Top 5 Best Note-Taking Apps For Mac In 2024

What Makes A Great Note-Taking App For Mac?

When shopping for the right notes app for Mac, things you’ll want to consider include:

• Ease of use: Creating quick notes, editing, and sorting them should be seamless and intuitive.

• Accessibility: Much like taking notes on a piece of paper, you need an app that you can access from anywhere – be it your laptop, tablet, or mobile device.

• Value for money: If you’re paying for a subscription to a simple note-taking app, the price should be justified by excellent features that make doing your job easier.
• Integrations: If you already have an existing task management software, using a note-taking app that integrates with it can save you the time and effort of importing data.

How To Choose The Right Note-Taking App For Mac

With so much available on the internet, you might have trouble choosing the best note-taking app for Mac. Fortunately, these best practices can help you narrow your choices.

• Read App Store reviews: One of the best ways to get a sense of how well an app works is to take a look at reviews. Consider negative reviews as well –  something that doesn’t work might outweigh the benefit of other features.
• Think about what notes you need to take: Some notes require more organization than others. If this is the case for you, you might prefer an app with advanced features like highlighting, labeling, and more.
• List the features you need: Casual users may not need the bells and whistles power users do. On the other hand, users who work with a team might benefit from collaborative features.

How Much Do Mac Note-Taking Apps Cost?

Many Mac-based note-taking apps are free. However, accessing additional features like increased storage and multiple users may require that you invest in a subscription. Ultimately, how much an app costs will depend on the extra features it offers.

Notion

For users who require collaboration and task management, Notion is for you. You can create blocks using elements like checklists, headings, media attachments, links, and more. Plus, you can automate actions and tasks through Integrately.

Pros

• Highly customizable templates: Whatever you need, you’ll get with Notion’s hundreds of templates. Do anything from creating tables to embedding media and incorporating links to a Google Doc, Sheet, or other files.
• Free personal plan: Notion’s freemium personal plan is chock-full of features like hybrid editing and stunning visual elements.

Cons

• No offline functionality: To use Notion, you’ll have to be connected to the internet.
• Hard-to-use blocks: Because Notion incorporates a block system for creating notes, it doesn’t provide the most seamless writing experience.

Pricing

Personal plans are free, while Personal Pro and Team plans cost $4/month and $8/month per user, respectively. Enterprise pricing is available upon request.

Apple Notes

If you’re looking for a built-in simple note-taking app, you can start with Apple Notes. This totally free note-taking app is straight to the point and easy to use.

Pros

• Compatible across all Apple devices: If you have multiple Apple devices, you can easily sync your notes. You can even create handwritten notes using your Apple Pencil and iPad.
• Nested lists: Unlike other apps with to-do lists, Apple Notes allows you to create nested lists of hierarchical folders – that’s a first!

Cons

• No hybrid markdown: Apple Notes for technical documents is not the best.

Pricing

You can use Apple Notes for free.

OneNote

Are you looking for an app with plenty of features? OneNote is rich with powerful editing tools that you can use to format your notes in whatever way you want.

Pros

• Impressive list of features: You can do almost anything on OneNote, including solving mathematical equations, attaching files, securing notes, and even customizing your file to look like a real notebook.
• Entirely free: No need to pay for a subscription to access OneNote’s premium features – everything is free!

Cons

• Lackluster organization: Unfortunately, you can’t do much to sort your notes.
• Messy interface: While some users prefer the look of a traditional notebook, OneNote is admittedly quite messy – you’ll find tabs and dividers everywhere.

Pricing

You can use OneNote for free.

Bear

Bear has to be one of the most beautiful writing apps we’ve tried. It has powerful markdown functionality and is so simple to use. 

Pros

• Superior archive features: You’ll be surprised how much cleaner archiving your notes can make your interface look!
• Supports over 150 programming languages: If you’re a fan of code snippets, you’ll be pleased to know that Bear can recognize elements like emails, weblinks, and access to Google Drive. You also get hashtag-based organization and in-line image support.

Cons

• No Windows compatibility: If you’re using Bear on a Mac, you won’t be able to sync it to any of your Windows devices.

Pricing

Bear Pro costs $1.49/month or $14.99/year per user.

Obsidian

Visual thinkers will love what Obsidian has to offer. With it, you can view your notes and tasks as a graph and connect related files with backlinks.

Pros

• Multiple views: List your tasks in a calendar, a kanban board, or other templates that suit your process.
• Custom hotkeys: Set hotkeys to activate commands quicker and filter through long lists.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: If you want to make the most of Obsidian, you’ll have to really learn the ropes. Everything is customizable, but it may take some time and effort to get used to.

Pricing

The Personal plan is free forever, while the Catalyst plan costs a one-time fee of $25. Commercial plans cost $50/year per user.