Your Pocket Guide to the Best Mood Tracking Apps
Ever have one of those days where a gray cloud just seems to follow you around, but you can’t quite figure out why? We’ve all been there. Before, you might have scribbled a frustrated note in a dusty diary (if you even remembered to), or just tried to shake off the feeling. But those little mysteries—was it the lack of sleep, the stressful meeting, or that extra espresso?—remained unsolved puzzles.
This is where a mood tracking app transforms from a simple gadget into a personal detective. It gives you a private, simple space to connect the dots between how you feel and what you do. By noticing these patterns, you start to understand your own unique emotional weather. Suddenly, you're not just reacting to your moods; you're learning from them, building resilience, and finding more ways to welcome in the sunshine. It’s a powerful way to get to know the most important person in your life: you.
Best for Quick & Easy Daily Check-ins
These apps are your best friend when you want to log your feelings in seconds, without the pressure of writing a novel about your day.
Daylio Journal
- Overview: A brilliantly versatile app that lets you track your mood and activities with a tap of an icon—no writing required unless you want to.
- Stats: 4.7 ⭐ | 10M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Icon-based entries, customizable moods and activities, detailed statistics and charts, goal setting, photo entries, PDF export.
- Pros: Incredibly fast and easy to use, highly customizable, great visual data representation, strong privacy features.
- Cons: The free version has limitations on goals and color palettes; lacks deep therapeutic guidance.
- Pricing: Free with a Premium subscription for advanced features (~$2.99/month).
DailyBean
- Overview: A charmingly simple journaling app where you record your day by tapping cute little beans that represent your moods and activities.
- Stats: 4.8 ⭐ | 5M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Bean icons for mood levels, activity logging, simple calendar view, weekly/monthly analytics.
- Pros: Adorable and engaging interface, very low effort to maintain, provides a clear and simple overview of your month.
- Cons: Less customizable than Daylio; may be too simple for users wanting in-depth analysis.
- Pricing: Free with a Premium subscription to remove ads and unlock more icons.
How We Feel
- Overview: Developed with scientists from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, this app is like a coach for your feelings, helping you find the right words for your emotions.
- Stats: 4.9 ⭐ | 100K+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Check-ins based on the Mood Meter theory, video lessons on emotional intelligence, tracks sleep, exercise, and health data.
- Pros: Completely free non-profit app, science-backed approach, helps build a richer emotional vocabulary.
- Cons: Fewer customization options compared to other trackers.
- Pricing: 100% Free.
Best for Integrated Meditation & Mindfulness
For those who see mood tracking and mindfulness as two sides of the same coin, these apps beautifully blend self-reflection with guided practice.
Calm
- Overview: Famous for its soothing meditations and sleep stories, Calm also includes a lovely mood check-in feature to weave mindfulness into your daily reflection.
- Stats: 4.8 ⭐ | 100M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Daily mood check-ins, vast library of guided meditations, sleep stories, breathing exercises, mindfulness content.
- Pros: High-quality content with celebrity narrators, comprehensive wellness toolkit, beautiful interface.
- Cons: Mood tracking is a secondary feature, not as detailed as dedicated apps; expensive subscription.
- Pricing: Limited free content; subscription required for full library (~$69.99/year).
Headspace
- Overview: Your friendly guide to meditation, Headspace makes mindfulness feel accessible and fun, with mood tracking integrated to help you see your progress.
- Stats: 4.8 ⭐ | 10M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Guided meditations, mindfulness exercises, mood tracking, focus and sleep-enhancing music and soundscapes.
- Pros: Excellent for beginners to meditation, well-structured programs, clean and playful design.
- Cons: Most content is locked behind a subscription; mood tracking is basic.
- Pricing: Limited free content; subscription required for full access (~$69.99/year).
Insight Timer
- Overview: Imagine a massive, free library for your soul. Insight Timer offers an incredible collection of meditations and talks, with a simple journal to capture your mood along the way.
- Stats: 4.9 ⭐ | 5M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: The largest free library of guided meditations, customizable timer, journaling with mood check-ins, community features.
- Pros: Unbeatable amount of free content, strong community aspect, highly rated by users.
- Cons: Can be overwhelming due to the sheer volume of content; mood tracking is not the primary focus.
- Pricing: Free with an optional Member Plus subscription for offline listening and courses (~$59.99/year).
Best for AI Chatbot & Guided Support
If you're looking for a supportive ear that’s available 24/7, these AI-powered apps offer a conversational and interactive way to explore your feelings.
Wysa
- Overview: Chat with a cute, anonymous penguin who serves as your AI emotional support companion, ready to listen and guide you through evidence-based exercises.
- Stats: 4.7 ⭐ | 5M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Anonymous AI chat, guided mindfulness exercises, evidence-based self-help tools, option to connect with a human therapist.
- Pros: Friendly and empathetic AI, available 24/7 for support, combines chat with practical exercises.
- Cons: The AI cannot replace human therapy for serious issues; therapist coaching is a separate cost.
- Pricing: Free AI chatbot; premium subscription for more content and access to human coaches.
Youper
- Overview: Youper is an AI assistant that feels like a wise, compassionate friend, using techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you understand your thoughts and feelings.
- Stats: 4.9 ⭐ | 1M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Conversational mood tracking, AI-led CBT exercises, personality tests, symptom monitoring.
- Pros: Very high user ratings, personalized conversations that adapt to you, science-backed approach.
- Cons: Subscription is required for most features after the trial period.
- Pricing: Free trial with a premium subscription for full access.
Woebot
- Overview: Created by clinical psychologists from Stanford, Woebot is an AI chatbot that checks in with you daily, using CBT to help you reframe negative thoughts in a lighthearted way.
- Stats: 4.8 ⭐ | 1M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Daily chat-based check-ins, guided CBT techniques, mood tracking, psychoeducation.
- Pros: Grounded in clinical research, friendly and non-judgmental interface, provides practical skills.
- Cons: Conversations can sometimes feel repetitive or formulaic.
- Pricing: Free to use.
Best for CBT & Thought Journaling
For those ready to roll up their sleeves and work with their thoughts, these apps provide structured exercises based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Sanvello
- Overview: An all-in-one toolkit for mental wellness, Sanvello offers everything from a mood tracker and guided journeys to a peer support community and even professional therapy.
- Stats: 4.8 ⭐ | 3.5M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Mood and health tracking, guided journeys based on CBT, coping tools, peer support community, integrated therapy and coaching.
- Pros: All-in-one platform for self-care and professional help, may be covered by insurance, strong community.
- Cons: Therapy and coaching services can be expensive if not covered by insurance.
- Pricing: Free version with self-care tools; premium subscriptions for full content and therapy services.
CBT Thought Diary
- Overview: This app is your personal guide to becoming a thought detective. It helps you capture, analyze, and reframe negative thoughts using proven CBT methods.
- Stats: 4.8 ⭐ | 1M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Guided thought record journaling, identification of cognitive distortions, mood check-ins, educational resources on CBT.
- Pros: Excellent for learning and applying CBT principles, structured and educational, clean interface.
- Cons: More of a tool than a passive tracker; requires active engagement and thought.
- Pricing: Free with an optional Pro subscription for more features.
MindDoc (formerly Moodpath)
- Overview: MindDoc acts like a thoughtful interviewer, asking you questions about your day to create a detailed emotional log and generate insightful reports on your mental health.
- Stats: 4.7 ⭐ | 1M+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Asks questions to assess your mental state, generates bi-weekly mental health reports, provides educational courses.
- Pros: Can serve as a screener for mental health conditions, generates useful reports for therapists, combines tracking with learning.
- Cons: The constant questions can feel tedious for some users.
- Pricing: Free version for tracking; premium subscription for courses and deeper insights.
Best for Comprehensive Symptom Tracking
When your well-being is a complex puzzle of moods, physical symptoms, medications, and habits, these powerful apps help you see the whole picture.
Bearable
- Overview: The ultimate data nerd's dream for health tracking. Bearable lets you customize and track literally everything—mood, pain, sleep, energy, medication—to find powerful correlations.
- Stats: 4.7 ⭐ | 500K+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Highly customizable tracking categories (mood, symptoms, habits, medication, etc.), advanced correlation analysis, detailed reports.
- Pros: Incredibly powerful for finding connections between lifestyle and well-being, great for managing chronic illness, active developer and community.
- Cons: Can be overwhelming to set up and use due to its extensive features.
- Pricing: Free version with a Premium subscription for unlimited reports and advanced features.
eMoods
- Overview: A focused and effective tool designed specifically for people with bipolar disorder, helping to track daily highs and lows, symptoms, and medication in a clear, straightforward way.
- Stats: 4.6 ⭐ | 100K+ Downloads | iOS & Android
- Key Features: Tracks daily highs and lows, irritability, anxiety, sleep, and medication; generates printable PDF reports for doctors.
- Pros: Tailored for specific needs (bipolar, depression, anxiety), focuses on clinically relevant data, simple and effective.
- Cons: Interface is more functional than beautiful; may be too specific for general mood tracking.
- Pricing: Free with a paid version for enhanced features.
The journey to understanding yourself doesn't require a giant leap—it starts with a single, small step. Picking an app from this list is an incredible act of self-care. Don't worry about finding the "perfect" one right away. Just choose one that sparks your curiosity, give it a try for a week, and see how it feels. The most powerful insights often come from the simple habit of checking in.