Alternatives to SideNotes
A Mac note-taking app that slides in from the side of the screen for quick notes. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
SideNotes
A Mac note-taking app that slides in from the side of the screen for quick notes.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as SideNotes.
Tot
A small text scratchpad for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch that syncs through iCloud.
Tot is a freemium scratchpad for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch with iCloud sync, using a minimal single window instead of a side panel.
Unclutter
A macOS pull-down panel that holds clipboard history, quick notes and a file drop zone.
Unclutter is a paid macOS pull-down panel that combines quick notes with clipboard history and a file drop zone, opened by a scroll gesture.
Apple Notes
Apple's built-in notes app with sync, sketches, and text recognition.
Apple Notes is free and preinstalled on Apple devices with sync, sketches and text recognition, but opens as a regular app rather than an edge panel.
Drafts
An Apple-platform app for capturing text quickly and sending it elsewhere with actions.
Drafts is a freemium Apple app that opens straight to a new page and sends text to other apps through actions, with an Apple Watch app.
Google Keep
A note service from Google for quick notes, checklists and reminders that sync across devices.
Google Keep is a free web note service for quick notes, checklists and reminders that syncs through a Google account and stores notes on Google's servers.
Simplenote
Minimal note app that syncs plain-text and Markdown notes across devices.
Simplenote is a free, open-source app on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android with unlimited plain-text sync, but no folders or images.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Bear
Apple-exclusive markdown notes app with tag-based organization and a polished editor.
Octarine
A local-first Markdown note-taking app for macOS that keeps notes as plain files.
Twos
An app for quickly writing down notes, to-dos, reminders and events organised by day.
Memos
A self-hosted, open-source note-taking service that keeps quick Markdown notes in a private timeline.
