The Best Free Bucket List App for iPhone (2026)
Almost every bucket list app on the App Store is listed as free, and almost none of them are. "Free" on an app listing means free to download, which tells you nothing about whether you can add more than one list, see your progress, or open the map you installed the app for in the first place. If you're looking for a free bucket list app for iPhone, the question worth asking isn't which apps cost nothing - it's which ones still work once you've hit the wall the free tier puts in front of you. So we went through each one and wrote down exactly where that wall is.
Quick Pick: The Best Free Bucket List App
Short on time? Söka is our pick. It's the only bucket list app for iPhone we've tested where the features people actually install a bucket list app for - AI goal generation, unlimited goals, multiple themed lists, the scratch map, progress tracking, and a home screen widget - are all on the free tier rather than teased and then locked. Söka+ exists, but it adds depth for heavy users instead of switching core features back on.
"Free" Means Three Different Things on the App Store
Before the comparison, it's worth separating the three models that all get labelled "free," because they fail you at completely different moments:
Free to download, paid to use. The app installs at no cost, you build a list, and then you discover that a second list, or the map, or exporting your data needs a subscription. This is the most common model in the category and the most frustrating, because you only find the limit after you've done the work of filling the app.
Free trial. You get everything for seven days, then everything stops. Fine if you're evaluating deliberately, useless for a bucket list - the whole point of the format is that it's a document you come back to in three years, and a list you can't open isn't one.
Genuinely free tier. A permanent, usable version of the app with a paid tier that adds things you can live without. This is the only model that makes sense for something as long-lived as a bucket list, and it's rarer in this category than the App Store listings suggest.
The distinction matters more here than in most app categories. A bucket list is a slow object. You add to it for years and check things off for decades, so a subscription you cancel shouldn't take the list with it.
What's Actually Free in Each Bucket List App
| Feature | Söka | The Bucket App | Bucket List Love | Buckist | iBucket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited goals | Free | Limited on free | Free | Free | Limited on free |
| Multiple themed lists | Free | Paid | Free | Free | Paid |
| Progress tracking | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| AI goal generation | Free | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Map of your goals | Free | Not available | Paid | Not available | Paid |
| Scratch map of visited countries | Free | Not available | Stamps, partly paid | Not available | Not available |
| Photos and notes per goal | Free | Free | Free | Free | Partly paid |
| Home screen widget | Free | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Sharing a list | Söka+ | Free | Free | Free | Paid |
| Social feed / community | Not available | Free | Free | Not available | Not available |
The row worth staring at is the map one. Maps are the single most commonly paywalled feature in this category, which makes sense - they're the feature people are most willing to pay for - and it's the main reason a lot of travellers end up running a bucket list app and a separate travel tracker at the same time.
How We Checked
We installed each app fresh, declined every subscription prompt, and used it for a week as a genuinely free user. Specifically, we tried to do six things without paying: add thirty goals, split them across more than one list, attach a photo and a note, see a completion percentage, view goals on a map, and get something onto the home screen. An app "passed" a feature only if it worked without an upgrade prompt - not if it worked once and then asked, and not if it worked in a trial that later expired. Paywall placement changes with updates, so treat this as a snapshot of 2026 rather than a permanent ruling.
Söka - The Best Free Bucket List App for iPhone
Söka passed all six. Unlimited goals, as many themed lists as you want, photos and notes on every goal, per-list progress, both maps, and a widget - all without a subscription, and all still there if you never buy one.
The one that surprises people is the AI. Generating personalised bucket list ideas from a destination or an interest is the feature most likely to be a premium hook in any other app, and in Söka it's on the free tier, because it's also the feature that makes an empty app worth keeping. The scratch map is the same story: it's the reason a lot of people install Söka, so putting it behind a paywall would mean paywalling the first five minutes.
What Söka+ actually adds. Shared and collaborative lists, unlimited AI generations rather than a generous monthly allowance, and additional widget and customisation options. It's a real upgrade for someone running a big list with a partner, and it's genuinely optional for everyone else. Nothing you create on the free tier gets locked if you don't subscribe.
Pros
- The widest genuinely free feature set of any bucket list app on iOS
- AI generation and both maps included at no cost
- No trial clock - the free tier is permanent, not a countdown
- Your lists stay readable and editable whether or not you ever pay
Cons
- iOS only, so there's no free Android or web version for a travel partner
- Sharing a list with someone else is a Söka+ feature
- Heavy AI users will hit the free generation allowance eventually
Verdict. If you want a bucket list app that costs nothing and still does the job in year three, this is the one to install first.
The Bucket App - Best Free Social Features
The Bucket App gives away the part most apps charge for - the social layer. Following friends, seeing what they've completed, and browsing trending goals are all free, and if external accountability is what keeps you moving, that's worth more than any feature list.
The trade-off is on the organisation side. The free tier is built around a single feed-shaped list, and splitting your goals into themed lists is a subscription feature, as is most of the customisation. Pricing sits around $3.99 a month or $19.99 a year, with a lifetime option.
Verdict. Free enough to be useful if your bucket list is a social activity. Restrictive if you want it organised.
Bucket List Love - Best Free Community Content
The Bucket List App by Bucket List Love is free to download and generous with content - destination guides, community lists, and challenges are all browsable without paying. Adding goals and marking them complete works fine on the free tier too.
Where it tightens up is the travel tracking. The custom maps and the fuller passport-stamp features are the paid draw, which is a shame, because they're the most distinctive thing the app does. If the maps are why you're installing it, budget for the subscription.
Verdict. Excellent free browsing, paid map tracking.
Buckist - Best Free Idea Library
Buckist is the most straightforwardly free option here, mainly because it does less. You get unlimited goals, categories, feature images, and a large library of pre-written bucket list ideas without paying, and there's no AI, map, or widget to paywall in the first place.
It's also cross-platform, which makes it the obvious free pick if you're on Android or splitting a list with someone who is.
Verdict. Genuinely free and genuinely simple. Choose it if a categorised checklist is all you need.
iBucket - Free to Try, Paid to Live In
iBucket's map-first approach to travel goals is the appeal, and the map is exactly what the free tier limits. Free users get a capped number of goals and a single list; multiple lists, full map functionality, and sharing all require a subscription.
Verdict. Worth trialling if map-based trip planning is your priority, but plan on paying to use it properly.
The Features Most Likely to Be Paywalled
Across every app we looked at, the same five features get locked first, in roughly this order:
- Maps. Almost universally paid, whether that's a visited-country map or goals plotted on a map.
- Multiple lists. Free tiers love a single list, because a second one is where organisation starts to feel valuable.
- Sharing and collaboration. Reasonable to charge for - it costs the developer real money to sync between people.
- Widgets. Rarely offered at all, and premium when they are.
- Export and backup. The one to check before you commit years of goals to an app.
Knowing the pattern is the useful part. If a feature on that list is the reason you're installing an app, check whether it's free before you spend an evening filling the thing in.
Is a Paid Bucket List App Ever Worth It?
Sometimes, and the honest test is whether you're paying for depth or for access. Paying to unlock collaboration with a partner, deeper travel statistics, or unlimited AI is paying for depth - you already had a working app and you're making it better. Paying to be allowed a second list, or to open a map the app advertised, is paying for access to something that shouldn't have been withheld.
A useful rule: use the free tier for a month first. A bucket list app you don't open is worth nothing at any price, and a month is long enough to find out which one you actually return to.
Free Bucket List App FAQ
What is the best free bucket list app for iPhone?
Söka is the best free bucket list app for iPhone in 2026. Unlimited goals, multiple themed lists, AI goal generation, progress tracking, a scratch map of visited countries, a map view of your goals, and a home screen widget are all included at no cost, with an optional Söka+ subscription for sharing and unlimited AI.
Are bucket list apps really free?
Most are free to download and then charge for something you'll want within the first week - usually a second list, the map, or sharing. Genuinely free tiers do exist; Söka and Buckist are the two most usable without paying. Always check where the paywall sits before you spend an evening filling a list in.
Is there a free bucket list app with a map?
Yes. Söka includes both a scratch map of visited countries and a map view of your individual goals on the free tier. This is unusual - maps are the most commonly paywalled feature in the category, and most bucket list apps either charge for them or don't have them at all.
Can I make a bucket list for free without an app?
You can. Apple's Notes and Reminders are free and will hold a list of goals perfectly well. What you give up is categories, progress, photos per goal, AI suggestions, and anything map-based - which matters more the longer the list gets. Under ten items, Reminders is fine. Past that, a free bucket list app does more for the same price.
What happens to my bucket list if I cancel a subscription?
That depends entirely on the app, and it's the single most important thing to check before subscribing. Some apps make your lists read-only or hide everything beyond a free-tier limit. With Söka, everything you created on the free tier stays fully usable whether or not you ever subscribe.
Is the free version of Söka limited?
Only in three places: sharing a list with someone else is a Söka+ feature, AI generation has a monthly allowance on the free tier rather than being unlimited, and some widget and customisation options are paid. Everything else - unlimited goals, unlimited lists, both maps, progress tracking, photos, and notes - is free permanently.
Start Your Bucket List for Free
Ready to build a bucket list without hitting a paywall in week two? Söka is free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, with AI-generated goal ideas, a scratch map of every country you've visited, and progress tracking included. Download it today and see how far the free tier gets you.
Weighing up the alternatives? Our full roundup of the best bucket list apps for iPhone in 2026 compares them on more than price, our best bucket list tracker for iOS comparison drills into progress and widgets, and if the map is what you're after, we've ranked the best bucket list apps with a map. Starting from nothing? The step-by-step guide to making a bucket list on iPhone is the place to begin, and 100 bucket list ideas will fill the first page.