Best indie Mac apps for

Notes

Mac notes apps cover everything from quick scratchpads to linked knowledge bases and polished personal documents.

Our pick

Bear

A beautiful notes app for Mac and Apple devices.

Best for
Personal notes
Mac support
Mac + iPhone/iPad
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
No
Made by
Shiny Frog

Fast writing, tags, Markdown, sync, and a visual style that makes notes pleasant to revisit.

Best free option

Craft

A polished document and notes workspace.

Best for
Structured docs
Mac support
Mac + iPhone/iPad + web
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
No
Made by
Craft Docs

A document-like notes app for organized personal knowledge, polished pages, and cross-device writing.

Power pick

Tot

A tiny scratchpad for little bits of text.

Best for
Temporary notes
Mac support
Mac + iPhone/iPad
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
The Iconfactory

A deliberately small text scratchpad for fragments before they become something bigger.

Lightweight pick

Obsidian

A local-first knowledge base built on Markdown files.

Best for
Linked knowledge base
Mac support
Mac + other devices
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
No
Made by
Obsidian

A flexible notes system for linked thinking, local Markdown files, plugins, and long-term knowledge storage.

Alternative

Agenda

Date-focused notes for planning and projects.

Best for
Date-based notes
Mac support
Mac + iPhone/iPad
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
No
Made by
Momenta

A notes app organized around time, projects, meetings, and planning context.