Mac apps
The best screen-edge notes apps for Mac
I got to this category through Slack calls: someone asks for something mid-conversation and I either hunt for pen and paper or cmd-tab to a notes app, which means losing the window I was actually looking at.
The edge names a behaviour. The panel lives off-screen, you reach it with a gesture or a hotkey, and it goes away on its own — a floating window does none of that. That narrows the field a lot: there are four apps here, and one of them is built into macOS.
SideNotes
A notes panel on the right edge, with folders and colours
The best-known app in this category and the most direct comparison to Flyout. It documents folders, colours and note reordering, Markdown formatting, search, snippets, an AppleScript API, Apple Shortcuts support, automatic backups and iCloud sync. Images and file shortcuts go in a note — a shortcut being a link to the file where it already lives, not a copy inside the note. It ships in nine languages and has a separate iPhone and iPad app. Its documentation does not mention syntax-highlighted code blocks, reminders, tables or tags.
Unclutter
A clipboard, a file shelf and notes, dropped down from the top edge
Unclutter comes at the edge from a different angle: the notes pane is one of three, alongside clipboard history and a file drop zone. If what you actually want is somewhere to park files and paste history, this is the one that does all three at once. Its notes are plain text — pasting strips formatting — and the developer states plainly that Unclutter does not sync on its own; you point its folder at a cloud drive. It runs on much older macOS than anything else here and ships in eleven languages.
FlyoutOur app
A rich-text notes panel on the screen edge, with reminders
This is our app, so read the rest of this page for the parts we are not the answer to. Flyout is the same gesture as SideNotes with a different bet about what goes in a note: syntax-highlighted code blocks, tables, free-form tags with colours, and reminders you can attach to a whole note or to one selected line. Files are copied into the note rather than linked, so a note carries its attachment to your other Mac. Notes are plain Markdown and sync runs on your own iCloud account. There is no iOS app, and macOS 14 is the floor.
Apple Quick Note
Free, built into macOS, opens from the bottom-right corner
Worth trying before you buy anything, because it is already on your Mac and it syncs to your iPhone for nothing. The corner is a hot corner rather than a full edge, and you get one note at a time: to reach an older Quick Note you open the Notes app. Code gets a monospaced style with no language and no highlighting, it is not a Markdown editor (macOS 26 added Markdown import and export), and a note cannot carry a due date — those live in the separate Reminders app.
Side by side
| App | What it is | How it opens | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| SideNotes | A notes panel on the right edge, with folders and colours | Screen edge, menu bar, or a hotkey | $19.99 once, five Macs · macOS 13+ |
| Unclutter | A clipboard, a file shelf and notes, dropped down from the top edge | Move to the top of the screen and scroll down | $19.99 once · macOS 10.13+ |
| Flyout | A rich-text notes panel on the screen edge, with reminders | Screen edge or a hotkey | $18 once, five Macs · macOS 14+ |
| Apple Quick Note | Free, built into macOS, opens from the bottom-right corner | Bottom-right hot corner, then click the peel — or Fn-Q | Free with macOS |
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.
Which one fits
You want notes on your iPhone too
SideNotes or Apple Quick Note. Quick Note is free and already syncing; SideNotes sells a separate mobile app. Flyout has no iOS app at all.
You want the clipboard and a file shelf in the same panel
Unclutter. Nothing else here tries to be three tools, and its notes pane is enough for short text.
A note of yours will hold code, a table or a deadline
Flyout. Those are the things the other three do not document — and they are the reason we built it.
You are on macOS 13 or older
SideNotes or Unclutter. Flyout needs macOS 14.
Try Flyout
Free for 7 days, no account. It is $18 once and works on five Macs — macOS 14 or later.
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