★ on the App Store