The Sticky Notes equivalent on a Mac, for Windows switchers

The closest built-in equivalent to Windows Sticky Notes on a Mac is Stickies. It comes with macOS, it gives you colored notes on your desktop, and it can float them above your other windows. Microsoft Sticky Notes itself has no Mac app, but your existing notes are not stuck on the PC: you can open them in any browser on your Mac.

So there are three realistic answers, and which one fits depends on what you used Sticky Notes for. If you want the same quick yellow notes, use Stickies. If you need the notes you already wrote on Windows, use the Sticky Notes website. If your notes were really about specific work (a spreadsheet, a project folder, a site you keep open), a Mac app that attaches each note to that work is worth a look. We make one of those, TackNote, and we will say where it does not fit.

Is there a Microsoft Sticky Notes app for Mac?

No. Microsoft's page on seeing your sticky notes on other devices lists Windows, OneNote for iPhone, OneNote for iPad, OneNote for Android, Outlook on the desktop, and the web. A Mac app is not on that list.

OneNote for Mac is the obvious place to look next, and it is a common dead end. When someone asked on Microsoft's Q&A site why their phone's sticky notes did not show up there, the reply on that thread was that the sticky notes feature "is not available on the desktop version of OneNote for Mac, but only on the web version or the mobile app."

Option 1: Stickies, the built-in equivalent

Stickies comes with macOS, and it is the nearest thing to what you had on Windows. To open it, search for Stickies with Spotlight. According to Apple's Stickies guide, you can:

• Pick a color for each note from the Color menu, and change fonts with Font > Show Fonts.
• Keep a note above your other windows with Window > Float on Top, and make it see-through with Window > Translucent.
• Collapse a note to its title bar by double-clicking the title bar.
• Export all your notes to Apple Notes later, if you outgrow it.

That covers what most people used Windows Sticky Notes for: a phone number, a short to-do list, a reminder that sits where you will see it. It costs nothing and there is nothing to install.

What it does not do: your Windows notes stay on Windows, and there is no Stickies on the iPhone. And a note on the desktop is either covered by your windows or floating over all of them, which is the limit we wrote about in the problem with Apple Stickies.

Option 2: keep using Sticky Notes in a browser

If the point is the notes you already have, the simplest move is not to switch at all. Microsoft says your sticky notes sync to the web, and you can view them at onenote.com/stickynotes when you sign in with the same Microsoft account. The same notes appear in OneNote on your phone and in Outlook on the desktop, according to the same Microsoft page.

This is the right choice if you still use a Windows PC at work, or if your notes need to be on an Android phone. The trade-off is that on the Mac your notes live in a browser tab. They are there when you go looking for them, not sitting on your screen while you work.

Option 3: a sticky notes app that knows what you are working on

Plenty of people who search for a Sticky Notes equivalent find that what they actually want is not another yellow square. They want the note about the budget spreadsheet to be next to the budget spreadsheet, and gone when they close it. That is the idea TackNote is built around. Here is what it does on a Mac:

• Notes attach to your work. A note can belong to an app window, a single browser tab, an open document, or a Finder folder. It hides when you switch away from that window and comes back when you return, and it moves with the window when you drag it.
• Desktop notes too. If you liked the Windows style, you can still make a free-floating desktop note. It sits at desktop level by default, like Stickies, or you can set it to float over all your windows.
• Keyboard first. Press ⌃⌥⌘N to stick a note to the window in front of you, or ⌃⌥⌘F for a new floating note. You can change both shortcuts.
• More than text. Checklists, sketches, images and voice memos, in five preset colors or any color from the color wheel. Reminders can repeat every day, every weekday, every week or every month.
• Search that looks inside. Search covers note text, checklist items and voice memo transcripts, and you can group notes into projects.
• Private. Notes are encrypted on your Mac with AES-256, with the key kept in your Keychain. The trial runs on your Mac with no account.
• Brings your Mac notes in. It imports from Apple Stickies, Apple Notes, Evernote exports, and Markdown or plain text files.

Where TackNote is the wrong pick

Be clear-eyed about this before you download it. There is no iPhone, iPad or Android app, so if your notes need to be on your phone, Sticky Notes on the web with OneNote mobile fits better. TackNote cannot import your notes from Microsoft Sticky Notes. And it is not free: after the 7-day trial it costs $24.99 once, with no subscription. Your notes stay if you do not buy, but you need a license to create new ones.

So which one should you use?

• Quick notes, nothing to install: Stickies. It is already on your Mac.
• You need your old Windows notes, or a phone: Sticky Notes at onenote.com/stickynotes, plus OneNote on your phone.
• Notes that belong to particular windows, tabs, documents or folders: TackNote, after trying it free for a week.

If you are weighing more than these three, our guide to the best sticky notes app for Mac compares Stickies, Apple Notes and TackNote on search, privacy, price and import. If cost is the deciding factor, what a free sticky notes app for Mac gets you covers the free options in more depth.

Sticky Notes on Mac: quick answers

What is the Mac version of Sticky Notes called?

The built-in app is called Stickies, and it comes with macOS. Search for it with Spotlight to open it.

Can a Mac sticky note stay on top of other windows?

Yes. In Stickies, choose Window > Float on Top. TackNote desktop notes can float on top as well, and notes attached to a window show up only while that window is in front, which keeps them from covering everything else. More on that in how to keep notes on screen on a Mac.

Will Windows sticky notes show up on a Mac?

Only on the web. Sign in at onenote.com/stickynotes with the Microsoft account you used on Windows. They will not appear in Stickies, in the desktop version of OneNote for Mac, or in TackNote.