Apple Stickies, Apple Notes and Glassnote. What each one does well, where each falls short, and which one fits you.
May 13, 2025 • Updated October 22, 2026 • Jake @ CaLab, maker of Glassnote
Mac has had sticky notes since 2002. Stickies still ships with every Mac. Apple Notes has taken over a lot of that space. And a few third-party apps fill the gap for people who want something more visual.
Here are the three I recommend, depending on what you are trying to do.
Free. Built into macOS.
Stickies ships with every Mac and still works the way it always has.
What it does well:
Where it falls short:
Best for: a note on screen right now, with nothing to install or pay for.
Free. Syncs across Apple devices through iCloud.
Notes is a full notes app, not a sticky notes tool. It is what most people use day to day.
What it does well:
Where it falls short:
Best for: folders, photos and every note on every Apple device.
$6.50 once on Mac. $9 once on iPhone and iPad. 7-day free trial on both.
Glassnote is a sticky note made of glass. It blurs whatever is behind it, so each note picks up your wallpaper's colors and the text stays easy to read. It keeps what Stickies got right: a note on your desktop, ready when you are. I built it after Stickies started to feel dated on my setup.
macOS 26 made the Dock, menus and sidebars glass. Stickies notes are still flat colors. Glassnote's Liquid Glass option matches the rest of your Mac.
Notes are plain text with Markdown. The symbols hide as you type, so bold looks bold and headings look like headings.
Select text and a small format bar appears. Every button has a shortcut, like ⌘B and ⌘I.
Four Apple typefaces: sans, New York serif, rounded and mono.
Click a box to check it. Turn on Delete checked items and the line goes away. Undo brings it back.
⌘1 and ⌘2 hide the toolbars. ⌘P pins a note above other windows.
Search every note, and sort by name, date created or last edited.
Glassnote keeps 7 days of backups. Restore brings a note back. Export saves every note to one file.
Glassnote for iPhone and iPad is a separate app. It puts the whole note on your Home Screen and syncs with your Mac over your own iCloud.
Where it falls short:
Best for: a few notes open all day, on a desktop you want to look good.
| Feature | Glassnote | Apple Stickies | Apple Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stays on top of other windows | ✅ ⌘P to pin | ✅ Float on Top | ❌ |
| Glass look | ✅ Frosted glass or Liquid Glass | ⚠️ See-through, no blur | ❌ |
| Checklists you click | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Search every note | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| On iPhone and iPad | ✅ Separate app | ❌ | ✅ |
| Bring back a deleted note | ✅ 7 days of backups | ❌ | ✅ Recently Deleted |
| Export every note at once | ✅ One file | ⚠️ Into Apple Notes only | ⚠️ Per note or per folder |
| Fonts | ⚠️ 4 Apple typefaces | ✅ Any font on your Mac | ⚠️ A few styles |
| Photos in notes | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| No account to make | ✅ Sync uses your Apple ID | ✅ | ✅ Sync uses your Apple ID |
| Price | $6.50 once on Mac, $9 once on iPhone | Free | Free |
Glassnote does one job, so it stays small. Apple Notes is four times its size. Notion is eighty.
| App | Size on disk |
|---|---|
| Apple Stickies | 1.9 MB |
| Glassnote | 3.5 MB |
| Apple Notes | 15 MB |
| Notion | 290 MB |
Measured on macOS 26.6.2, September 2026. Stickies and Notes ship with macOS.
Use Apple Stickies if you want a floating note right now with nothing to install or pay for. It works, it always has, and if you need a specific font it beats both others.
Use Apple Notes if you want your notes on your iPhone and iPad and do not need them floating on your desktop. Notes is a better notes app. It is not a sticky notes tool.
Use Glassnote if you work at a Mac all day, want notes in view while you do other things, and the twenty-year-old look of Stickies bothers you. Same idea as Stickies, with glass, Markdown, checklists and backups. Your notes follow you to your other Macs, and to your iPhone and iPad with the iPhone app.
Does Apple Stickies have a transparent mode?
Yes. Turn on Translucent and the note goes
see-through. Whatever is behind it shows through as is, so busy windows can make the text hard to
read. How to make sticky notes transparent on Mac.
Can a sticky note stay on top of other windows on Mac?
In Apple Stickies, turn on Float on
Top. In Glassnote, press ⌘P to pin a note. Apple Notes keeps notes inside its own window.
Do sticky notes sync between two Macs?
Apple Stickies does not sync. Apple Notes syncs
through iCloud. Glassnote syncs through your own iCloud Drive and keeps a local copy on each Mac. To
turn that off, switch Glassnote off under System Settings → Apple Account → iCloud → Drive.
Is there a Glassnote app for iPhone?
Yes. Glassnote for iPhone and iPad puts a whole note on
your Home Screen and syncs with your Mac. It is $9 once, with a 7-day free trial.
Is there a free trial for Glassnote?
Yes, 7 days on both. Glassnote
for Mac is $6.50 once after that, for all your Macs. The iPhone and iPad app is $9 once.
Can I use Stickies and Glassnote at the same time?
Yes. They are separate apps and do not
get in each other's way.
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