Mac apps
The best note taking apps for MacBook
Nothing on this page depends on which MacBook you bought. Every app here publishes a minimum macOS version and nothing else, so an Air runs the same software as a Pro; the choice is about what you want a note to be.
Side by side
| App | What it is | How it opens | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Notes | The one already on your MacBook | Dock, Spotlight, or Quick Note from a hot corner | Free with macOS |
| Obsidian | Your notes as plain Markdown files in a folder you choose | Dock or Spotlight | Free for personal and commercial use · optional Sync from $4/user/month billed annually |
| Joplin | Open-source notes with encrypted sync | Dock or Spotlight | App free · Joplin Cloud from €2.99/month (€2.40 billed yearly) |
| Notion | Documents, databases and a wiki in one workspace | Dock or Spotlight | Free plan · Plus $10 per member per month · Business $20 |
| Bear | Markdown notes for Apple devices only | Dock or Spotlight | Free tier · Pro $2.99/month or $29.99/year |
| Flyout | A notes panel on the screen edge rather than a library you open | Screen edge or a hotkey | $18 once, five devices across Mac + iPhone · macOS 14+ / iOS 18+ |
| Goodnotes | Handwriting and PDF markup, built for a stylus | Dock or Spotlight | Free (3 files) · Essential $11.99/year · Pro $35.99/year |
Every claim about another app on this page comes from that app’s own documentation or App Store listing, checked in August 2026. Prices are what the developer lists; App Store prices vary by region. These apps ship often — if something here has gone out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Three questions separate them: does the note stay a file you own, does it sync without a subscription, and do you need it on anything that is not an Apple device. Answer those first and most of this list rules itself out.
Apple NotesFree with macOS
The one already on your MacBook
Apple’s own guide documents folders, tags, Smart Folders, locked notes, shared notes and folders, scanned documents and search, all syncing over iCloud to iPhone and iPad. It is free and installed, which makes it the honest starting point — a week with it tells you what you are actually missing. There is no Windows or Android app; iCloud.com is the only way in from another platform.
Pros
- Free, installed, and already syncing to your iPhone and iPad
- Locked notes, Smart Folders and scanned-document search built in
Cons
- No Windows or Android app — iCloud.com is the only way in from another platform
ObsidianFree for personal and commercial use · optional Sync from $4/user/month billed annually
Your notes as plain Markdown files in a folder you choose
Free for personal and commercial use, with no sign-up. Because every note is a Markdown file on your own disk, Time Machine, Git and any other editor keep working on them, and nothing has to be exported later. Links between notes are what people stay for. Sync across devices is a paid add-on ($4 per user per month billed annually, $5 monthly) or you point it at storage you already have. Obsidian asks organisations to buy the $50 commercial licence but states it is not required.
Pros
- Free for personal and commercial use, with no account required
- Every note is a plain Markdown file on your own disk — nothing to export later
- Links between notes and a graph view
Cons
- Sync across devices is a paid add-on unless you bring your own cloud storage
JoplinApp free · Joplin Cloud from €2.99/month (€2.40 billed yearly)
Open-source notes with encrypted sync
Open source and free on macOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS, with a terminal client as well. Rich text or Markdown, with optional end-to-end encryption for sync. Sync runs through Joplin Cloud, Dropbox or OneDrive, so you can keep the app free and pay nothing if you already have one of those. The interface is the price you pay for that.
Pros
- Free and open source on every platform, including a terminal client
- Optional end-to-end encrypted sync
- Free if you sync through your own Dropbox or OneDrive
Cons
- The interface is dated compared to the rest of this list
NotionFree plan · Plus $10 per member per month · Business $20
Documents, databases and a wiki in one workspace
For a lot of students "notes" means a page per course, a table of assignments and a database that filters — that is what Notion is for, and no plain note app replaces it. The free plan is unlimited for one person, with 5 MB file uploads and 7 days of page history. It needs an account, and the Mac app is the same product as the web one rather than a native rewrite.
Pros
- Databases and a wiki, not just pages — replaces a spreadsheet too
- A genuinely usable free plan for one person
Cons
- Needs an account
- The Mac app is the web app, not a native rewrite
BearFree tier · Pro $2.99/month or $29.99/year
Markdown notes for Apple devices only
The most pleasant typing surface here if you write in Markdown and stay on Mac, iPhone and iPad. The free version keeps notes locally and exports to TXT, Markdown, TextBundle, RTF, PDF, JPG, HTML, DOCX and ePub. iCloud sync is the thing you pay for, along with OCR search inside PDFs and images, 28 themes and 15 app icons — $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year.
Pros
- Exports to nine formats even on the free tier, including DOCX and ePub
- OCR search inside PDFs and images on the paid tier
Cons
- iCloud sync is a paid feature
- Apple devices only
Flyout$18 once, five devices across Mac + iPhone · macOS 14+ / iOS 18+Our app
A notes panel on the screen edge rather than a library you open
Flyout is our app. It suits notes you need beside another app: instructions during a call, a code snippet while debugging, or tasks with an in-progress or in-review status. It opens from the screen edge, supports custom task statuses, and keeps images, tables and reminders with the text. The license includes the iPhone app; enable iCloud on both devices to sync through your own account. You can choose from 15 themes and 38 note colours. Content is stored in a local database with Markdown export. It requires macOS 14 or later and has no iPad, Windows or Android app.
Pros
- A screen-edge panel you can pin beside your work
- Custom task statuses and reminders within notes
- Mac and iPhone included; optional iCloud sync
Cons
- Not built for a long document — it is the panel you pull for a quick note while working on something else, not where you would keep a semester of lecture notes
For macOS 14 Sonoma and later. iPhone app included. No account, no subscription.
GoodnotesFree (3 files) · Essential $11.99/year · Pro $35.99/year
Handwriting and PDF markup, built for a stylus
It comes up in MacBook searches constantly, so it is worth being clear: Goodnotes was built for handwriting on an iPad, and on a MacBook you are typing or marking up PDFs with a trackpad instead. It runs on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Windows, Android and the web. The free tier stops at three files and watermarks exports, and syncing your library across platforms is a Pro feature.
Pros
- Handwriting and PDF markup nothing else on this page does
- Runs on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Windows, Android and the web
Cons
- Built for a stylus — on a MacBook trackpad it is markup, not handwriting
- Free tier caps at three files and watermarks exports
Which one fits
MacBook Air or MacBook Pro
It does not decide anything. None of these apps documents a requirement beyond a macOS version — Flyout needs macOS 14 or later, and the others publish their own minimums.
You want it free and you want the notes to stay yours
Obsidian or Joplin. Both keep the notes in open formats; Joplin adds end-to-end encrypted sync, Obsidian charges for sync but not for the app.
You also use Windows or Android
Obsidian, Notion, Joplin or Goodnotes. Apple Notes, Bear and Flyout are Apple-only, and that is not going to change for you.
You take notes by hand
Goodnotes, and be honest about the hardware — it wants an iPad and a stylus, not a trackpad.
You want the note in reach while you work on something else
Flyout for a panel on the screen edge, or Apple Quick Note if free matters more than what the note can hold.
Questions people ask
- What is the best free note-taking app for MacBook?
- Apple Notes if you want it simple and already synced to your iPhone. Obsidian if you want unlimited free notes as plain files with no account — Sync and Publish are optional paid services.
- Does MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro limit which app I can use?
- No. Every app on this page publishes a minimum macOS version, not a hardware requirement — an M1 Air runs the same software as a current Pro.
- Which note app keeps my notes as plain files I own?
- Obsidian keeps a folder of Markdown files you can edit with other apps. Joplin offers Markdown export. Flyout stores Markdown content in its local app database and exports notes, folders or the whole library as Markdown; it does not edit a folder of .md files in place.
- Is there a note app that works on both Windows and Mac?
- Obsidian, Notion, Joplin and Goodnotes all publish Windows apps. Apple Notes, Bear and Flyout are Apple-only.
- What if I take notes by hand with a stylus?
- None of the typing-first apps here are built for handwriting. Goodnotes is — it is designed for an iPad and a stylus, and on a MacBook trackpad you are typing or marking up PDFs instead.
Try Flyout
Free for 7 days, no account. It is $18 once and works on five devices across Mac and iPhone — macOS 14 or later, iOS 18 or later.
For macOS 14 Sonoma and later. iPhone app included. No account, no subscription.
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