The 6 Best Bullet Journal Apps for Effortless Bullet Journaling

You can use any note-taking app to create a digital bullet journal. But you have much less work to do if you start with an app with the right ingredients for keeping a bullet journal.

Not sure where to find such bullet journal apps? Start with the best ones that make rapid logging painless, have ready-made icons for different legends, and offer you a quick way to search through your journal entries.

1. Trello

Trello’s cross-platform availability and its automation capabilities are a big plus if you want to set up an electronic bullet journal. You can automate Trello to create boards (for modules) and cards (for dates) on a schedule. You don’t need the Index module and page numbers, because the powerful search functions in Trello make it easy to quickly find what you need.

Want a bird’s-eye view of your tasks for the month? You can get one if you assign due dates to cards and then switch to the monthly view of the Calendar PowerUp, speeding up your workflow. Color-coded labels can work as bullets and signifiers to add context to your journal entries.

Does this switch from paper to Trello sound complex? Don’t worry! Once you get the hang of Trello, you’ll see how it allows you to bring every aspect of your paper journal to it. Trello also gives you a sample monthly log board that you can clone and add to your account.

You can also make use of the quick but elaborate bullet journaling templates from Trello. You’ll find the templates menu at the top of the Trello home screen. Access the templates menu and go into the personal section to explore ready-to-use online bullet journals.

However, Trello is not the only popular note-taking app that can take your journal from analog to digital. There are plenty of great Mac apps to capture your thoughts through journaling that you can use.

Download: Trello for Windows | macOS | Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

2. NotePlan 3: Markdown Planner

NotePlan 3 is the ideal bullet journal for computers, smartphones, and tablets from Apple. If you’re looking for a premium bullet journaling app that you can bring along anywhere, you can try it out on your Apple devices.

NotePlan 3 comes with a calendar, Markdown notes, and to-do lists. The Calendar view lets you see the big picture, like the Monthly Log in your paper journal does.

When you want to zoom in on your entries for a particular day, switch to the Notes view. Here, you can use a mix of tasks, lists, reminders, events, and general notes to plan your days and reflect on them.

Thanks to color-coded to-dos, @tags and #tags, linked notes, and linked dates, it’s easy to jump to the right entries in your journal anytime. You’ve got Dropbox and iCloud sync, too, so you can keep your bullet journal ready to go on all your Apple devices.

You can also turn the NotePlan 3 app into your daily productivity powerhouse on the go. It offers easy-to-use features like task management, knowledge management, and planning your weeks in advance so that you don’t miss any tasks, meetings, or client presentations.

On the whole, NotePlan 3 doubles up as the perfect bullet journal, and many of the app’s users use it as such.

Download: NotePlan 3 for macOS | iOS (Free trial 14 days, premium starts at $6.99/month)

3. Taskade

It’s handy that you can use Taskade as a guest before signing up for it. The app lets you add checklists, outlines, and notes to your bullet journal. You also get various bullet formats to choose from, which makes it easy to match them up with the bullets and signifiers in your journal.

The app has basic formatting options and emojis as well. For scheduling your plans, Taskade gives you Due Date and Add To Calendar options. The latter feature lets you connect with Google Calendar and Yahoo Calendar.

Attachments, templates, comments, tags, search—Taskade has got it all. It’s a versatile app that lends itself to all kinds of note-taking. We recommend starting off with Taskade’s Bullet Journal template to save time setting up your journal.

Its elaborate template library has many pre-defined assets for various personal and work commitments. For example, you can effortlessly use the weekly planner, bullet journal, personal tracker, and mind map templates for your own tasks. Then again, for work and remote teams, you can utilize free templates like a teamwork list, project board, development tree, and so on.

Download: Taskade for Windows | macOS | Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

4. The Bullet Journal Companion 2

You need to use The Bullet Journal Companion 2 app along with, and not instead of, your analog bullet journal. That makes this simple mobile app from the makers of Bullet Journal the odd one out on this list. But it’s the perfect solution if you’re not ready to let go of your paper journal completely in favor of a digital one.

The companion app prompts you to reflect on your plans and notes with reminders twice a day. You can tweak the times of these reminders to suit you. It also has a library section that lets you search your old bullet journals.

If you’re away from your notebook, you can use the app for logging and then migrate the entries to your notebook during your reflection time. You have a 72-hour window to move your entries from the app.

The Bullet Journal Companion includes a set of guides that cover every aspect of bullet journaling. It’s sure to appeal to Bullet Journal beginners and veterans alike. If you like the community aspect of Bullet Journal, you’ll appreciate the compilation of posts from the official blog in the app.

Download: The Bullet Journal Companion 2 for Android | iOS (Paid, $4.99)

5. Dynalist

Dynalist is one of the best and most popular bullet-based to-do list apps. It comes with markdown support, tags, due dates, and internal links, among other features.

The app’s tree structure is great for handling your daily logs. For bullets and signifiers, you can use either regular keyboard characters or suitable emoticons. Since Dynalist lets you bookmark items, you get to keep your most important modules easily accessible at all times.

Dynalist’s demo version gives you a detailed overview of how the app works. It’s the perfect testing ground to figure out if the app can work as your bullet journal.

Download: Dynalist for Windows | macOS | Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

6. Elisi

Elisi: Goal Planner & Tracker is a great multipurpose app that you can use to set up your bullet journaling in no time. You can plan on a weekly or monthly basis, add specific goals which you can customize with their own icon and end date of your choosing, and you can check your achievements through the respective tab.

Combining this with a bullet journaling cheat sheet for quick note-taking will allow you to organize yourself more quickly. Elisi allows you to take notes, keep track of your responsibilities on the planner, write lists, habits you want to keep up with, and even a diary to record your mood. It’s the most effective way to improve your self-organization and self-awareness. You can sync your Elisi account and data across multiple devices.

Download: Elisi for iOS | Android | Web (Free, subscription available)

More Apps for an Online Bullet Journal

We have lined up a few extra options for you to work with, just in case the apps we have listed above don’t appeal to you:

• Day One: If you don’t mind paying for a subscription or doing without the premium features.
• TheBrain: To combine the power of the Bullet Journal with the flexibility of mind maps.
• OneNote: If you love all apps Microsoft.
• GoodNotes: For bullet journaling with a stylus.

If you’d prefer to stay away from apps and keep your organization on your PC, then check out the best journaling apps for Windows.

A Bullet Journal Is What You Make of It

If you need a reliable system for fast note-taking, a Bullet Journal is up to the job. It gives you a good framework, to begin with, but is not so inflexible that you can’t customize it.

In a busy world, you need to be able to take notes quickly and keep them all in one place to retain your self-organization without shirking your day-to-day responsibilities.