dockpicks

Notes

Markdown vaults, linked notes and encrypted notebooks beyond Apple Notes.

7 apps, listed best first · prices checked October 2026

  1. Obsidian

    Free

    Linked Markdown notes stored as plain files on your Mac

    A note-taking app that keeps your notes as local plain-text Markdown files and lets you link them together. Thousands of community plugins and themes extend it.

    Our take The best pick if you want to own your notes as files and build a linked knowledge base. Sync and Publish are optional paid services; you can sync the folder yourself instead. It takes some setup and plugin-hunting to make it your own.

    Free; Sync $4/month billed yearly as of Oct 2026

    Website

  2. Bear

    Free tierBuilt-in may be enough

    Polished Markdown notes for Mac, iPhone and iPad

    A Markdown note app for Mac, iPhone and iPad with themes, document scanning and several export formats. Bear Pro adds iCloud sync and search inside PDFs and images.

    Our take A nicer Markdown writing experience than Apple Notes, for people who live on Apple devices. The free tier is local-only; syncing between devices needs Pro. There is no Windows or Android version.

    Free; Pro $2.99/month or $29.99/year as of Oct 2026by Shiny Frog Ltd.

    Website Mac App Store

  3. Joplin

    FreeOpen source

    Open-source notes with end-to-end encrypted sync

    An open-source Markdown note app for macOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS. It syncs through Joplin Cloud, Dropbox or OneDrive, with end-to-end encryption.

    Our take The best free, cross-platform choice if you want encrypted sync and no lock-in. You can sync through your own Dropbox or OneDrive at no cost. The interface is functional rather than pretty.

    Free; Cloud from €28.69/year (shown in EUR) as of Oct 2026AGPL-3.0-or-later licence

    Website Source

  4. Notion

    Free tier

    Notes, docs and databases in one shared workspace

    A workspace app that combines pages, databases and wikis, with AI search and agents. It has a desktop app for Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

    Our take Best for teams and anyone who wants notes, task tables and wikis in one place. It is cloud-based and can feel heavy for quick personal notes, and your data lives on Notion's servers.

    Free; Plus €9.50/seat/month (shown in EUR) as of Oct 2026

    Website

  5. Craft

    Free tier

    Native, polished documents and notes with sharing

    A native (non-Electron) app for notes, documents, tasks and whiteboards, with daily notes, templates, AI writing help and web publishing. It runs on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows and the web.

    Our take A good fit if you want good-looking structured documents you can share as web pages. The free plan caps you at 1,500 blocks, so regular use means a subscription.

    Free; Plus $95.99/year on the Mac App Store as of Oct 2026by Craft Docs Limited

    Website Mac App Store

  6. Standard Notes

    Free tierOpen source

    End-to-end encrypted notes that sync everywhere

    An open-source, end-to-end encrypted note app with sync across unlimited devices on web, desktop and mobile. Paid plans add rich note types, spreadsheets and folders.

    Our take Pick it when privacy is the priority and you need notes on Windows, Linux or Android too. The free plan is plain text only, and the paid plans are pricey compared with the others here.

    Free; Productivity $90/year as of Oct 2026AGPL-3.0 licence

    Website Source

  7. Logseq

    FreeOpen source

    Open-source outliner for linked, block-based notes

    A privacy-first, open-source outliner for knowledge management, with Markdown and Org-mode files, PDF annotation, task management and plugins.

    Our take Good for people who think in outlines and daily journals and want local files. The project is mid-transition to a new database version that is still in beta, with its new sync in alpha, so expect some churn.

    FreeAGPL-3.0 licence

    Website Source
Compare all 7 side by side
AppPriceModelOpen sourceApp Store
Obsidian Free Free – –
Bear Free tier Free tier – Yes
Joplin Free Free AGPL-3.0-or-later –
Notion Free tier Free tier – –
Craft Free tier Free tier – Yes
Standard Notes Free tier Free tier AGPL-3.0 –
Logseq Free Free AGPL-3.0 –

Not sure which notes app to pick?

Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI assistant that can open links. It reads the list, asks about your Mac and budget, and suggests a short list.

Help me choose the right notes app for my Mac. Read https://dockpicks.com/notes/ and its plain-text version, https://dockpicks.com/notes.md. Ask me which Mac I have, what I use it for and my budget, then recommend a short list from that page with the free and paid trade-offs, and say if the tool built into macOS is enough.

Or open it in ChatGPTPerplexity