- MacOS is a feature-rich computer OS and it’s used by millions of users across the globe. Well, there are many note taking apps available for macOS but choosing the right one can be quiet difficult. Consequently, in this article, we have compared some of the best note taking apps for mac.
- Free download Audio Notetaker Audio Notetaker for Mac OS X. Audio Notetaker offers a visual and interactive form of note taking; one where audio, text and images are used to create truly comprehensive notes.
Microsoft OneNote The digital note-taking app for your devices. “Commander One looks like a great app to have on your Mac if you’re frustrated with OS X’s built-in file management.” Cultofmac.com ”Once it’s installed, you get dual pane browsing, unlimited tabs, a variety of sorting options, an easy toggle for revealing hidden files, and more.
Keep notes, lists, and even pictures in sticky notes on your desktop. You see the notes whenever the Stickies app on your Mac is open.
Important: When you first open the Stickies app after upgrading to macOS Catalina or later, follow the onscreen instructions to import any notes you may have had in the Stickies widget in Dashboard.
Create a note
In the Stickies app on your Mac, choose File > New Note.
Enter text. To add a picture or PDF, drag a file to your note.
Your content is saved automatically. The first line of the note is shown in the title bar when you collapse the note.
To customize your note, do any of the following:
Change the note color: Choose a color from the Color menu.
Change text formatting: Choose Font > Show Fonts. Select text, then use the Fonts window to format it.
Make the note semi-transparent: Choose Window > Translucent.
Keep the note in front of other windows: Choose Window > Float on Top.
Tip: If you like how you formatted and customized a note, you can use it as a default template. Select the note, then choose Window > Use as Default.
Add a list to a note
In the Stickies app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Add a list: Press Option-Tab, enter your first item, then press Return.
End a list (and add a regular paragraph): Click at the end of the last list item, then press Return twice.
Increase list level: Click a line in the list, then press Tab.
Decrease list level: Click a line in the list, then press Shift-Tab.
Format a list: Control-click in the list, then choose List. You can change the bullet type.
Find text in notes
In the Stickies app on your Mac, choose Edit > Find > Find, then type text in the Find field.
You can also select text, then choose Edit > Find > Use Selection for Find.
To refine your search, you can:
Select the current note or all notes.
Deselect Ignore Case to find text that exactly matches the capitalization of your search term.
Press Return to start the search.
Click Previous or Next to move to another match.
Note: You can also find and replace text. Enter the text in the Replace With field, then choose one of the Replace options.
View notes
In the Stickies app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Note One For Mac Osx
Arrange a note manually: Click the top of a note and drag the note where you want it.
Group multiple notes: Choose Window > Arrange By, then choose an option.
Keep a note in front of other windows: Choose Window > Float on Top.
Make a note semi-transparent: Choose Window > Translucent.
Collapse or expand a note: Double-click the title bar.
Change the size of a note: Drag the note’s edge (top, bottom, or sides). To maximize the note, click the triangle in the top-right corner. Click it again to reduce the note to its original size.
See note information: Hold the pointer over a collapsed note—you see when the note was created and last edited.
If you don’t see your note, verify that the Stickies app is still open. When Stickies is closed, notes don’t appear on your desktop.
Import or export notes
You can import a text file as a single note into Stickies or export a note from Stickies as a text file. You can also export all your notes from the Stickies app and import them into the Notes app, where you can write and organize notes in a single window and see your notes on all your devices.
In the Stickies app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Import or export a single note: Choose File > Import Text or File > Export Text.
You can import and export notes in common formats such as plain text, RTF, and RTFD (includes graphics). When you export text, you can choose where to save the file.
Export all notes from Stickies to Notes: Choose File > Export All to Notes, then click Export All.
All your notes are imported to Notes into the Imported Notes folder, which contains subfolders for each color of note. (Your notes also remain in Stickies.)
Delete a note
Click the box in the top-left corner, then click Delete Note.
While Apple Notes checks off most of the boxes, it may not fit into everyone’s needs. This is where the best Notes app alternatives for Mac come into the play.
Aside from making the task of note-taking pretty straightforward, these third-party apps also double up as a super handy annotation and writing tool. Besides, they allow creating projects in many formats like text, audio, video, and whatnot.
Though the App Store has several fine options, only a few have walked into our list of the top note-taking apps for Mac. We’ve chosen them based on their effectiveness and how well they work. Dive right in along with me to take a close look at ’em!
#1. Evernote
Despite the cut-throat competition, “Evernote” remains one of the most appreciable note-taking apps both for macOS and iOS. The highlight of this app is the wide range of tools that provide more flexibility.
The option to make notes in several formats like video, audio, web clippings, sketch ensure you are able to give your thoughts the right shape. With easy-to-format word processor at your disposal, you can write your thoughts elegantly.
You can create an agenda to be discussed in a meeting, write a quick memo and transfer your Evernote notes to Apple notes.
Often forget to do some important tasks? Make a checklist of all the things you have to do. Besides, you will also create presentations to express your thoughts with the desired impact.
Price: Free
Download
#2. Microsoft OneNote
“OneNote” is a complete package. The app lets you capture your ideas in a variety of formats and offer you the needed freedom to keep everything in the perfect sync.
You can tag your notes to find them quickly. Make a list of to-dos and keep track of them so that you are able to do your tasks in time.
The collaboration features works immaculately, allowing you to work with your colleagues. For more security, you will also add an extra shield to your projects to keep them private.
Better still, OneNote for Mac is compatible with a ton of international languages including French, German, Greek, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish and more. So, a language should never become a roadblock to your note-taking.
Price: Free
Download
#3. Notebook
Zoho Corporation is well-known for producing powerful apps. And Notebook does have all the qualities to be highly efficient.
While there is a lot to like in this app, I find “Smart Cards” very adorable. What it basically does is automatically format the contents into specific cards like the recipe, video, and link.
The app provides several predefined note covers to let you design your stories elegantly. If you don’t like the readymade options, you can create a custom cover. Moreover, there is also an option to make public notes using shareable links so that anyone can view them.
With the dark-themed night mode, you will enjoy working till late at night. Plus, the reminders won’t let any of your tasks go out of your notice.
Price: Free
Download
#4. Bear
Should you want to have a top-notch writing-cum note-taking app for your Mac, give a close look to Bear. I’ve used this app for long and always found pretty neat.
The best thing about it is the simple interface coupled with the easy-to-use tools. Therefore, you can write amazing stories and give your wildest thoughts the ideal shape.
Bear has a good library of more than a dozen themes that make it a lot easier to design stories. Features like tagging, archiving and adding tasks to notes enable to take control of your stuff. Furthermore, you can export your projects in multiple formats such as HTML, PDF, DOCX, MD, JPG, and EPUB.
Lastly, after a free trial of one week, you will have to upgrade to Bear premium’s $1.49 monthly or $14.99 annually plan.
Price: Free
Download
#5. Agenda
If you want to streamline all of your projects and get them ready before the deadline, pick out “Agenda.” One of the notable features of this app is the advanced text editor.
Depending on the specific theme, you can give a befitting look to your notes. It allows you to convert your text into multiple formats like Markdown and HTML. Segregate your files into different categories so that will access them instantly.
The app lets you connect your sticky notes to the events in your personal calendar. As a result, you can plan your meeting perfectly.
Better still, you don’t have to pay any bucks to use all the features of Agenda.
Price: Free
Download
#6. Notability
For annotation and crafting rich notes, “Notability” is one of the better options. With a wide range of fonts, sizes, custom colors at your disposal, you can design your stories with complete peace of mind.
You will be able to import PDFs, DOCs, PPTs, images, GIFs to your projects and fine-tune them with more flexibility. Easily convert your stories into PDF to share them with your friends and colleagues.
Make the most of the super handy tools to annotate photos elegantly. Thanks to the automatic iCloud syncing, your tasks automatically sync across your devices.
Additionally, Notability works with multiple cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and OneDrive.
Price: $9.99
Download
#7. Simplenote
There are very few note apps for Mac that look as familiar as Simplenote. Its user interface is pretty clean, and you hardly have to spend any time to master the tools.
One of my favorite feature of this app is focus mode. Times when you want to write with maximum concentration, this feature comes into play really well.
You can use pins and tags to organize your notes. And with Markdown, you will ideally format your projects. To ensure your eyes don’t burn while working in the night, the app comes with the dark mode.
Price: Free
Download
#8. GoodNotes
I have picked out GoodNotes for a couple of main reasons. First, it makes annotating docs really fun. And if you are fond of giving your docs a creative look, this one can be your thing.
You can highlight or strikeout the text in your PDF documents. Easily move, scale and ideally customize the object color. There is also an option to add the bookmarks to your docs.
Courtesy the fast iCloud sync, you will find your notes on all of your devices. You can share your notes with others and also print them. The compatibility with a number of languages like English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese and more make it an evergreen tool.
Notes Download Mac
Price: $7.99
Download
#9. Quip
“Quip” is a lot more than just a simple note app for macOS. To be more precise, this is what you should use to collaborate with your teammates. Thanks to the chat and messaging integration, it helps you work with your colleagues in a fun way.
You can use the app to note down your thoughts faster, create to-do lists, and edit your docs. It also lets you make comprehensive spreadsheets.
Notes Application For Mac
Another notable feature of this app is that it allows you to import your address book from several services like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Microsoft Outlook, Google, and iCloud.
You will create insightful charts by using the data from spreadsheets and Salesforce records. The smart slides would not just make your presentation more impressive but also save your time.
Price: Free
Download
#10. BoostNote
If you are a developer, “BoostNote” should be your preferred option. The reason why I say it because the app has the support for code syntax highlighting in over a hundred languages such as Javascript, Python, HTML, CSS and more.
This open source markdown editor offers several tools that allow devs to take notes faster. The formatting features have semi-live previews so that you can quickly check your writing.
Besides, the text is automatically formatted as you type, which speeds up your task and also saves plenty of time. That’s not all, BoostNote works offline as well so that you can work anytime and anywhere.
Price: Free
Download
Bonus
Unclutter
“Unclutter” is really smart! It’s designed to be a multitasker and lets you organize your clipboard data, files, and notes. If you aren’t able to take control of them, give it a chance to sort out the mess.
You can keep an eye on your clipboard history and manage it with ease. Store all of your files at once place and access them quickly. And yes, make sticky notes to never forget to do essential things.
The easy editing tools allow you to make changes conveniently. Due mainly to the quick search feature, you will instantly find a list. Besides, the app can be set up with Dropbox to sync data across the devices.
Price: $13.99
Download
That’s pretty much it! So, this sums up our roundup of the top note apps for Mac.
What’s your favorite?
Now that you have known our favorite note apps, tell us about the ones that can walk into your personal roundup. We’d really appreciate your collection and the valuable feedback.
Take a glance at the following posts as well:
The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/
- https://www.igeeksblog.com/author/dhvanesh/