Free habit tracker: online, app or printable

The short answer

A habit tracker is a simple record of the days you do a habit, usually a grid you tick once a day. This free habit tracker works in your browser with no sign-up: track up to three habits for 30 days, see your streak, print a one-page sheet, download Excel, or install the DailyHabitAI app for daily reminders.

Use it like an app on your phone

Free habit tracker app for iPhone and AndroidScreenshots, features, privacy and install steps

The free DailyHabitAI habit tracker app runs from your browser, so there is nothing to download from an app store and no account. Add it to your home screen and it opens full screen, works offline and shows today's habits with a one-tap check-in. It holds up to five habits, each with a small daily step, a calendar of your check-ins and an optional reminder at the time you pick.

• iPhone: open the app in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Reminders need iOS 16.4 or later and the home screen app.
• Android: open it in Chrome and choose Install app. Reminders also work in the browser.
• What is stored where: your habits and check-ins stay on your device. If you turn on reminders, we keep only what is needed to send them: a push address, your time zone and the reminder time, never the habit's name. See the privacy page.

Step-by-step instructions are on how to add DailyHabitAI to your home screen. The app and this page keep separate records, so pick one for your daily tick. Want the app to suggest the daily steps? Build a free 30-day plan first and it opens in the app.

Print a one-page habit tracker

Press Print / Save PDF above. The habit you are viewing prints on one US Letter or A4 page with your action, cue and dates at the top, 30 big boxes and a line for your weekly review. Days you already ticked print filled in, so you can switch to paper at any time. Choose Save as PDF in the print screen to keep a file or print it later.

Habit tracker for Excel and Google Sheets

Prefer a spreadsheet? Download the blank 30-day Excel habit tracker with a weekly review sheet, or the monthly Excel habit tracker template with rows for 10 habits and totals that count themselves. Both open in Excel, Numbers and Google Sheets (File, Import, Upload). The habit tracker template page explains each sheet.

Pick a printable design

This page prints one habit as a 30-day grid. For other layouts, the printable habit tracker templates come in six designs: a monthly grid for up to 10 habits, a circle tracker, minimal lines, a weekly tracker, a kids star chart and a year in pixels. Each fits on one page, filled in or blank.

How to use this habit tracker

1. Choose one observable action. “Read 10 pages after dinner” is easier to mark than “be a reader.” Replace the example above with your own.
2. Mark only a real start. A shorter fallback can count if you decided what that fallback means in advance.
3. Review your cue each week. If the cue never happens, change it. An empty box is information, not a debt.
4. Keep going beyond day 30 if useful. Research does not support a universal habit-formation deadline. See our explanation of habit timing.

More detail, with examples of what to do after a missed week, is in how to track habits with a habit tracker. For a specific daily plan, build a personal 30-day plan or start with the research-informed habit guide. Tracking more than three habits? Use the monthly habit tracker template for Excel and Google Sheets.

What to track

Track a small action you control, not a result: "walk 10 minutes after lunch" rather than "lose weight", "read 10 pages after dinner" rather than "finish more books". Write it so you could tick it in a second. For ideas, browse habit tracker ideas by area of life, or pick one from the list of 100 good habits, each with a two-minute first version.

Special habit trackers

Some goals have their own rules, so they have their own free tracker:

• 75 Hard tracker: the six daily rules for 75 days, with 75 Soft and 75 Medium.
• Winter Arc tracker: your own rules or the student set, ticked daily, with a PDF or Excel copy.
• Water tracker: a box for every glass or bottle, by week or month.
• Mood tracker: one of five moods a day, with tags, a note and a year in pixels.
• Sober October tracker and Dry January tracker: alcohol-free days, drinks skipped and money saved.
• Book tracker and reading challenge: a bookshelf to fill as you finish books, and 52 prompts for the year.
• Habit scorecard: list your day and mark each habit before you choose what to track.
• Habit stacking builder: tie the new habit to something you already do, then track it here.

Online, app, printable or spreadsheet: which habit tracker fits you?

Why a habit tracker helps: what the research says

• Recording progress helps you reach goals. A meta-analysis of 138 studies (N = 19,951) found that monitoring progress improved goal attainment, more so when progress was physically recorded (Harkin et al., 2016). A tick in a box is that kind of record.
• Habits take different amounts of time. In a real-world study, the time for a daily behavior to feel close to automatic ranged from 18 to 254 days, and missing one day did not materially affect progress (Lally et al., 2010). That is why this tracker treats 30 days as a first round, not a finish line.
• A fixed moment beats a vague intention. In a meta-analysis of 94 tests, deciding when and where you will act (if-then plans) linked to better follow-through than a goal alone (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006). The "My cue" box above is where that plan goes.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free habit tracker app?

Yes. The DailyHabitAI app is free, with no account and no ads. It is a web app: open it in Safari or Chrome and add it to your home screen, and it opens full screen like any other app. It holds up to five habits, each with a small daily step, one-tap check-ins and an optional reminder at the time you choose.

What is the best free habit tracker?

The one you will still open on a busy day. Look for three things: ticking a day takes a second, you see it at the moment the habit happens, and it reminds you if you tend to forget. This tracker covers that three ways, online, as a phone app and on paper, with no sign-up, so you can start with one and switch.

Which habit tracker works on iPhone and Android?

This one works on both, without an app store. On iPhone, open the app in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. On Android, open it in Chrome and choose Install app. Reminders on iPhone need iOS 16.4 or later and the app added to the home screen; on Android they also work in the browser.

How many habits should I track at once?

One to three. A single habit shows most clearly whether your cue works, so start there and add a second one when the first feels easy. This tracker holds up to three habits and the app up to five. If you want to see more on one sheet, the monthly habit tracker template has rows for ten.

Should I track habits daily or weekly?

Tick daily habits every day, right after you do them, so the record is honest. Then look at the whole grid once a week and change one thing: the cue, the size of the step or where you keep what you need. For habits you do a few times a week, a weekly tracker is easier to keep.

What if I miss a day?

Leave the box empty and start again at your next cue. One missed day did not change progress in habit research, and making up sessions tends to make restarting harder. A useful rule is never to miss twice in a row.

Is a printable habit tracker or an app better?

Paper is better if you want it in sight, like on the fridge or in a planner, and like crossing a box with a pen. An app is better if you forget, because it can remind you and ticks a day in one tap. Many people use both: the app for the daily tick and a printout for the wall.

Are there other printable habit tracker designs?

Yes. The habit tracker template page has six free printable designs: a monthly grid for 10 habits, a circle tracker, minimal lines, a weekly tracker, a kids star chart and a year in pixels. Each prints on one page with your habits filled in, or blank, and there is an Excel version that also opens in Google Sheets.

Where are my check-ins saved?

Only on your device. The tracker on this page saves in this browser, and the app saves inside the app; they keep separate records. Nothing you tick is sent to our server. If you turn on reminders, we store only what is needed to send them. Download your CSV or print the sheet to keep a copy.

Does a habit form in 30 days?

Not reliably. In a real-world study, the time for a daily behavior to feel close to automatic ranged from 18 to 254 days. Use 30 days as a period to learn what works, then keep going.

Sources and evidence

1. Harkin et al. (2016): Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? — Across 138 studies (N = 19,951), monitoring progress improved goal attainment, more so when progress was physically recorded.
2. Lally et al. (2010): How are habits formed — Time to automaticity varied from 18 to 254 days; missing one day did not materially affect progress.
3. Gollwitzer and Sheeran (2006): Implementation intentions and goal achievement — In a meta-analysis of 94 tests, deciding when and where you will act (if-then plans) linked to better goal follow-through than a goal alone.