We make Dreamlock, so read this with that in mind. We've tried to write the roundup we'd want to read ourselves. Every competitor fact below comes from that app's own App Store listing or official website, checked on 27 September 2026, and we say plainly where another app is the better choice. Often it is.
Which is the best dream journal app for iPhone?
It depends on what you want the journal to do. Here is the short answer:
- Best all-rounder, and the best free option: Oniri. It records and transcribes your dream, tags it, interprets it, and has the deepest lucid-dreaming toolkit of the group. It has been around since 2015 (first as "Capture") and has 3,810 ratings on the US App Store.
- Most private: Dreams: Your dream journal, by The Lost Project. Its App Store privacy label reads "Data Not Collected," and its privacy policy says all data stays on your device unless you turn on your own iCloud sync. PRO is a $13.99 in-app purchase, and the listing carries no subscription terms.
- Best if you also use Android or a computer: Dream Journal Ultimate. It syncs across iOS, Android and the web, it's free, and its paid option is a $2.99 support subscription.
- Simplest and lightest: Dreamy, a tidy journal with mood and moon-phase stats. It needs iOS 26 or later, as Dreamlock does.
- Most interpretation-focused, in the most languages: DreamApp, in 30 languages. Its in-app purchases run from $3.99 a week up to $79.99, and it carries the only "Data Used to Track You" privacy label in the group.
- Free with no in-app purchases at all: DreamKeeper. One caveat: it hasn't been updated since 28 November 2023.
- Best for speaking your dream half-asleep and waking up to a painted, interpreted card: Dreamlock (ours). It's the newcomer: on the App Store since 15 September 2026.
The apps side by side
| App | Best for | Price (US App Store) | App Store privacy label | Last update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oniri | All-round journal, interpretation, lucid dreaming | Free; in-app purchases from $0.99 to $59.99 | Data Linked to You (incl. email for the developer's marketing) | 15 Sep 2026 |
| Dream Journal Ultimate | iPhone plus Android and web, community wall | Free; $2.99 support subscription | Data Not Linked to You | 26 Sep 2026 |
| Dreams: Your dream journal | Privacy; iPhone, iPad and Mac | Free; PRO Mode $13.99 | Data Not Collected | 10 Sep 2026 |
| Dreamy | A light, private-feeling journal with stats | Free; PRO $3.99/month or $14.99/year | Data Not Linked to You | 7 Mar 2026 |
| DreamApp | Interpretation in 30 languages | Free; in-app purchases from $3.99 (weekly) to $79.99 | Data Used to Track You | 12 Jul 2026 |
| DreamKeeper | Free and simple, no purchases | Free, no in-app purchases | Data Not Linked to You | 28 Nov 2023 |
| Dreamlock | Speaking a dream; painted, interpreted dream cards | Free (3 interpreted cards a week); Plus $4.99/month or $39.99/year | Data Not Linked to You (voice stays on the phone; dream text isn't stored on our servers) | 23 Sep 2026 (on the App Store since 15 Sep 2026) |
App Store privacy labels are the developer's own answers, and Apple doesn't verify them. They're still the best like-for-like view available, which is why we quote them rather than paraphrase.
Is there a free dream journal app for iPhone?
Yes. All seven are free to download, and several are usable for years without paying. DreamKeeper has no in-app purchases at all. Dream Journal Ultimate lets you enter as many dreams as you like for free. Oniri says on its site that the core journal stays free and Premium adds deeper interpretation and advanced lucid tools. Dreams offers "PRO Mode" and "Unlimited dreams" as $13.99 in-app purchases. Dreamlock's free tier keeps unlimited dreams, with three fully interpreted dream cards a week and ten questions, and no time limit.
Which dream journal app is most private?
Going by what the developers themselves declare, Dreams is the most private: "Data Not Collected," with everything stored locally and optional sync through your own iCloud. If your rule is "nothing I dream ever leaves this phone," pick Dreams. It's a better fit for that rule than Dreamlock.
Dreamlock is built privately, but it isn't offline. Your voice is recorded and transcribed on the phone and never leaves it. The app locks with Face ID, and there are no accounts. To write the interpretation, though, the dream's text is sent over an encrypted connection to our servers. It's processed just long enough to write the card and isn't stored there. It's never used for training or ads. Optional iCloud sync keeps an encrypted copy in your own iCloud. The details are in our privacy policy.
At the other end, DreamApp's label includes "Data Used to Track You." Oniri's label lists data linked to your identity, including your email address for the developer's own advertising or marketing. Neither is hidden: it's on the listing, and worth reading before you pour your nights into an app.
Which dream journal app lets you record your dream by voice?
Several now do, and it matters more than it sounds. Typing at 6am is where most dream journals die. Oniri records and transcribes, and its site describes a one-tap recording from the lock screen. Dream Journal Ultimate transcribes what you say and tidies it into a readable entry. Dreamy lets you attach voice notes to an entry. Dreamlock is built around the voice note: one tap, eyes closed, and by morning the mumble is a clean retelling with a title. Why that first minute matters is covered in how to remember your dreams.
Which dream app interprets your dreams?
Oniri, Dream Journal Ultimate and DreamApp all describe AI interpretation on their listings. Dream Journal Ultimate's Dream Companion and Oniri's follow-up questions go past a one-off reading. Dreams, Dreamy and DreamKeeper are journals, not interpreters: you write your own analysis.
Dreamlock interprets in three registers: what named traditions say (always attributed), what psychologists notice, and one question to sit with. It never predicts the future. Over time it builds a personal symbol index and answers questions about your own dreams, citing the dream cards it drew on. You can see the three-register approach on any symbol page, such as dreams about teeth falling out.
Which dream journal app is best for lucid dreaming?
Oniri, clearly. It has reality-check reminders, night cues and alarms, and guided tracks for WILD, MILD and SSILD. Dream Journal Ultimate comes second, with a Lucid Dreaming Academy and reality-check alarms, and Dreams has reality-check notifications and dream-sign tracking. Lucid training isn't what Dreamlock is built around. If that's your goal, start with Oniri and our lucid dreaming primer.
Is DreamKeeper still updated?
Its last App Store update, version 1.9.2, shipped on 28 November 2023, and the one before that was in October 2020. It still has a 4.8 rating from 556 reviews, it's free, and it has no in-app purchases. If it works on your phone and you like it, that's fine. Just keep its Dropbox backup switched on, because an app that isn't maintained may stop working after a future iOS update.
What about a paper notebook or Apple Notes?
Both are honest choices, and for some people the right ones. We've compared a dream app with a paper journal and Dreamlock with Apple Notes separately.
Head-to-head comparisons
- Dreamlock vs. Oniri
- Dreamlock vs. Dream Journal Ultimate
- Dreamlock vs. Dreams: Your dream journal
- Dreamlock vs. Dreamy
- Dreamlock vs. DreamApp
- Dreamlock vs. DreamKeeper
How we compared
Prices, in-app purchases, languages, privacy labels, iOS requirements and update dates come from each app's US App Store listing and Apple's iTunes lookup data, checked on 27 September 2026. Feature descriptions come from the listings and the developers' own websites. Prices vary by country and change, so check the listing before you buy. Dreamlock details come from our own product fact sheet. We left DreamKit out because its old App Store ID now belongs to a different app. Sources: Oniri, Dream Journal Ultimate, Dreams, Dreamy, DreamApp, DreamKeeper.