| App | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Stickies | Free (built in) | Basic desktop notes without installing anything |
| Tot | Free on Mac | A handful of beautiful, synced scratch notes |
| FloatyNote | $9 once | One note that stays on top and greets you on wake |
| Noticky | $9.99 once | Feature-rich sticky notes (markdown, iCloud, Touch ID) |
| Antinote | $5 once | A quick scratchpad with a built-in calculator |
| SideNotes | $19.99 | Organized notes docked at the screen edge |
| Unclutter | $24 | Notes + clipboard history + file shelf in one |
Apple Stickies — free, built in, easy to bury
Every Mac ships with Stickies, and for zero effort it's fine: colorful notes on the desktop, and since macOS Sonoma you can float a note via Window → Float on Top. The catch is the workflow: notes live on the desktop layer by default, so the moment you open windows they're gone from view — and nothing brings them back when you sit down again. If you keep "losing" your Stickies, that's not you; it's the design. Start here, and upgrade only if that burying problem actually bites you.
Tot — the most elegant minimalist
Iconfactory's Tot gives you exactly seven color-coded notes, synced via iCloud, in a lovely menu-bar package. It's free on Mac (the iOS app is paid) and the constraint is the point: it never becomes a junk drawer. It doesn't do always-on-top or anything windowed — it's a dropdown you visit, not a note that stays in sight. If you want tasteful, minimal scratch space and you're happy to summon it yourself, Tot is hard to beat.
FloatyNote — one note that won't let you forget (ours)
FloatyNote is deliberately the narrowest app on this list: one plain-text note that floats above every window (full-screen apps included) and pops to the front every time your Mac wakes. Write two lines before you step away; they're the first thing you see when you sit back down. Since v1.3 it also quietly archives anything you haven't touched in 48 hours into a searchable archive, so the note stays about now. Offline, no account, a grep-able .txt on your disk, $9 once with a 14-day free trial. If you want many notes, markdown, or sync — pick Noticky or Tot instead. If your problem is "I start my day in the wrong window," this is the one built for exactly that.
Noticky — the feature-rich one
Noticky is the most complete sticky-note app here: multiple notes with markdown WYSIWYG, iCloud sync, Touch ID-lockable notes, tags, templates, reminders, and always-on-top that works over full-screen apps. Native Swift, fast, $9.99 one-time. If you want a proper sticky-note system living in your menu bar, it's the strongest pick. The flip side of all that capability: it's another place to organize — FloatyNote and Tot exist for people who don't want that.
Antinote — the $5 scratchpad
Antinote is a fast, charming scratchpad: one summonable note window with inline calculations, unit conversions, and quick lists, for $5. It's aimed at "temporary thoughts" — jot, use, clear. It isn't trying to stay visible all day or resurface things later; it's a great pocket calculator-notepad hybrid, and the cheapest paid option on the list.
SideNotes — notes on the edge of your screen
SideNotes ($19.99) docks a panel at the edge of your display: swipe it out, take notes in folders with markdown and code formatting, swipe it away. It's the most "organized" option — closer to a light notes manager than a sticky note. Good for people who take many structured notes during the day and want them one gesture away, overkill if you just need something in your face.
Unclutter — the three-in-one
Unclutter ($24) drops down from the top of your screen with three panes: clipboard history, a file shelf, and quick notes. The notes are the simplest part — its real value is the combo. If you'd buy a clipboard manager anyway, Unclutter's notes come along for free; if you only want notes, the other apps do that job better for less.
How to choose
- Never installed anything, mild needs: stick with Apple Stickies (and learn Float on Top).
- A few pretty synced notes: Tot.
- A full sticky-note system (markdown, sync, security): Noticky.
- Cheap scratchpad with math: Antinote.
- Folders of notes at the screen edge: SideNotes. Notes + clipboard + files: Unclutter.
- One note you cannot miss — on top of everything, back in your face at every wake, self-cleaning: FloatyNote.
Try the "can't-miss-it" one
FloatyNote is free for 14 days — write two lines tonight and see them greet you tomorrow morning.
macOS 12+ · one-time $9 · no account, no cloud
Questions
What is the best sticky note app for Mac?
Depends on how you note: Stickies for free basics, Tot for a few elegant synced notes, Noticky for the most features, Antinote for a cheap scratchpad, SideNotes for organized edge-docked notes, Unclutter for the notes+clipboard+files combo — and FloatyNote for one note that stays on top and shows up on every screen wake.
Do any Mac sticky notes stay on top of other windows?
Apple Stickies can float per-note (Window → Float on Top) but won't follow you into full-screen apps. Noticky and FloatyNote both stay above everything including full-screen apps — FloatyNote also pops the note to the front whenever your Mac wakes.
Is there a free sticky notes app for Mac?
Apple Stickies is built into macOS, and Tot is free on Mac. The paid apps add always-on-top over full-screen, sync, markdown, archiving, and similar extras.