Finding motivation to pursue your goals isn't always easy, especially if you're struggling with stress or negativity. But inspiration can come from surprising places — including the palm of your hand.
Today's motivation apps are designed to inspire you to keep moving forward with positive affirmations, tips, and insights. We rounded up the year's best apps and chose winners based on their content, overall reliability, and user reviews.
iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
Android rating: 4.6 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Find the motivation and positive mindset you need to succeed with daily encouragement. This app is designed to inspire you with positive affirmations and self-talk — a proven technique to make your mind work for you. Choose the ones that resonate for your goals and learn how to reduce negative self-talk now.
Android rating: 4.6 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
The Fabulous app is more than a habit tracker. This well-rounded, science-based app will motivate you across the board by helping you build life-changing habits. Features include an expansive library to help you improve productivity and focus, integrated health sessions for meditation and relaxation, and more.
iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Motivate's goal is to help you make the first steps toward a more driven, focused, inspired life. The app features thousands of handpicked motivational videos from mentors around the world. Use the customizable notifications to build your daily habit and start discovering what works for you.
iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
Android rating: 4.5 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
FitQuote is a simple app designed to help you stay motivated so you can reach your fitness goals. Get daily quotes that will inspire you to keep training, plus configurable reminders so you never miss a day. Other features let you personalize background photos, save quotes, and more.
iPhone rating: 4.9 stars
Android rating: 4.4 stars
Price: $1.99 on iPhone; free on Android
The Forest app offers an innovative approach to help you fight your phone addiction and overcome distractions. Use the app to turn your focused moments into a lush forest by creating more positive habits. It all starts with a seed.
iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
Android rating: 3.7 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
If you have under a minute a day to spare, you can track, identify, and change the habits that are holding you back. With no restriction on what the app can monitor, it's entirely personalized to you and your life. The app includes powerful reminders you can set up if you need a little prompting, plus insightful data that will help you make changes for the better.
iPhone rating: 4.4 stars
Android rating: 4 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
With a collection of over 1,200 ideas, iWish helps you set smart goals and keep track of your accomplishments. Use the app to stay organized with to-do lists, priorities, and reminders, and create vision boards and your very own mission statement for motivation.
iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Designed as a smart goal tracker, this user-friendly and beautifully designed app will help you monitor anything. Keep your goals, habits, and routines together, all in one simple to-do list. Features include a powerful dashboard, reminders, charts, customizable target dates, and so much more.
If you want to nominate an app for this list, email us at nominations@healthline.com.
Jessica Timmons has been a freelance writer since 2007. She writes, edits, and consults for a great group of steady accounts and the occasional one-off project, all while juggling the busy lives of her four kids with her ever-accommodating husband. She loves weightlifting, really great lattes, and family time.