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What's the best notes app for Mac?

I'm a long time paying user of Evernote, and have finally given up on hoping that they'll improve the Mac editor UI. The only thing locking me in is their OCR - I have 6 years of handwritten notes saved in there. What notes app do you use on Mac OS a… See more

Cian Mac MahonSoftware Engineer, HubSpot · Asked 23d ago

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20 recommended

Bear

A beautiful, flexible writing app for notes and prose

Tyler DowFront End Developer · Written 23d ago

I just recently imported all of my notes from Evernote to Bear. If you are a fan of using multiple notebooks, getting used to the Hashtag as a way to organize your notes will take some time. However, I am a big fan of the interface and think they do a fantastic job keeping the app fast, light & enjoyable.

Michael DemaraisFrontend Engineer · Written 20d ago

by far the best!

Evernote

Note taking gets even simpler

Frederik WallerProduct enthusiast studying in the UK. · Written 23d ago

I've been using Evernote for a long time and am a big fan. It syncs easily between iOS and macOS.

Kumar LouhitFounder, Spontie, Inc · Written 21d ago

I have been using Evernote since Day 1. Works seamlessly and syncs with all my devices via iOS and macOS. Simplest tool ever.

Vytas ButkeviciusProduct · Written 21d ago

Never had to look for a different note taking app. It's got an incredible amount of useful features as well

Notes

JoidWritten 22d ago

Probably not that cool and all, but damn straight useful to me. Especially since Apple updated Notes.app a couple of years ago. I've tried Evernote, Bear and many others. But in the end I always came back to Notes on my Mac/iPhone/iPad.

Victor BousEdited 20d ago

I am such a flip flopper. I used almost all note apps mentioned in this list. But the truth is, native Notes app is the fastest of them. I could open Notes 3 times before Evernote really launches. Plus, I like the design. Minimalistic from its core. The only thing I miss is adding anchors, but can live without it. Furthermore, the sync between devices is totally free (Hi, Bear👋🏻) and it's secure and encrypted.

Ulysses III

A powerful writing tool for Mac

ArNz|8o8Written 23d ago

I use this one for all my note taking needs. Just because it has an awesome library function, markdown support and the iCloud sync is amazing.. It syncs across my devices without any problem. I just love it 😋

NateWritten 19d ago

Markdown support is just amazing. I use it for quick notes, short stories, and podcast scripts. Just beautifully designed and incredibly flexible for exports. A little on the pricey side, especially the iphone app, but love using it.

Thomas SchoffelenCo-founder, Scholica · Written 19d ago

Super nice library function with folders and subfolders, custom icons, etc., which all sync perfectly across Mac and iPhone apps.

iA Writer

Abhinay OmkarAmazon · Written 22d ago

Very simple & focused.

Dominik SchmidtWritten 21d ago

best mix of minimalism and well executed features

Standard Notes

Notes app with focus on privacy and longevity.

Mo BitarWritten 23d ago

Mo Bitar made this product

You mentioned your frustration with the editor in Evernote. The cool thing about Standard Notes is that the editor can be completely swapped out or customized with extensions, and anyone can easily build their own. Other than that, Standard Notes is lightweight and features end-to-end encryption, so your notes are encrypted before they leave your device.

Simplenote

Simple, lighter alternative to Evernote

Axel KrottlerGlas påsk! 🐣 · Written 21d ago

Just so simple and available almost everywhere!

Google Keep

Matija AbicicHead of Product Strategy at Sysrepublic · Written 21d ago

Easy, fast, synced w your google account, has iOS app...must have.

David StandenCo-founder, Loveflutter · Written 21d ago

I use Google Keep a lot, really simple. I never really got into Evernote, guess some things stick and others don't.

Notion 1.0 Web + Mac App

Docs, wikis, tasks – a minimal & unified workspace for teams

Wojtek WitkowskiRayfeed · Written 20d ago

Great tool for taking notes and organizing things for a team and also for yourself!

Sublime Text 3

Sophisticated Text Editor For Code

Kunal BhatiaCo-founder & Design Lead @SlidesUp · Written 23d ago

Believe it or not, but me and my brother use Sublime Text for notes. He's a PM, I'm a designer, and we both write software. With Sublime, we can keep detailed notes and expand/collapse sections easily. This was our solution to Evernote! No OCR, but I think you might like it.

Dropbox Paper

Collaboration tool built for teams

Georgemaine LourensDesigner at Yummygum · Written 21d ago

It's simple to use and supports markdown, attachments and much more. Works well across iOS, Android & Web. Did I mention it looks very elegant? Their collaboration options are also very simple and usefull.

Quiver

A notebook built for programmers on your Mac

Anirudh MuraliComputer Science Undergrad. GSoC '17. · Written 21d ago

This doesn't solve the main task of daily notes, I use this to jot down the highlights of what I learn/see online. It's built for programmers, supports LaTeX, Markdown and Code view with line numbers. Love to have all these features at disposal though I don't use them all.

Mohammed RidwanSoftware Engineer; ex: Shopify, IBM; · Written 20d ago

I use Quiver for every single note taking need, whether it is making to-do lists or doing research on a project. Quiver handles LaTeX, Markdown, Code so well! Also pair this with Lightshot Screenshot and you have the perfect research scrap-booking tool.

Stack

A beautiful and smart key-value based writing app

Christoph BieringComputer Scientist (BSc) · Written 19d ago

Christoph Biering made this product

A free, beautiful and smart markdown key-value based note taking app. Don't worry where you save your notes just stack them.

Goyo.vim

Michael LeeMaker of things for humans · Written 23d ago

If you're comfortable using Vim, have a look at the Goyo plugin. Paired with https://github.com/junegunn/lime... it makes a pretty nice, minimalist writing environment. Pair it with Dropbox, then your notes are with you wherever you go.

Moo.do

Ridiculously simple, incredibly powerful organization

Foscolos Nickinto design and computers · Written 22d ago

One interesting way to keep notes is through lists. I prefer Moo.do but there are many apps like this, out there. I think https://workflowy.com/ is the most known.

Notational Velocity

A unique modeless, mouseless Mac OS X note-taking app

Michael XanderProduct Designer, mymorningroutine.com · Written 21d ago

Slim, fast, and an open file format (Markdown).

Papier

Open a new tab and trap your best thoughts.

Mukul GuptaProduct Manager, Browserstack · Written 21d ago

Great for noting something down quickly as it's always one tab away. It supports markdown as well I often paste the notes worth saving from Papier onto Apple Notes for longer term storage.

Collate Notes

Jay HoffmannWordPress + Front-end Developer · Written 21d ago

Collate puts an emphasis on privacy, which is really cool, and the note storage format is pretty unique. The interface is easy to get used to, and has familiar concepts like notebooks and tags. The web clipper is also super handy when I'm trying to organize bookmarks and annotations and the like.

Inkdrop

TAKUYAPuKaPuKa · Written 20d ago

TAKUYA made this product

I use this for jotting down the programming-related things. It is the best notebook app for those who love Markdown.

FromScratch

A simple but smart note-taking app

Kilian ValkhofUX Developer · Written 19d ago

Kilian Valkhof made this product

Simple, smart and gets out of the way: the autosaving makes it low-effort and the design is clear.