The Best Beer Journal and Beer Diary Apps in 2026
A beer journal used to be a notebook in your back pocket. Now your phone can do it, with photos, places and stats. Here are the best beer diary apps, depending on what you want to remember.
What makes a good beer journal?
- Fast to add to, or you'll stop after a week.
- Remembers the place: half the memory is where you were.
- Gives something back: stats, recaps, maps.
- Notes when you want them: tasting notes for the special beers, not every lager.
The best beer journal apps
1. Untappd
The best-known beer check-in app: scan or search a specific beer, rate it, add notes and photos, and collect badges. Huge beer database and venue menus from bars that use Untappd for Business.
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android, web · Website
- Price
- Free, with an optional paid tier (Untappd Insiders) for extra stats and badges
- Best for
- Beer geeks who want to rate every individual beer they try.
- Watch out
- Logging means finding the exact beer each time, which is slow on a night out. Less about seeing which friends are out right now.
Untappd is the closest thing to a classic tasting journal: every check-in can have a rating, a note, a photo and the venue, and it's all searchable later.
2. ontap
Log a beer in one tap from a home or lock screen widget, with the bar you're at. See which friends are out on a shared map, race your friends in squads, earn 30+ badges and become Mayor of your local. Every month you get Last Call, a recap worth sharing.
- Platforms
- iPhone · App Store
- Price
- Free (an optional ontap Pro is coming)
- Best for
- Groups of friends who go out together and want logging to take one tap.
- Watch out
- No beer-by-beer ratings or tasting notes, and no Android app yet.
ontap is a journal that writes itself. One tap logs the beer and the spot; add a photo and caption when the moment deserves it. At the end of each month Last Call turns it into a recap: your top spots, your go-to night and your map filling up.
3. Pint Please
A Finnish-born beer rating app: rate beers, note where you had them and discover new ones, with brewery and pub pages.
- Platforms
- iPhone (check Google Play for Android) · Website
- Price
- Free (in-app purchases)
- Best for
- A smaller, Europe-flavoured alternative to Untappd for rating beers.
- Watch out
- Much smaller community than Untappd.
4. Swarm (Foursquare)
Check in to any place, from pubs to airports, keep a searchable history of everywhere you've been and see friends' check-ins. Took over Foursquare City Guide's features in 2024.
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android · Website
- Price
- Free
- Best for
- People who want a diary of every place they go, not just bars.
- Watch out
- No beer counting, recaps or drinking-specific features.
Old school still works
Plenty of beer fans keep a paper journal for tasting notes and use an app for the logging. There's no wrong answer, as long as you actually use it.
ontap is the free iPhone app for logging beers in one tap and seeing which friends are out.
Get ontap free on the App StoreFAQ
What's the best beer diary app?
Untappd for detailed tasting notes; ontap for an effortless diary of where and when, with monthly recaps.
Can I export my beer journal?
Untappd offers data export to its paid Insiders tier (and in the EU/EEA). Check each app's settings for export options.