Reflectly is packed with features yet never excels at any of them, while 5 Minute Journal’s restrictive format makes it too inflexible for everyday usage. We love the effortlessly beautiful design of Apple’s Journal app – and for many people it will be perfect – but if you want to not just write but to understand your thoughts, it won’t be much help. Day One is packed with useful tools, meanwhile, but we lament its lack of insight and analysis. And while its simple design is fine, it could do with a spruce up.
That leaves us with Stoic and Daylio. We applaud Stoic for its well-rounded approach, where it bundles in a whole heap of extras that complement your journalling perfectly. If you want to get your mind in the right place, it really is a great option.
But it can’t overcome Daylio, which is one of the few apps that actually helps you understand your data. Not only does it let you express your thoughts, but it then takes that info and shows exactly how it might affect your mood. It’s brilliant and deeply insightful.