Best gratitude journal apps (2026)

Joel Dean, Founder of Joyful
Last updated October 30, 2026 · Facts checked October 30, 2026

Quick picks

• Three Good Things Journal: one minute a night, and no account.
• Delightful: free, and its label says it collects no data.
• Good Things: free, with a way to share a good day.
• The Five Minute Journal: a set morning and evening routine.
• Gratitude: Self-Care Journal: gratitude with affirmations and voice notes.
• Gratitude Plus: gratitude kept with a partner or family.
• Apple Journal: you already journal on an iPhone.
• Joyful: you'd rather say it out loud. Joyful is ours.

How we chose

The table

Every price is as the US App Store showed it on October 30, 2026, linked under Sources. Joyful is ours. Prices change, so check before you pay.

All seven apps besides Joyful had 4.8 or 4.9 stars that day, so stars won't help you choose.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7}

Three Good Things Journal

This is the one for people who have never kept a journal and don't plan to start. Its listing calls it "the gratitude journal for people who don't journal," and puts the practice at about a minute: three good things, then done.¹ No account, no ads, and a privacy label that lists only data not linked to you.¹

Check your phone first. It needs iOS 26 or later.¹ Premium was a single $4.99 item on its list, and the listing doesn't say what it adds.¹

Delightful

Free, with no in-app purchases, and a privacy label that reads "Data Not Collected."² No other dedicated gratitude app here makes both promises.

It syncs through your own iCloud, takes photos, and comes with 150 prompts in 6 categories, one of them on challenges and resilience.²

The catch is size. It's Apple only, from one developer, with 755 ratings, and its last update was April 8, 2026, so don't expect the pace of a big company's app.²

Good Things

Good Things is a free take on the same three-good-things exercise, with a night mode for writing in the evening and a way to share your good things with other people.³ Nothing on its privacy label is linked to you, either.³

"Free" needs an asterisk. The price list shows options from $0.99 a month to $29.99 a year, and the listing doesn't say what they add.³ It's also easy to confuse with Three Good Things Journal above.

The Five Minute Journal

Two short entries a day in a fixed format: the app copies the guided morning and evening flow of the paper Five Minute Journal.⁴ It had 4.8 stars from 17,612 ratings.⁴

Three things gave us pause. Identifiers appear on its App Store label as data that may be used to track you.⁴ The price list is a puzzle, with annual options at $19.99, $24.99 and $39.99, some marked for existing users.⁴ And its listing says gratitude "improves health" without naming a study.⁴

Gratitude: Self-Care Journal

The most-rated dedicated gratitude app here: 4.9 stars from 44,977 ratings.⁵ You can add photos, record entries in your own voice and pick from hundreds of prompts, with affirmations and a vision board in the same app; its privacy label lists only data not linked to you.⁵

If you only want a list of three things, all that may get in the way. Pro runs from $4.99 a month to $39.99 on its list.⁵

Gratitude Plus

Gratitude Plus is built for sharing. Next to a private journal, mood tracking and insights, you get "Gratitude Circles" with people you choose.⁶ Premium is $10.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and its list also shows an $89.99 family plan.⁶

There's also a public feed of other people's gratitude.⁶ Some people will like that. Some won't. And like The Five Minute Journal, it reports identifiers on its App Store label as data that may be used to track you.⁶

Apple Journal

If you already write in Apple Journal, you may not need a separate app. It's free, and its reflection prompts "focus on gratitude, kindness, purpose, and more."⁷ Apple says entries are end-to-end encrypted in iCloud.⁸

It's a general journal, though, so there's no three-a-day format and no gratitude streak. Apple devices only.

Joyful (ours)

We built Joyful, so read this with that in mind. Gratitude is one of its four guided entries, beside Thought Record, Set Intentions and Celebrate Wins, and you can say it out loud to Joy, who remembers earlier calls. After each entry there's a summary of its emotions and themes, and a weekly summary on top.

Against these apps it's expensive. You get 10 free entries, then a 7-day trial at $13.99 a month or $118.99 a year,⁹ while two of the dedicated gratitude apps here are free. If all you want is a gratitude list, pick one of those.

Privacy compared

Joyful's own row is the longest in the right-hand column. Each row is the developer's own label on the US App Store, read October 30, 2026,^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9} and every listing carries Apple's note that the label "has not been verified by Apple." We did not audit them.

How often to write

More often isn't always better. One six-week study found that counting blessings once a week made students happier than a comparison group, and three times a week didn't;¹⁰ the classic 2003 study used weekly lists too.¹¹ If a daily streak starts to feel like a chore, weekly is a tested pace. The reasoning, and prompts, are in our gratitude journal guide.

Two more findings bear on which app you pick. The three-good-things format that several of these apps are built around comes from a 2005 online study, where it was one of three exercises that lastingly raised happiness and lowered depressive symptoms.¹² And the effects are small: in one review, a small edge over neutral activities and none over other reflective exercises,¹³ and a small effect on depression and anxiety in another, of 27 studies.¹⁴

Which one is best for you

• You've never kept a journal: Three Good Things Journal.
• You want free with nothing collected: Delightful.
• You want a routine for both ends of the day: The Five Minute Journal.
• You want affirmations too: Gratitude: Self-Care Journal.
• You want to share it with family: Gratitude Plus.
• You already use Apple Journal: use its gratitude prompts.
• You'd rather say it than type it: Joyful (ours).
• You'd rather use paper: our gratitude journal guide has prompts and a free printable.

Questions people ask

Is there a gratitude journal app with no subscription?

Delightful charges for nothing at all.² Apple Journal is free as well, though gratitude is only one of its prompt themes.⁷ Most of the others are free to start, with paid options layered on top.

What should I write in a gratitude journal?

Something specific enough to see. "My sister called when she said she would" will mean more on a reread than "family." The gratitude journal guide has prompts if the page is blank.

Is the Gratitude Plus app worth it?

For sharing with a partner or family, yes; Gratitude Circles exist for that.⁶ For a private list, a free app does the same job without the $39.99 a year.⁶

Does gratitude journaling work?

A little, on average, and not as a treatment. The effect on depression and anxiety in the 27-study review was small.¹⁴ It is cheap and quick, which is the best case for trying it.