The 10 Best Note-Taking Apps for Mac

We get to review and understand the 10 best note-taking apps for Mac.

Note-taking is a mundane part of modern life, but you can make this process less painful by using online tools.

Note-taking apps offer a simplified way to take notes online because they can do more than you can achieve with paper notebooks.

For instance, you can search your notes within seconds. The good thing is that there are plenty of note-taking apps on the market.

However, not all of them work perfectly on Mac. Most note-taking apps are exclusive to specific platforms, meaning that Mac users might have a harder time finding the right tool than someone on a PC.

With that said, there are still plenty of good options to choose from. So what are the best note-taking apps for Mac?

There is no direct answer because there are ten fantastic options for organizing your notes on Mac. We have hand-picked the best apps from both open-source and commercial software.

But when selecting the best note-taking apps for Mac, it is important to consider what ecosystem it interfaces with, ease of use, costs, and the type of organizational features that you need.

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What Makes a Note-Taking App Great?

Before we look at the top note-taking apps for Mac, it is vital to understand the features that make them great. There are many.

Easy to use: First, the note-taking app should be simple and easy to use. No one wants a feature-rich app that is complex to use.

Some developers tend to add many bells and whistles to their products, but this adds complexity and difficulty to navigate.

The app’s features should be effortless to understand and serve the purpose they were designed for. So, when choosing the best note-taking app for Mac, be sure to focus on the essential features and functions you require.

After all, one functional feature is much better than a hundred unnecessary ones.

Affordable: There are several good apps for note-taking, but they are all available at different prices because they all offer something a little different. So, before investing in a pricey note-taking app, ensure that it is worth your while.

Let me organize your notes: A good note-taking app should offer an easier way to sort your things, including the use of tags, folders, and notebooks.

Offer fast and useful search: If you intend to take a lot of notes, then it would be prudent to choose something that has a quick search feature to enable you to find what you are looking for within seconds.

The good thing is that all the note-taking apps we recommend here meet most of the above criteria. It is only up to you to select what fits your style and needs.

Detailed Review of The Best Note-Taking Apps for Mac

1. OneNote

OneNote is one of the oldest note apps on Mac. This app lets you organize notes in several notebooks, which have different sections.

This has become the common standard that has been adopted across the industry, but of course, OneNote still leads the way.

We included it as the best note-taking for Mac because it offers a significantly more comprehensive free option than most note-taking apps.

If you are already a Microsoft Office user, you will find the OneNote interface to be familiar and easy to master, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t work for other users.

Its core design borrows a lot from a paper notebook. It is more like a piece of paper, which is quite different from most note-taking apps that work like a text editor.

The only thing that we didn’t like about the OneNote app is that it doesn’t export its content to other applications. Ironically, the app syncs with a myriad of devices, as you can imagine.

Pricing

The free plan covers up to 5 GB of storage space.
If you want more storage space and more productivity tools, you can opt for Microsoft 365, which starts at $9.99 per month.

2. Apple Notes

One of the best note-taking apps for Mac is Apple’s native app. Apple Notes are the first choice for many Mac users. But that is not the only factor that made us include this tool on this list.

It is effective and easy to use. The fact that it comes pre-installed and free is a reason enough to choose this app.

The beauty of this app is that it loads faster and makes it easier to create new notes. You can also add images to your notes, and they will be reflected in the notes.

On top of this, you can attach a document to your notes. This process is usually fast. Apple Notes is organized in such a way that notes are grouped into notebooks and ordered by date.

This app also supports tagging, where you can add a hashtag to a note, and the tag will automatically appear in the sidebar.

The only downside of using Apple Note is that it limits you in terms of exporting notes. While you can export any note to PDF, it is not possible to export the entire notebook.

Pricing

The free version is available but limited to 5 GB of iCloud storage space.
Paid options start at $0.99 per month for 50 GB of iCloud storage.

3. Obsidian

This is another best note-taking apps for Mac that lets you create text documents as notes. They are usually formatted using Markdown.

So, you can retain your notes when you abandon Obsidian. This is not like most apps, and that is why we love it. However, you should not let this flexibility and simplicity fool you.

This note-taking app offers multiple structures and powerful features to enable you to organize notes with an emphasis on internal hyperlinks.

The core principle behind this is that you create as many new notes as you want and then link to these notes in other documents.

The resulting framework is a web of knowledge that you can easily skim through. The good thing is that there is a keyboard shortcut that lets you pull your notes by contents or name.

This might sound strange if you are used to other note-taking systems, but once you start using it, you will appreciate the concept.

Pricing

It has a free version for personal use.
If you are looking forward to commercial use, you can opt for a paid subscription, which starts at $50 per year.

4. Ulysses

This is probably the best note-taking app for Mac-based writers. It has a minimal interface that is ideal for distraction-free writing.

You may confuse this app for Bear by its appearance, but it has slightly different organization options. It also uses folders and notebooks for nearly everything, from manuscripts to personal diaries to general notes.

Unfortunately, Ulysses doesn’t have a free option, but it has a subsidized option for students. One existing thing about this note-taking app is that it has a built-in editing assistant and proofreader to boost your confidence.

This feature checks for grammatical errors and ensures that the tone is appropriate.

Pricing

There is no free plan. You have to pay a subscription of $5.99 per month to use this app.

5. Joplin

For the most part, note-taking is a personal endeavor. So, if you don’t want to entrust this process to a company, then you will be safe with Joplin.

This free, open-source note-taking application lets you create notes that live on your computer. There is also a cloud version, which is also free.

So, as a Joplin user, you can sync your notes across all your devices. But note that you need to sign up if you intend to use Joplin Cloud.

Generally, Joplin’s interface is that of a conventional note-taking app, meaning that notes and notebooks are organized on the left side. It also allows you to organize your notes using tags.

Pricing

Joplin is free to use.
The optional cloud storage plan, which allows you to sync notes across your device, costs €1.99 per month.

6. Bear

Bear is one of the best applications for taking short and long-form notes. It helps people concentrate on their work and studies by organizing their stuff.

Bear is the best note-taking app for Mac because it allows you to secure your notes by encrypting each note. So, your sneaky friends or colleagues won’t access them easily.

To do so, Bear has introduced the Touch ID feature, which secures sensitive information from its surroundings.

Besides this, the in-line support for images has simplified understanding for users. What it means is that if you can’t comprehend the wording, you can include a photo of the topic for easier understanding.

Pricing

The free plan offers satisfactory features.
Advanced features are available on the Pro plan, which costs $2.99 per month.

7. Notion

Notion is a popular project management and note-taking app that enables users to structure their notes just like on the web.

Users can take advantage of the powerful branching paths of interconnected note pages, along with chart- and table-making capabilities.

users love using these powerful features to construct templates, which they can share and sell to others.

Pricing

There is a free plan for individual users.
Paid plans start at $10 each month.

8. nTask

This note-taking app prioritizes collaboration in its design. So, if you are a big team working on a project, you can share notes in real-time without the need for version control.

We also love this tool because of its intuitive interface for quick note-taking. Whether you are a student, teacher, professional, or just love to stay organized, this app will help you achieve your goal.

The good thing is that it automatically saves your notes to ensure they never get lost.

Pricing

nTask offers a free plan for everyone.
It also has paid packages that start at $2.99 per month.

9. E vernote

Evernote was once the benchmark for fantastic note-taking apps. This app boasts a lot of beautiful features, including the most-renowned web clipper, which allows you to capture notes online.

Unfortunately, its good features have been overtaken by more intuitive and trendy note-taking styles. Its recent share of ownership also adds unnecessary worry about the future of the app.

Pricing