Penzu

• Free to download
• In-app purchases

Last verified 5 Aug 2026

4.2 2526 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5Only journaling app I’ve used

   This is the only journaling app I’ve used, and I haven’t had any issues. I use it on my iPhone and PC. I started this digital journal about 6 years ago and haven’t needed anything more than what it offers. I like the different covers, font options, and ease of use. I used to write in journals but I wasn’t consistent, and I’m a lot more consistent with the app. I realized I don’t have to go into a lot of detail or talk through everything. It’s nice to go back and read simple lists of what I did in a day, or read something funny that someone said and I wrote it down. I’ve used it both for therapy and as a simple record of events, and I can’t think of anything I need that this app doesn’t already have. I do believe I bought a lifetime access in 2018 because I don’t have any ongoing fees. I’ve never needed to call support or had a complaint. It’s been good.

   Reddfoxx79 · 5 Aug 2026

2. 5/5If you want the best journal in app history this is your gem

   I have to explain this in order to share how come I have given this app a five star rating. I’ve had a lot of trouble with missing phones, a few bad phone service providers a few good ones and downloading the data between all of the different devices and community of service providers. Now, after stating this, I can ensure why I give this app such a good review. This app has been one of the easiest apps to get my data from across all devices. It has been very easy to use . While I was in college when we were using state funded or government funded programs getting the best service Penzu was still my best asset when I wanted to do personal journaling. Not that I took advantage of the service yes I provided by my university I just wanted to elaborate on the clscope of duality. On the app they have passed the test in providing everything that you would possibly need and they didn’t leave anything out, at least not to my understanding. If you want to save what you have journal all you have to do is hit the back button. That’s very simple that could confuse some users as it did with me initially. Aside from that it’s very straightforward and I would suggest this to anyone of any age who has a desire to journal with a spirit of personal growth . thanks Penzo Keep up the great work sincerely Fant

   Montreal Cohen · 5 Aug 2026

3. 3/5Great journal app with a few issues

   So Penzu has been my go-to journal application for almost half a year now. I have used journals and electronic journals before, but this is my first one that is online. The syncing works moderately consistently, but there are times where the program takes a while to save after copying in a sentence or two. Also, the app crashes when pressing the add photo button- probably just a version bug, but still. I don't want to have to put my photos on my computer just to put them into my journal. Plus, Penzu does not really seem optimized for photos at all. You cannot edit them, or move them easily. They go in a line, and do not have a function to wrap text. Penzu, get on that. I want to be able to use photos more. Also, please let gifs move. Thank you. You can use Penzu for free, and almost all of the functionality is there. You can get reminders even with free. In Pro though, these reminders can be set to custom times and you can change the cover of the journal to be anything you want, not limited by the few free choices that they have.

   Wyvert · 5 Aug 2026

4. 1/5Awful experience!

   I downloaded Penzu and started by using the free version; I was needing to find a nice solid personal journal app for medical reasons. It was so pretty and easy to use, loving all the great features of the free version. So I'd decided it was the perfect app for my needs and had decided to begin a subscription--but before I took the time to do so, something happened when I was using it and EVERYTHING was erased. All my hard work! It happened when I was in a rush to close the app and a pop-up box appeared. I obviously misread it and, with one tap, erased my entire journal. I ran and checked the app on my Mac, and I checked via the browser version--but everything had already synced to total deletion, total nothing. Obviously I should have been paying more attention to this random, single pop-up box, but how can a journaling app allow for everything disappear so easily? I contacted Support and it took almost two weeks for them to respond (it was over the holidays)--only to have them tell me that there was no journal in my account, or rather, that I had not created a journal. Morals of the story: find a journaling app that doesn't let complete deletion happen so easily (!!!) and back it up (paid version only with Penzu), and don't expect Penzu's customer service to treat you like a human being under the age of 100 who knows how to use technology.

   meaganalyssa · 5 Aug 2026

5. 1/5Horrible

   First of all, you aren't even allowed to log in or use the app unless you pay for Penzu's premium service. I actually do pay for premium service, so I downloaded the app and have tried to use it on several occasions. The issue is that - regardless of the fact that I am connected to Wifi AND have a healthy number of 4G data bars - the app doesn't save my entries as I type. This has happened on more than one occasion. Just now, I was trying to type a fairly long entry. I was almost done when my husband came in the room to ask a question. I put my phone to sleep (without exiting the app) so I could give him my full attention. When our conversation was over and I woke my phone up to continue typing, I saw that more than half of what I'd typed was no longer there. I nearly cried! I don't see the point of an app that 1) probably less than half of your customers can even use, due to the premium restriction, and 2) that doesn't save things in a timely manner. I'll stick with Google Docs from now on when I want to type something because I know it saves everything each second that I'm connected to the web.

   CplusK · 5 Aug 2026

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