Traditionally, the end of the year is a time of reflection and gratitude.
It is a time to say thank you on Thanksgiving Day, a time to give and receive gifts, and a time to look at the year gone past and the year ahead.
However, why wait for the end of the year? Any time is a great time to develop gratitude, so take a moment to reflect on what you have. For example, perhaps you have family or friends who you love, a job that you enjoy. Do you have pleasant neighbors and good health?
If you struggle to remember your blessings, whether they are big or small, we will advise you about different gratitude apps to make things easier.
The apps are not listed in a particular order. Some are free, others are not; some were developed for Android, others for iOS.
Gratitude
- Number of followers/users: 16,631
- Average rating: 4.6
- Price: Free & paid versions
- System: Android & iOS
- Features/Content: Daily journal, vision board, affirmations, challenges, reminders
- What we like: There are lots of features, and the free version is generous.
First up is the aptly named Gratitude. This colorful app offers a large variety of features; for example, you can write journal entries for your gratitude journal, construct self-affirmations, receive daily quotes, and build a vision board that consists of images and goals.
You can set a daily reminder for your journal entries – a useful feature especially when you are beginning a journaling habit. If you struggle to get started, the app also provides a list of prompts as inspiration; for example, “someone who lives far away.”
One of the aspects that we like most about this app is that it has gratitude challenges, such as a 7-day gratitude challenge and a 14-day thanksgiving challenge. The daily affirmations are also very interesting. To start, you choose a few goals, rank them, and then choose the affirmations that you like. For example, if you choose the goal, “Making a difference,” then you can select a suitable daily affirmation.
Finally, all of your journal entries are private, so you don’t have to worry about someone else reading them.
The free version of the app is extremely generous and includes all of the features described so far. The paid version allows you to add more photos to your vision boards, export your data, save daily zen quotes, and search your journal entries. This app is available for iOS and Android.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
Presently: A Gratitude Journal
- Number of followers/users: 21,162
- Average rating: 4.9
- Price: Free
- System: Android
- Features/Content: Gratitude journal
- What we like: Completely free with no advertisements; easy to use
Presently offers a more simplified version of a gratitude journal. Each day you are prompted to write about what you are grateful for. With the calendar option, you can view your gratitude entries for every day.
This is a very scaled-back, bare-bones version of the gratitude journal, especially when compared to the previous app, but this will appeal to users who want a no-frills, easy-to-use approach. Your entries can easily be shared with friends and family, and the app is password controlled. The best part: the app is free, and there are no advertisements.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
Delightful – Gratitude Journal & 3 Good Things
- Number of followers/users: 1,069
- Average rating: 4.6
- Price: Free
- System: Android & iOS
- Features/Content: Three prompts, daily reminder, calendar
- What we like: Nice choice of journal prompts
Similar to Presently, the Delightful app is also a no-frills approach to gratitude journaling. Upon opening the app, you’re presented with an inspirational quote and the option to write a gratitude entry.
All of your journal entries will be listed on the home screen, but you can also view these by clicking on the calendar option. When writing a journal entry, you’ll see three journal prompts that you can choose from, such as “What’s on your mind right now?” “Share about a friend,” and “What strengths are you grateful to have?”
You can write an entry for all of the prompts or only one. Finally, if you want, you can also share your entries by clicking the share option.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
Reflect Journal & AI Diary
- Number of followers/users: 69,000
- Average rating: 4.6
- Price: Free; paid subscription
- System: Android & iOS
- Features/Content: Quotes, mood tracker, AI-driven questions, journaling
- What we like: Lots of features
In Reflect, you are asked to rate your mood and write journal entries each morning. Then, using artificial intelligence, Reflectly analyzes your journal entries to develop journaling prompts personalized for you.
All of your journal entries are saved, so you can browse through them again at a later stage. It’s not clear what type of analysis is done on the journal entries – for example, looking at word choice, the emotional valence of words, or a more complicated algorithm – but the idea of personalized journaling prompts is an interesting one.
The mood tracker is also a nice feature and could easily be used to gain other insights about your stress levels or menstrual cycle.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
Grateful: A Gratitude Journal
- Number of followers/users: 2,500
- Average rating: 4.7
- Price: Free; paid subscription
- System: iOS
- Features/Content: Private journal, customizable prompts
- What we like: Customizable prompts
This app is included because of the option to create personalized journal prompts, a feature missing from the other apps so far. Grateful is streamlined and straightforward to use, and your journal entries are private and saved in case you want to read them again.
Of the apps listed in this post, the free version of this app has the least versatility, because you’re limited to only 15 journal entries. You can delete your previous posts so that you don’t reach the limit in the free version, or you can opt for the paid version of the app to create an unlimited number of posts. Being able to make your prompts is nice enough to warrant this app a mention.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
365 Gratitude Journal – Self-Care App
- Number of followers/users: 6,541
- Average rating: 4.5
- Price: Free; paid subscription
- System: Android & iOS
- Features/Content: Mood tracker, daily prompts, sharing with friends, gamification
- What we like: Mood tracker, daily prompts
This app is filled to the brim with features. For example, you’re given inspirational stories to read each day, it includes meditations that you can follow, it tracks your mood, and you can write journal entries that you can then share with your contacts. For these reasons, it is a great app for someone who wants everything in one place and who likes social media.
However, be aware that some reviews were quite negative, and you need to provide your payment details before you can use the free version of the app. Read the fine print carefully if you do not want to be billed unnecessarily.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
Keep an Eye on These New Gratitude Apps
The next set of apps has too few followers to make them recommendable; however, they look promising and worthwhile. A short description of each and why they’re worth looking at follows.
Gratitude Garden
- Number of followers/users: 327
- Average rating: 4.3
- Price: In-app purchases
- System: Android
- Features/Content: Gamification
This app uses gamification techniques to motivate users. Besides gratitude journaling, the app encourages users to build a gratitude garden populated with plants and little creatures. When journaling, you’re prompted to write about three things for which you’re grateful. This will earn you a card and points, which you can use to purchase ‘creatures.’
This is a unique take on gratitude journaling and will appeal to users who like to earn points and high scores and benefit from a reminder of their progress.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
Long walks – Journal Together
- Number of followers/users: 301
- Average rating: 4.8
- Price: Free
- System: Android
- Features/Content: Social connections, journaling
Unlike the other apps so far, Long walks encourage social connections by allowing users to share their journal entries and thoughts with other users. Besides the social connectedness, the app also offers different daily meditation and gratitude questions that are meant to encourage reflection and conversations.
The app is probably best suited for couples, friends, or family members who are experiencing the journaling adventure together.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
Three Good Things
- Number of followers/users: 116
- Average rating: 4.4
- Price: In-app purchases
- System: Android
- Features/Content: Journaling, reminders
This app goes back to the basics; every day, users are prompted to journal about three good things that happened. There are no frills. This is a simple, straightforward journaling app. You can save your entries, export them as pdfs, and share them on social media.
Although it has fewer features than the other apps listed so far, this app is best for someone who only wants to journal.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
Morning! A 5-Minute Journal
- Number of followers/users: 68
- Average rating: 4.8
- Price: Free & paid versions
- System: iOS
- Features/Content: Customizable daily prompts, daily quotes, mood tracking
This beautiful app includes prompts for both day and night journaling. You can select the questions that you want to answer in the morning and then choose a different set for the evening.
Your prompts are not limited to journaling only but can include affirmations. For example, perhaps you want to be prompted with a daily affirmation in the morning (e.g., “I am resilient”) and then a reflection prompt in the evening (e.g., “Name a good thing that happened today”). You can also track your mood and view the trends over time. There is a free and premium version of the app.
- Find the app in the Apple App Store.
Happyfeed – Gratitude Journal & Daily Happiness
- Number of followers/users: 221
- Average rating: 4.5
- Price: Free
- System: Android
- Features/Content: App and online versions, ability to share your posts
Happy feet are included in this list because it syncs across multiple devices, and there is a web version of this app. Besides writing journal entries, you can also share these with a select group of people, known as a ‘pod.’
It is nice to be able to share your posts with other people of your choice, especially as a way to express gratitude toward them. All of your journal entries are saved and can be reviewed at any stage. The app is free.
- Find the app in the Google Play Store.
PositivePsychology.com’s Gratitude Resources
PositivePsychology.com provides a variety of resources, including resources to develop gratitude. Many of these tools can be used alone or can be paired with apps that have customizable prompts.
This pack features three of our top tools from the Positive Psychology Toolkit©, all of which center on the theme of gratitude:
- The Top 5 Values
This exercise draws on key principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients begin brainstorming their values. Following this, clients will then prioritize these values in a list to identify those most central to who they are. - Self-Eulogy
This exercise invites clients to consider how they’d like to be remembered at their funeral as a means to identify and clarify values. Based on this, they can then consider how well they are living in alignment with these values. - The Scoreboard Metaphor
This exercise helps clients recognize how to enact their values through goal-setting. In particular, it draws on the metaphor of a basketball game to illustrate how living into one’s values is an ongoing process and that the paths by which we pursue our goals are opportunities to enact our values in daily life.
You can access all three exercises for free by downloading our Gratitude Exercises Pack.
If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others cultivate gratitude, this signature collection contains 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.
A Take-Home Message
In this post, we reviewed numerous Android and iOS apps that are currently available. The golden thread that connects these apps is their focus on developing gratitude.
Most of these apps have a free version, and the majority also include in-app purchases or a premium version. If you can’t find an app that suits your needs, then you can use the PositivePsychology.com resources to make an ‘old fashioned,’ pen-and-paper version of a gratitude journal, which will be just as effective.
Whatever form your gratitude journal takes, remember that it is only as good as the amount of effort you put in. In other words, if you don’t use it regularly, it won’t be able to help you develop gratitude. If you have any tips that you use to develop gratitude or other apps that you recommend, then please tell us all about them in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you!
