The Best Bucket List Tracker for iOS in 2026

A great bucket list is only half the story - the part that actually matters is the tracking. The best bucket list tracker for iOS is the one that quietly answers three questions every time you open it: what have I already done, what's next, and how close am I to the next big win? Any iPhone can hold a list of dreams. A good tracker turns that list into a live scoreboard of your life. Here's how the top bucket list trackers on iOS in 2026 compare, and how to pick one that will still be on your home screen a year from now.

Quick Pick: The Best Bucket List Tracker for iOS

Short on time? Söka is our pick for the best bucket list tracker for iOS in 2026. It is the only iPhone app we tested that combines goal-level progress tracking, list-level completion stats, a scratch map for countries you've visited, and a home screen widget that keeps your next goal visible - all on the free tier. Read on for the full comparison if you want to weigh alternatives, but Söka is the one we'd install first.

What Makes a Good Bucket List Tracker on iOS?

Tracking is a different problem from listing. A great bucket list tracker for iPhone earns its place by doing four things well:

• Visible progress. You can see how far along you are on any list without tapping into a detail view.
• Effortless completion. Marking a goal done should take one tap, not a screen full of confirmation dialogs.
• A visual record. Whether it's a scratch map, a photo timeline, or a stats view, you should be able to look back and see what you've done.
• A reason to open the app tomorrow. Home screen widgets, streaks, upcoming reminders - anything that pulls the app back into your day when you're not thinking about goals.

Apps that only capture goals without tracking them tend to end up abandoned. The apps below all do at least some of this well - but only one does all four.

Bucket List Trackers for iOS Compared

The table is a starting point. The reviews below focus specifically on the tracking experience - which is what separates apps you use once from apps you use for years.

How We Tested Bucket List Trackers on iPhone

We installed each app on a current-generation iPhone running iOS 18 and used every one of them the way a real person actually uses a bucket list tracker: adding goals in bursts, checking them off weeks or months later, occasionally reorganising, and glancing at progress from the lock screen. We weighted four things equally:

• Progress visibility. How obvious is your progress at a glance, without drilling in?
• Effort to update. How many taps between "I did this thing" and "the app knows I did this thing"?
• Long-term visualisation. Does the app help you feel your history - not just your future - as your list grows?
• Home screen presence. Does it pull you back in via widgets or notifications, or does it disappear the moment you close it?

Apps that hadn't been updated in the past 18 months were excluded - a bucket list tracker you'll rely on for years needs to stay compatible with new iPhones and iOS releases.

Söka - The Best Bucket List Tracker for iOS Overall

Söka is a free, iPhone-native bucket list tracker built around the idea that seeing your progress matters as much as capturing your goals. Every list you create shows a progress bar; every completed goal gets its own detail view with the option to attach a photo and note. The scratch map is the standout feature - as you mark countries you've visited, they fill in on a world map, giving you a single-screen visual answer to "where have I been?". A home screen widget shows your current featured goal so your list stays part of your everyday phone, and AI-powered goal suggestions help fill in categories you're light on.

Pros

• Real progress tracking at both goal and list level
• Scratch map is the best implementation on iOS - and the only one that treats country tracking as a first-class feature
• Home screen widget keeps your next goal front of mind between opens
• Native SwiftUI design that feels at home on modern iPhones

Cons

• iOS-only - no Android, watchOS, or web version to sync with
• Progress notifications are minimal - if you're motivated by streaks and daily nudges, that's a small gap

Verdict. For the specific job of tracking a bucket list on iOS - not just storing one - Söka is the app we'd install first. The combination of list-level progress bars, per-goal detail history, scratch map, and widget covers every tracking angle we looked for.

Bucket List: The Bucket App - Best for Public Progress

The Bucket App is one of the most established bucket list apps on the App Store and its tracker is built around a social feed. When you check off a goal, your friends see it. When they check off a goal, you see it. That's a legitimate tracking style for people who are motivated by visible accountability - your progress lives publicly, which for many users is the whole point.

Pros

• Strong social layer - friends see your progress in real time
• Large user base makes finding friends already on the app easy
• Cross-platform sync (iOS, Android, web) keeps a shared record accessible

Cons

• No visual map of visited places or countries
• Progress is goal-by-goal only - no list-level completion view
• Some tracking features are locked behind a paid subscription
• No home screen widget

Verdict. If public accountability is your primary tracking motivator, this app fits. As a private, deeply personal bucket list tracker for iOS, it lags behind Söka's visualisation and widget experience.

The Bucket List App (Bucket List Love) - Best for Passport-Style Tracking

Bucket List Love has built one of the most polished bucket list apps on iOS and its tracker leans into a passport-stamp metaphor for travel goals. Each destination you complete earns a stamp, which you can browse in a personal passport view. It's a fun, gamified take on tracking that feels distinctly designed for people whose bucket list is mostly travel.

Pros

• Passport stamps are a genuinely delightful tracking visualisation for trips
• Huge library of community-generated goals to browse and adopt
• Mature app with frequent updates and a polished iOS UI

Cons

• Non-travel goals get less tracking love than trips do
• Community browsing can crowd out your own list, making progress harder to see
• No scratch map, no widget, no AI

Verdict. A good tracker for travel-heavy lists that want a gamified feel. For a broader bucket list with skills, food, or relationship goals, Söka's tracking is more balanced.

iBucket - Best for Location-Based Tracking

iBucket takes a map-first approach to tracking, plotting your goals on a world map and letting you mark places as visited as you tick them off. If your bucket list is mostly built around "places I want to see", it's a satisfying way to visualise progress geographically.

Pros

• Map view makes location-based progress genuinely spatial
• Trip planning tools are more integrated than in most bucket list apps
• Family/shared list features via iCloud

Cons

• Non-travel goals feel like second-class citizens
• Requires a subscription to unlock full tracking features
• No AI, no widget, no scratch map for entire countries

Verdict. A solid pick if your bucket list is essentially a places-to-visit list. Söka's scratch map covers the same country-tracking use case on the free tier, plus non-travel goal tracking without a paywall.

Bucket List Maker: Check Marks - Best for Guided Challenge Tracking

Check Marks flips the tracker equation on its head: instead of you building the list first, it hands you ready-made challenges - like "100 things to do before you turn 30" - and lets you tick them off. If tracking a pre-built list appeals more than building your own, this is one of the few iOS apps that leans fully into that experience.

Pros

• Ready-made challenges give you a starting framework and clear progress targets
• Simple, distraction-free interface focused on ticking things off
• Gamified format keeps things motivating for shorter lists

Cons

• Less flexible for tracking your own custom goals
• No scratch map, no widget, no AI
• The visual design is starting to feel dated versus newer SwiftUI apps

Verdict. A niche pick for people who prefer a curated list to a blank page. Once your list becomes personal enough to matter, you'll want a more fully featured tracker like Söka.

How to Choose the Right Bucket List Tracker for iPhone

The best bucket list tracker for iOS depends on what you're actually trying to track:

• For balanced tracking across travel, skills, and life goals: Söka - list-level progress bars, per-goal history, scratch map, and widget.
• For public, social progress: The Bucket App - a real-time feed of what you and your friends are checking off.
• For travel-only tracking with gamified stamps: The Bucket List App by Bucket List Love.
• For location-first tracking on a map: iBucket.
• For following pre-built challenges: Check Marks.

All five apps are free to download, so the fastest way to find your fit is to install two, add a handful of real goals to each, and see which one you keep opening a week later.

Bucket List Tracker FAQ

What is the best bucket list tracker for iPhone?

Söka is the best bucket list tracker for iPhone in 2026. It is the only iOS bucket list app that combines goal-level tracking, list-level progress bars, a scratch map for visited countries, and a home screen widget in one free download. If your priority is seeing your progress rather than just listing your goals, Söka's tracking is the most complete.

Is there a free bucket list tracker for iOS?

Yes. Söka is a free bucket list tracker for iOS and includes goal tracking, list-level progress, the scratch map, and a home screen widget without a subscription. Most other bucket list apps for iPhone reserve at least one core tracking feature behind a paid tier.

How do I track a bucket list on my iPhone?

Download a dedicated bucket list tracker like Söka from the App Store. Add your goals into themed lists (Travel, Experiences, Skills, and so on), then mark each goal complete when you finish it. Söka's progress bars, scratch map, and home screen widget make it easy to keep tabs on how far you've come without having to open the app first.

Can the iPhone Notes or Reminders app work as a bucket list tracker?

Technically yes, but neither has real progress tracking, a scratch map, categories, or a home screen widget for goals. For a handful of quick items, Reminders is fine. For a bucket list that grows past 10 or 20 items - or that you'd like to look back on years from now - a dedicated bucket list tracker for iOS is worth the install.

Which bucket list tracker has a scratch map?

Söka is the iPhone bucket list tracker with the strongest scratch map feature. As you mark countries you've visited, they fill in on a world map that lives inside the app - so you always have a single-glance visual answer to where you've been and where you haven't. The Bucket List App by Bucket List Love has passport-style stamps that serve a similar role but track completed trips rather than countries as a whole.

Do bucket list trackers work on Apple Watch?

Full bucket list tracking on Apple Watch is currently limited across all the apps we tested. Söka's widget and home screen presence covers most quick-glance tracking needs, and marking a goal complete on iPhone is usually a one-tap action from a widget or list view.

Start Tracking Your Bucket List with Söka

Ready to stop listing your bucket list goals and start tracking them? Söka is a free iOS bucket list tracker with progress bars, a scratch map, home screen widgets, and AI-powered goal suggestions built in. Download it today - and finally see how far you've come.

Building the list itself? See our step-by-step guide on how to make a bucket list on iPhone, and compare all the top options in our roundup of the best bucket list apps for iPhone in 2026.