Apple Stickies is free, already on your Mac, and fine for scraps that belong to nothing in particular. TackNote costs $24.99 once and is for notes about something specific: it sticks each note to a window, web page, document or folder, shows it when that thing is in front, and hides it when you move on. We make TackNote, so here is where each one wins, including where you should keep Stickies.
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| Apple Stickies | TackNote for Mac (ours) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where a note shows | On your desktop, whenever the Stickies app is open | With the window, web page, document or folder it is stuck to. Desktop notes too |
| Stays on top | Yes, Window > Float on Top | Yes, a floating desktop note. A stuck note shows with its own window |
| Price | Free | $24.99 once, after a 7-day free trial |
| Setup | None, it is an Apple app for macOS | A download, plus the Accessibility permission (macOS 14 or later) |
| In a note | Text, lists, pictures and PDFs, with Markup | Text, to-dos, sketches, pictures and voice memos transcribed on your Mac |
| Finding a note | Find across all notes, and replace | TackBoard: every note in one place, searching text, checklists and voice transcripts |
| Reminders | None listed in Apple's guide | A time, a repeat, or the next time you open that window or page |
| Another Mac or a PC | None listed in Apple's guide. Mac only | Every note, through a folder you already sync, encrypted with your passphrase. Up to 3 computers |
| iPhone | No app in Apple's guide. You can export a copy to Apple Notes | An App Store app. Its notes come to your Mac; window and file notes stay on the Mac |
Where Apple Stickies wins
- Price and setup. It costs nothing and needs no download. For a phone number or a shopping list, that is hard to beat.
- PDFs on a note. Apple says you can drag a picture or PDF onto a note, then crop, rotate or write on it with Markup.
- Simple view controls. A note can be translucent, float on top, or collapse to its title bar with a double-click.
- Easy exits. Export All to Notes copies everything into Apple Notes, sorted into a folder per color, and leaves the originals in Stickies.
If that is all you need, keep using it. Our guide to sticky notes apps for Mac covers other options too.
Where TackNote wins
The difference is what a note is attached to. On the desktop, a note is either behind your windows or floating over all of them, whichever window you are working in. We wrote more about that in the problem with Apple Stickies.
A TackNote note belongs to something. The note about the budget stays with the budget spreadsheet, and the note about a client stays with that client's folder. Switch away and it hides. Switch back and it returns. That is why you can keep hundreds of them without a wall of yellow on your screen.
- One board for everything. TackBoard shows every note, wherever it lives, and searches note text, checklist items and voice transcripts.
- Reminders that fit the work. Set a time or a repeat, or ask for a nudge the next time you open that window or page.
- A way back. Deleting a note offers Undo, and deleted notes wait in Recently Closed on TackBoard.
- Private notes. A locked note stays blurred until you unlock it with Touch ID or your password.
- Meetings. TackNote can record a meeting onto its note and write the transcript on your Mac, with no bot in the call.
The cost is real. TackNote is a paid app, and it needs the Accessibility permission to see which window is in front. After the 7-day trial your notes stay where they are, and you need a key to make new ones.
Other computers and your iPhone
Apple's Stickies guide lists no sync and no iPhone app. Its route to other devices is exporting a copy to Apple Notes, and we cover how that works here.
In TackNote, every note can travel between your Macs and Windows PCs through a folder you already sync, such as iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive, encrypted with a passphrase you choose. Private notes, notes in a private project and Project Boards themselves stay on the computer they were made on.
TackNote for iPhone is a separate app on the App Store. Notes you make on it come to your Mac, and notes pinned to a web page or a Messages conversation go to your phone. Notes stuck to other app windows or files stay on the Mac. Our Android app does not sync yet.
Moving from Stickies to TackNote
You do not have to choose all at once. TackNote for Mac imports Stickies, and it may ask for Full Disk Access to read them. Imported notes land in an Imported project, where you can stick each one to the window it belongs to. Stickies can keep running next to it.
Questions
Is Apple Stickies free?
Yes. Stickies is an app from Apple for macOS, and there is nothing to buy. TackNote costs $24.99 once after a 7-day free trial.
What is the main difference between TackNote and Apple Stickies?
A Stickies note sits on your desktop whenever the Stickies app is open. A TackNote note is stuck to a window, web page, document or folder, shows up when that thing is in front, and steps aside when you move on.
Can Apple Stickies keep a note on top of other windows?
Yes. In Stickies, choose Window, then Float on Top. TackNote does the same with a floating desktop note, and a note stuck to a window shows only with that window.
Do Apple Stickies sync to iPhone?
Apple's Stickies guide lists no sync and no iPhone app. It offers Export All to Notes, which puts a copy of your notes in the Notes app, where you can see them on all your Apple devices.
Can TackNote import Apple Stickies?
Yes. TackNote for Mac imports Stickies, and it may ask for Full Disk Access to read them. Your imported notes are filed under an Imported project so you can stick them where they belong.
Is there a free version of TackNote for Mac?
No. TackNote for Mac is free for 7 days with everything unlocked, then $24.99 once. After the trial your notes stay where they are, and you need a key to make new ones. If you want a free note that sits on your desktop, Stickies does that well.
Apple and Stickies are trademarks of Apple Inc. TackNote is made by Keepers Code, LLC and is not affiliated with Apple.
Notes that show up with your work
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