Best Note Taking Apps for Mac in 2026

Why Mac-Native Note Apps Matter

Taking notes on your Mac should feel effortless, not like wrestling with clunky software. The right note-taking app can transform how you capture ideas, organize information, and actually find stuff later when you need it. Thing is, most people are either stuck with Apple Notes (which is fine but basic) or trying to force-fit apps that weren't really built for Mac in the first place.

Paper notebooks have their charm, sure. But let's be real: searching through physical notebooks for that one thing you wrote down three months ago is a nightmare. Digital notes give you instant search, cloud sync across devices, and the ability to link ideas together in ways paper never could. Plus, you're not constantly buying new notebooks or losing important information when you spill coffee on your bag.

The Mac has some of the best note-taking apps available anywhere, period. We're talking native apps built specifically for macOS that take full advantage of the platform: keyboard shortcuts that make sense, beautiful typography, smooth performance, proper iCloud integration. These aren't web apps pretending to be desktop software, they're genuinely great Mac applications.

This list covers the best note-taking apps for Mac in 2026. We've included everything from lightweight markdown editors to full-featured knowledge management systems. Whether you're a student trying to organize class notes, a professional managing meeting notes and project documentation, or just someone who wants to remember their ideas, there's something here that'll work for you. If you're also hunting for better email apps for Mac, we've got a separate guide for that too.

How We Chose These Note-Taking Apps

Not every note-taking app deserves a spot on your Mac. Here's what actually mattered when we evaluated these tools:

Mac-native design and performance: Does it feel like a real Mac app or a clunky web wrapper? We prioritized apps that respect macOS conventions, use native frameworks, and run smoothly without eating your battery. If it feels slow or out of place on a Mac, it didn't make the cut.

Sync reliability: Your notes are worthless if they don't sync properly between devices. We tested how well each app handles iCloud sync or its own cloud infrastructure. Apps with sync issues or frequent data conflicts got dinged hard.

Organizational systems that scale: Taking notes is easy. Finding them later is hard. We looked for apps with strong organizational features: tags, folders, backlinks, search, or whatever system they use. Can you actually find your notes six months from now, or will they vanish into a digital black hole?

Writing experience: You're going to be typing in this app constantly. Does it feel good? Is the editor responsive? Are the formatting options helpful without being overwhelming? We spent hours actually writing in each app to see how they felt in real use.

Export and data ownership: Your notes shouldn't be held hostage. We checked whether you can easily export your data in standard formats (Markdown, HTML, PDF) or if you're locked into proprietary formats that make switching apps a nightmare.

Active development and support: The Mac evolves fast. Apps need to keep up with new macOS versions, Apple Silicon, and changing user needs. We looked at update frequency, bug fixes, and whether developers actually respond to feedback.

We also considered real user experiences from communities like r/macapps and various productivity forums. Apps with consistent complaints about data loss, abandoned features, or terrible customer support were excluded, no matter how popular they are.

1. NotePlan

NotePlan is for people who want their notes, tasks, and calendar to actually work together instead of living in three separate apps. The Mac version is where this app really shines. Yeah, it's available on iPhone and iPad too, but the desktop experience gives you way more screen real estate to see everything at once, which is kind of the whole point.

What makes NotePlan different is how it combines note-taking with time-blocking and task management. You can drag notes and tasks directly into your calendar, turning abstract to-dos into actual time commitments. The command bar makes capturing things ridiculously fast: hit a keyboard shortcut, type your thought, done. No clicking through menus or breaking your flow.

The AI features (summarize, rewrite, expand) are genuinely useful, not just marketing fluff. If you've got messy meeting notes, the AI can clean them up and pull out action items automatically. It's the kind of feature that seems gimmicky until you use it a few times and realize it's saving you real time.

Markdown support means your notes are future-proof. You're not locked into some proprietary format that'll be worthless if you switch apps in five years. Everything is plain text under the hood, stored locally and synced via iCloud. The sync is reliable, and having everything in iCloud means it integrates perfectly with the rest of your Apple ecosystem.

The templates are actually helpful, not just basic outlines. Daily planning templates, meeting note structures, project templates: they give you a head start instead of staring at a blank page every time. Time-blocking features work exceptionally well on the Mac version because you can see your full day layout and drag things around visually.

Apple featured NotePlan as one of the top note-taking apps, and it's been around since 2016, so it's not some flash-in-the-pan startup that might disappear next year. The developer actively updates it and actually responds to user feedback. If you want notes, tasks, and calendar unified in one Mac-native app, this is probably your best bet.

2. Bear Notes

Bear Notes is gorgeous. Like, ridiculously beautiful for a note-taking app. It's been a Mac favorite for years because the design is clean, the typography is perfect, and it just feels right at home on macOS. Yeah, there are iPhone and iPad versions too, but the Mac app is where you really appreciate the design work.

The bigger screen on Mac makes working with Bear's features way more practical. Themes look stunning on a large display, the markdown editor gives you plenty of room to write without feeling cramped, and tables are actually usable instead of being squeezed into a phone screen. The free version is decent for basic note-taking, but the Pro version ($3/month) is where Bear really opens up.

One thing that sets Bear apart: it stores notes locally by default. Your data lives on your device, not on some company's servers. For people who care about privacy and data ownership, this is huge. The Pro version adds iCloud sync, which is seamless and fast, connecting your Mac with iPhone and iPad perfectly. But even then, you're using Apple's infrastructure, not trusting yet another third-party service with your personal information.

The markdown implementation is excellent. It's not intimidating like some power-user tools, but it's not dumbed down either. You get all the formatting control you need without the interface getting cluttered. Tags work brilliantly for organization: just type #tag anywhere in your note and it's instantly categorized. Way faster than dragging notes into folders.

Themes are a underrated feature. Most note apps give you light mode or dark mode and call it a day. Bear has a whole collection of beautiful themes, and on the Mac version with a nice display, they genuinely make writing more enjoyable. Sounds superficial, but if you're spending hours in this app every week, aesthetics matter for your mental state.

The only real downside is that collaboration features are limited. This is a personal note-taking app, not a team wiki. If you need to share and collaborate on notes constantly, look elsewhere. But for individual use on Mac, especially if you care about design and writing experience, Bear is tough to beat.

3. Obsidian

Obsidian is the tool for people who want to build a serious personal knowledge management system, not just take random notes. It's got a bit of a learning curve compared to simpler apps, but the payoff is huge if you stick with it. The Mac app is solid, fast, and gives you complete control over your data.

The "local first" philosophy means everything lives on your Mac in plain markdown files. You own your data completely. No company servers, no risk of the service shutting down and taking your life's work with it. Your notes are just files in a folder (called a Vault) that you can back up, version control, or do whatever you want with. This is a massive difference from cloud-only apps where you're basically renting access to your own information.

If you want sync, you've got options. The free route is using iCloud Drive or Dropbox to sync your vault folder across devices. Works fine, though you might occasionally hit sync conflicts if you're editing the same note on multiple devices simultaneously. Obsidian's paid sync service ($10/month) handles this better with proper conflict resolution and end-to-end encryption, plus it's faster and supports version history.

The graph view is what blows people's minds the first time they see it. Every note you link to another note creates a connection, and Obsidian visualizes your entire knowledge base as an interconnected network. It's literally like seeing your brain's thought patterns mapped out. Sounds gimmicky, but it's genuinely useful for discovering unexpected connections between ideas you didn't realize were related.

The plugin ecosystem is ridiculous. There are hundreds of community plugins that extend Obsidian's functionality: dataview for treating your notes like a database, calendar for daily notes, various task management plugins, integration with other tools. You can customize this thing endlessly. Some people go overboard, but having the option is valuable.

For Mac users specifically, Obsidian runs natively and performs well. It's not the prettiest app ever (it's built on Electron), but it's fast enough and doesn't feel sluggish. The real beauty is in how it handles linking notes, the powerful search, and the flexibility of the markdown-based system. If you're building a long-term knowledge system and want complete ownership of your data, Obsidian is probably your best bet.

4. Agenda

Agenda Notes does something very unique with its note-taking application, and it's very popular among Mac users. The Mac application is free, but there is a premium version that upgrades the entire experience. The user interface is beautiful and works very well for those who want a combination of markdown and a way to plan ahead with a focus on dates.

This app is perfect for Mac users who are very date-oriented, such as those with numerous meetings, trips, board meetings, or projects that are closely tied to specific dates and want to plan them in line with their tasks and notes.

5. OneNote

Microsoft OneNote got a new lick of paint a few years ago. The application has a really high score on the Mac App Store, but it still feels very old-fashioned, like Microsoft Word, in its general design and function.

If you're looking for a beautiful Mac application for taking notes, this probably isn't the one.

However, it is super functional, allowing you to use it for various tasks, from memory writing to sketchbooks, which lets you organize and create visuals on the screen with features like automatically converting hand-drawn shapes if you're using it alongside an iPad or other device.

6. Craft

Craft is a document application at heart, but it is really popular for note-taking and is very well-loved on iPhone and Mac for the native feel it provides across the experience. The Mac version comes with pretty extensive abilities, like managing the cards that you can add to each of your Craft documents to help bring them to life and create internal wikis for yourself.

This feature is becoming increasingly popular among those who want an easy-to-use experience. You can also create a range of features like reminders, a Table of Contents, and Attachments for each document you create within this platform.

This is one of the reasons why Craft was a winner of the App Store Best App of the Year and a finalist in the Apple Design Awards, which is always something to consider when looking at these Mac apps.

7. Evernote

Evernote is evolving into a very different application from what it was years ago. It now aims to be a planner app, allowing you to organize your calendar, tasks, and documents all in one location.

Evernote’s Mac version supports a variety of new features, such as viewing your tasks and plans in a single place, as well as powerful tools for organizing meeting notes once you connect with your Google Calendar.

The focus has shifted away from Evernote being just a note-taking application, and the Mac version showcases a well-designed, comprehensive app. The Evernote Mac version has worked faster and more smoothly. While the app had performance issues in the past, these seem to have been resolved.

8. Reflect Notes

Reflect Notes is a really beautiful application on Mac, offering a great way to experience PKM (Personal Knowledge Management) note-taking similar to Obsidian, but with the added benefit of end-to-end encryption across your devices.

The Mac version of Reflect is also invested in AI, helping you transcribe voice notes from the app, generate custom prompts, and create key takeaways and action items using artificial intelligence.

The application is exceptionally well-built for Mac, making it easy to take notes during meetings and, more recently, manage tasks as well. If you're a Mac user who uses Kindle, Google Chrome, Safari, or Readwise, Reflect is a great choice because it offers excellent integrations with these platforms, allowing you to consolidate all your knowledge into one place.

Reflect Notes works incredibly well on Mac, making it perfect for users who want something visually appealing and regularly updated, potentially outpacing the development cycle of Obsidian on Mac. It also emphasizes security, ensuring that your notes are end-to-end encrypted once you've subscribed.

However, it's important to note that Reflect offers a more premium experience compared to Obsidian, which is reflected in its pricing.

9. Notion

Notion is a great note-taking tool for Mac users thanks to its flexibility, AI writing support, Notion templates for easy starting, and collaboration features. It's important to note that Notion isn't just a notes app, it's an app with many levels that allow you to create project management systems, ways to organize data, and much more.

For now, in terms of note-taking, you can create pages and use AI to support writing such as generating, summarizing, and rewriting text. You have tons of flexibility with your notes and can create powerful wikis and documents inside Notion. Use headings, tables, lists, add videos, and more by using the Notion Blocks.

Which Note-Taking App Should You Choose?

So which note-taking app should you actually pick for your Mac? Here's how to narrow it down based on what you actually need:

If you want notes + tasks + calendar in one place: NotePlan is your answer. The integration between these three is seamless, and the time-blocking features make it easy to turn abstract notes into concrete action. Perfect for people who hate switching between multiple apps.

If design and writing experience matter most: Bear Notes takes this easily. The themes are beautiful, the markdown editor is smooth, and the whole app just feels good to use. For people who spend hours writing and want something that doesn't make their eyes tired, this is it.

If you're building a serious knowledge system: Obsidian wins for PKM work. The graph view, backlinking, and local-first approach make it ideal for connecting ideas over time. Bit of a learning curve, but worth it if you're serious about building a second brain.

If everything revolves around dates: Agenda is specifically built for date-based note-taking. Meetings, projects, events: if your work is tied to specific dates and you want your notes organized that way, this is the most natural fit.

If you need team collaboration: Notion or Craft are your best bets. Both handle shared documents and team wikis well, though Craft is faster and more Mac-native while Notion has more powerful database features.

If you want something familiar and stable: Evernote has been around forever and still works. It's not the shiniest option anymore, but if you've been using it for years and it works for you, there's no urgent reason to switch. OneNote is similar: old-school, Microsoft-flavored, but functional.

Don't overthink this. Pick one, use it for a month, and see if it sticks. Most of these have free trials or free tiers, so you're not making an expensive commitment. The best note-taking app is the one you'll actually use consistently, not the one with the most features.

What's the best free note-taking app for Mac?

Free vs paid note apps

Obsidian is completely free and ridiculously powerful. You only pay if you want their sync service or to publish notes publicly. For pure local note-taking, it costs nothing and gives you everything you need. Apple Notes is also free and perfectly fine if you just need basic note-taking without getting fancy.

Bear has a free tier, but it's pretty limited. You can't sync between devices or use themes, which kind of defeats the point of using Bear. The Pro version is only $3/month though, which is reasonable.

Craft and Notion both have generous free tiers that work well for personal use. Craft's free plan gives you unlimited documents with some feature limitations. Notion's free plan is solid for individuals but gets limited if you want advanced features or large teams.

Honestly, if budget is tight, start with Obsidian or Apple Notes. They're both completely functional for free and you won't feel like you're missing critical features.

Which Mac note apps use markdown?

Markdown support and plain text notes

Obsidian, Bear, and NotePlan all use markdown natively. Your notes are stored as plain .md files, which means they're future-proof and portable. You can open them in any text editor, process them with scripts, or migrate to another app easily.

Craft supports markdown export and has some markdown-like formatting, but it's not pure markdown under the hood. Notion has a markdown import/export feature, but the native format is proprietary blocks.

If data portability and future-proofing matter to you, stick with the pure markdown apps: Obsidian, Bear, or NotePlan. Your notes will outlive any app because they're just text files.

Do these note apps work offline on Mac?

Offline access and local storage

Obsidian works completely offline by default since everything is local. Bear also stores notes locally and works offline perfectly. NotePlan stores notes locally and syncs via iCloud, so offline access is solid.

Notion and Evernote are cloud-first apps. They have offline modes, but they're not great. You'll hit limitations and the sync when you come back online can be buggy. If you regularly work without internet (flights, commutes, spotty wifi), avoid these.

Craft has decent offline support because it uses iCloud, but it's still more cloud-dependent than something like Obsidian. For true reliable offline access, go with Obsidian or Bear.

Final Thoughts

The Mac has some of the best note-taking apps available on any platform. Whether you need something simple and beautiful (Bear), a full knowledge management system (Obsidian), or an all-in-one productivity hub (NotePlan), there's a Mac-native app that'll fit your workflow.

The key is matching the app to how you actually work, not just downloading the most popular one. If you're constantly in meetings, Agenda's date-based approach makes sense. If you're building long-term knowledge, Obsidian's linking system is unmatched. If you just want something that looks good and works smoothly, Bear delivers.

Start with one app. Use it consistently for at least two weeks before deciding if it's right for you. Note-taking apps are only useful if you actually use them, and that means finding one that fits naturally into your daily routine instead of feeling like extra work.

Your Mac deserves better than scattered notes across random apps, sticky notes, and emails to yourself. Pick one of these apps in 2026, commit to it, and actually build a system for capturing and organizing your thoughts. Your future self will thank you when you can actually find that brilliant idea you had six months ago.