Alternatives to Notebooks
A writing, notes and task app for Mac and iOS that organises documents in nested books. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Notebooks
A writing, notes and task app for Mac and iOS that organises documents in nested books.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Notebooks.
Ulysses
A focused writing app for Mac, iPad and iPhone with project management, sync and export.
Ulysses is a paid, distraction-free writing app for Apple devices with a library for long projects, grammar checking and export, sold after a trial rather than once.
Bear
Apple-exclusive markdown notes app with tag-based organization and a polished editor.
Bear is a freemium Apple-only Markdown notes app with tag-based organization instead of nested books, and advanced export options need a subscription.
Craft
Native docs app with real-time collaboration and deep integration into Apple's ecosystem.
Craft is a native Apple docs app with nested pages and real-time collaboration, with premium features requiring a paid subscription.
Scrivener
A writing app for drafting and organising long documents such as novels, screenplays and theses.
Scrivener is a paid app for long manuscripts that keeps research, notes and draft in one project, and adds a Windows version alongside macOS and iOS.
Keep It
A notebook and document organizer for Mac, iPhone and iPad that integrates with the Finder.
Keep It is a paid Mac and iOS organizer for notes, Markdown, PDFs, emails and web archives with Finder-visible files and tags and iCloud sharing.
Evernote
A long-running note-taking app with notebooks, tasks, calendar links, search and web clipping.
Evernote offers notebooks, tasks, calendar links and web clipping on Android, iOS and the web, storing notes on Evernote's servers with many features on paid plans.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Notebooks as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Effie
A minimalist writing app combining notes, outlines and mind maps, with an optional AI assistant.
Notebooks is a one-time purchase for Mac and iOS that holds notes, long documents and tasks in nested books with PDF and ebook export, but without mind maps.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
DEVONthink
A document and information manager for Mac and iOS that stores, organizes and searches files.
Drafts
An Apple-platform app for capturing text quickly and sending it elsewhere with actions.
OmniOutliner
An outlining app for Mac, iPad, iPhone and Vision Pro for structuring ideas and documents.
iA Writer
Minimalist Markdown writing app focused on the text.
Apple Notes
Apple's built-in notes app with sync, sketches, and text recognition.
