1. Evernote
While Evernote is far from a dedicated journaling application, it contains many of the features you’ve come to expect from Day One. Rich text is fully supported, as are audio, images and even video. You can create multiple journals and edit them on a Mac and iOS application or use the web interface if you don’t have access to the apps. And since Evernote has been around for years and seems to be doing well, a sudden shutdown or change in monetization strategy seems unlikely. Plus, Evernote is hands-down the best note-taking application for the Mac.
Unfortunately, your notes are saved in an obfuscated format, so it’s hard to figure out what’s what without the application. That’s a major strike against longevity, but the application has ease of use on lock. Evernote apps can expand the app’s base functionality, too: pair it with Alternote to get a more minimal UI or with digi.me to pull updates and images from your social media accounts. The paid version is on a subscription, but unless you like media-heavy journal updates, the free version should cover your journaling needs.
2. Journey
If using a note-taking app for journaling feels odd, you can use Journey instead. It’s a dedicated journaling app and is the app most similar to Day One on this list. Like Day One, the stand-alone Mac application reminds you to make daily journal entries. The app syncs with Google drive, and you can use Journey.cloud for updating via browser. You can upload images and videos to your journal entries, and the location of each entry is tracked on a map. If you decide to stop using the application, you can bulk export your memories as .docx or .pdf files. You can even import from Day One and Day One Classic to keep continuity. There’s no iOS app, unfortunately. Journey costs $12.99 for the Mac application, or you can use the free Journey.cloud web application in any browser.
3. MacJournal
MacJournal is a slightly older journaling application built by long-time Mac developers Mariner Software. The user interface might look a little dated. Even so, it offers many of the same features as other journaling applications on this list. You’ll find multimedia support for audio, video and images alongside a robust rich text editor, and users can create as many journals as they want to categorize their entries. The app is built to be easy to use, so you can start journaling the second you open it, and it syncs with a MacJoural iOS app over Dropbox. The app is sold for a slightly-hefty $40.
4. Mémoires
Mémoires is billed as “the easiest way to keep a journal or diary on your Mac.” Its user interface is slightly more streamlined than some of our other options, but it still contains many of the same excellent features. Entries can be saved in multiple journals and include photos, rich text and hand-drawn doodles. If privacy is a concern, entries can be encrypted with AES-256 encryption. Everything is saved in rich text files in a non-obfuscated SQLite database for longevity. Even if the app shuts down, you’ll still have your entries in a fully-usable format. There’s a one-time fee of $30 for a single license or $50 for a “family pack” of five licenses. And if you want to add video to your entries, you can also pay a one-time $10 charge.
5. Reminisce
Reminisce is a lightweight journaling application for the Mac. It ties together what are essentially TextEdit files attached to calendar days. But for being fairly simple at its core, it contains a surprising list of features. It’s the only app on our list to support iCloud syncing to an iOS companion app, and the location for every entry is recorded in an attractive map. Entries can also be associated with contacts, user tags, emotions and ratings for sorting and searching. You’ll need to make a one-time $5 payment to unlock unlimited entries.
Conclusion
If you’re willing to give it a try, Evernote is an excellent daily companion. But if that rubs you the wrong way, Journey is flexible and inexpensive. It supports a variety of media and reminds you daily to make entries. However, the only thing holding it back is the lack of an iPhone app. If you need iPhone support, check out MacJournal or Reminisce.
