A sticky notes app for Mac and Windows, on both computers at once

A Mac at home and a Windows PC at work is a common setup, and it is exactly where sticky notes fall apart. The two built-in apps do not talk to each other: Apple Stickies lives on the Mac, Microsoft Sticky Notes lives on Windows, and the note you wrote on one is not on the other.

The short answer: if your notes also need to be on your phone, use Microsoft Sticky Notes (read on the Mac through the web) or Google Keep. If you want a real desktop app on both computers, the free option is GloboNote, and the paid one is TackNote, which runs natively on Mac and Windows, syncs through a folder you already use, and costs $24.99 once for up to three computers. The rest of this page explains how each one moves notes between the two computers, and where each falls short.

Sticky notes apps that work on Mac and Windows, side by side

If your notes need to be on your phone too

Microsoft Sticky Notes is free on Windows, and it reaches further than it first appears. Microsoft's page on seeing your sticky notes on other devices lists OneNote on iPhone, iPad and Android, Outlook on the desktop, and the web at onenote.com/stickynotes, as long as every device is signed in to the same Microsoft account. What that page does not list is a Mac app. On a Mac you read and write your notes in a browser tab. The OneNote desktop app for Mac is not a way in either: on Microsoft's Q&A site, the reply on that thread said sticky notes are "not available on the desktop version of OneNote for Mac, but only on the web version or the mobile app." That reply dates from 2023, so check it against what you see.

Google Keep works the same way on both computers, because on both it is a web page. Google's own help says "On your computer, go to keep.google.com," and it has separate instructions for Android and for iPhone and iPad. Keep is a good fit if your notes are mostly lists you check from your phone. It is not a note that sits on your desktop next to your work.

If your phone matters most, one of these two is the right pick, and we would rather say so than sell you the wrong app. TackNote has no phone app you can download today.

If you want a free desktop app on both

GloboNote is the free option that installs as a real app on both systems. Its project page calls it "100% free," says it "can run on any OS (Windows, Linux, Mac OS)," puts no limit on the number of notes, and lists keeping a note on top of other windows among its features. Two things to know before you choose it: it runs on Java (the page says version 1.6 "requires Java 8"), and that version is dated September 2020. The page does not mention syncing between computers, so plan on moving notes yourself.

It is also the only app here with a Linux version, which makes it the obvious choice if one of your computers runs Linux.

Notezilla, if most of your day is on Windows

Notezilla is a Windows sticky notes app with phone apps. Its pricing page lists a Windows desktop app, apps for Android and iPhone or iPad, and a web app, with a subscription at $19.95 a year (plus $10 in the first year) or a $29.95 one-time payment for up to 2 computers and 1 phone or tablet, with sync for the first year. That page does not list a Mac desktop app, so on the Mac side you would be working in its web app.

TackNote: one license, a real app on each computer

We built TackNote for people who want the note next to the work it is about. On both systems a note can be tacked to an app window, a browser tab, a document or a folder, and it shows up only when that work is in front. On Windows you press Ctrl + Alt + N and the note sticks to the window in front of you, and every web page in Edge, Chrome, Brave or Firefox keeps its own note. Desktop notes are there too, for the classic sticky on the screen.

Here is how it handles a Mac and a PC together:

• One license for both. $24.99 once covers one person on up to three computers, Mac or Windows, in any mix. The same key works in both apps, and there is no account and no subscription.
• Sync through a folder you already have. TackNote syncs through OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive or iCloud Drive (on Windows, with Apple's free iCloud for Windows). Everything it keeps in that folder is encrypted with a passphrase you choose, so the cloud service only sees scrambled data. We run no servers for this.
• Notes come back in the right place. Notes on web pages and desktop notes appear on every computer. A note stuck to an app found on both, such as Chrome, Word, Slack or VS Code, comes back on that app on the other computer. A note on an app that only exists on the Mac waits on TackBoard, under that app.
• Pictures and voice memos travel too. When the same note is edited in two places, the newest edit wins.
• Private stays put. A note marked private never leaves the computer it was written on.
• Backups that cross over. A TackNote backup made on a Mac restores on a PC, and the other way round.

Setting it up

1. On your PC, open TackNote's Settings, go to Sync, click Choose a Folder and Turn On Sync, pick the folder and choose a passphrase.
2. On your Mac, open Settings, go to Data, click Sync with Windows through a Folder, pick the same folder and enter the same passphrase.

The full steps are in the Windows user guide. If you are mainly choosing a Windows app, our comparison of sticky notes apps for Windows goes deeper on the PC side, and how to keep a note on top of a window shows what tacking a note to its work looks like day to day.

Where TackNote falls short

No phone app yet, so notes stay on your computers. No Linux version. The Windows app is built for Windows 11. It is not free after the 7-day trial. And the Windows app has no direct import from Microsoft Sticky Notes: Import from Files reads Markdown, plain text, HTML (such as a Google Keep export), RTF and Evernote exports, so notes from another app come across if you can get them into one of those.

So which one should you use?

• Notes on your phone matter most: Microsoft Sticky Notes with OneNote, or Google Keep. On the Mac, either one lives in your browser.
• One of your computers runs Linux: GloboNote, the only app here with a Linux version.
• Free desktop notes on both, and you can move notes yourself: GloboNote, if you are fine installing Java.
• A real app on each computer, with notes that sync and stay with your work: TackNote, after trying it free for 7 days.

Questions

Is there a Microsoft Sticky Notes app for Mac?

Microsoft's own list of where your sticky notes appear includes Windows, OneNote on iPhone, iPad and Android, Outlook on the desktop and the web, but not a Mac app. On a Mac you use onenote.com/stickynotes in a browser. We cover the Mac side in more depth in the Sticky Notes equivalent on a Mac.

Can one TackNote license cover a Mac and a Windows PC?

Yes. One license covers one person on up to three computers, Mac or Windows, in any mix, and the same key works in both apps.

Does TackNote need an account to sync?

No TackNote account. Sync uses a folder in a cloud service you already have, encrypted with your passphrase.

Do TackNote notes show on a phone?

Not today. TackNote runs on Mac and Windows. If your notes need to be on your phone, Microsoft Sticky Notes with OneNote, or Google Keep, fits better.