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Mac Notes VS Drafts

Compare Mac Notes VS Drafts and see what are their differences

Mac Notes logo Mac Notes

Apple macOS Notes Support Page

Drafts logo Drafts

Quickly capture text on iOS and send it anywhere
  • Mac Notes Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-13
  • Drafts Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-26

Mac Notes features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Drafts features and specs

  • Quick Capture
    Drafts allows users to capture text quickly with minimal friction, making it ideal for jotting down ideas or notes on the go.
  • Extensive Scripting
    The app supports extensive scripting and automation capabilities, enabling users to tailor workflows to their specific needs.
  • Integration
    Drafts integrates seamlessly with many third-party apps and services, enhancing its utility as a central hub for text-based workflows.
  • Cross-Platform Sync
    With cross-platform support, notes and drafts can be accessed on different devices, ensuring continuity and accessibility.
  • Customizable Interface
    Users can personalize the interface with themes, font choices, and organizational methods to suit their preferences.

Possible disadvantages of Drafts

  • Subscription Model
    Drafts operates on a subscription model which can be seen as costly over time compared to one-time purchase apps.
  • Learning Curve
    The app's extensive features and scripting capabilities can be overwhelming for new users, requiring time to learn.
  • Platform Limitation
    Primarily designed for Apple ecosystems, Drafts is less accessible for users relying on non-Apple devices.
  • Complexity for Basic Users
    For users seeking a simple note-taking app, Drafts might be more complex than necessary given its numerous features.
  • Limited Free Version
    The free version of Drafts is limited in functionality, potentially pushing users towards the paid version for full capability.

Analysis of Mac Notes

Overall verdict

  • Mac Notes is a solid, free note-taking app built into macOS and iOS that offers reliable core functionality with seamless Apple ecosystem integration, making it a good default choice for casual to moderate note-taking needs, though power users may find it lacking advanced features found in dedicated third-party apps.

Why this product is good

  • Free and pre-installed on all Apple devices, no additional cost or download required
  • Seamless iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices
  • Simple, clean, and intuitive interface that's easy to learn
  • Supports rich text, checklists, images, sketches, scanned documents, and attachments
  • Folder organization and tagging system for organizing notes
  • Collaborative features allowing note sharing with other users
  • Quick note feature and Apple Pencil support for handwritten notes
  • Locked notes feature with password/biometric protection for privacy
  • Robust search functionality including text within scanned documents and images

Recommended for

  • Apple ecosystem users who want seamless cross-device syncing
  • Casual users needing simple note-taking without a learning curve
  • Students taking quick notes, checklists, or lecture notes
  • iPad and Apple Pencil users who sketch or handwrite notes
  • Users who want a free solution without subscription fees
  • People needing basic document scanning and organization
  • Those who prioritize privacy with built-in note locking features
  • Users who don't need advanced features like note linking, databases, or complex tagging systems found in apps like Notion or Obsidian

Analysis of Drafts

Overall verdict

  • Drafts is an excellent tool for anyone who needs a versatile and efficient solution for capturing and managing text. It is particularly suited for users who prioritize speed and automation in their note-taking process.

Why this product is good

  • Drafts, available at getdrafts.com, is widely praised for its flexibility and ease of use. It allows users to quickly capture and process text, making it ideal for jotting down thoughts or tasks on the go. Drafts features robust automation capabilities, integration with numerous apps, and a customizable interface, which appeals to both casual users and power users looking to streamline their workflow.

Recommended for

  • Individuals who frequently capture spontaneous ideas or tasks.
  • Users seeking an app with strong automation and integration features.
  • Professionals looking to streamline their note-taking and text-processing workflow.
  • People who prefer customizing their tools to suit their specific needs.

Mac Notes videos

No Mac Notes videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Drafts videos

Drafts Tips & Tricks: The Best Note Taking App

More videos:

  • Review - Tips for Using Drafts: The One Notes App to Rule Them All
  • Review - Why I Use Drafts For Collecting To-dos and Notes

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Mac Notes and Drafts)
Note Taking
9 9%
91% 91
Personal Notes
15 15%
85% 85
Notes
20 20%
80% 80
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Mac Notes and Drafts. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Drafts seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 75 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Mac Notes mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Mac Notes yet. Tracking of Mac Notes recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Drafts mentions (75)

  • Notetime: Minimalistic notes where everything is timestamped
    Interesting. I have almost the same workflow with https://getdrafts.com/ where I only take short notes and I have custom action which sets the creation date+time of the note as its first line. But, having a separate entry for each line is the next level of this approach. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: What note taking app do you use and why?
    I use https://simplenote.com - Syncs across multiple platforms. - Plaintext based (with MD support). - Search + edit UI similar to https://notational.net and https://brettterpstra.com/projects/nvalt - Simple to publish/share notes - Free (as in beer and speech) --- If I used MacOS or there were web versions, I would love to use the following (they are all better at plaintext than SimpleNote): -... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: What software sparks joy when using?
    In no particular order: Prologue [0] - iOS Audiobook player, used Plex as a media source Overcast [1] - iOS Podcast player CleanShotX [2] - macOS screenshot/video/gif capture with annotation Drafts [3] - iOS/macOS note taking tool Paprika [4] - Cross platform recipe app YNAB [5] - "You Need A Budget" - web/mobile budgeting app 1Password [6] - Cross platform password manager Carrot Weather [7] - iOS weather app... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Question: Best Statistics/Dashboard Solutions for Todoist?
    Finally, using Google Apps Script, I email myself a weekly summary of tracker/Todoist tasks completed with a comparison versus the previous week. It also contains a link to the graph that is published on the web. I also send this to Drafts using the mail drop feature. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Taking notes on podcasts/audiobooks
    When I want to take notes on something I'm listening to, like a book quote or a thought I have while listening, I stop and make a note right then. Because I don't know if the next paragraph is going to suck me in more and make me forget whatever I wanted to note. I have a few ways to do this. I often take a voice recorder with me in the car, so if I have interesting ideas while driving I can just push a button,... Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Mac Notes and Drafts, you can also consider the following products

Stickies - Stickies is a PC utility written to replace Post-It-style notes left stuck to your monitor.

Obsidian.md - A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.

Tot - Convert any text into a Trello task

Bear - Bear.app is a note-taking and content writing app that helps you boost productivity with its intuitive tools.

OneNote - Get the OneNote app for free on your tablet, phone, and computer, so you can capture your ideas and to-do lists in one place wherever you are. Or try OneNote with Office for free.

Simplenote - The simplest way to keep notes. Light, clean, and free. Simplenote is now available for iOS, Android, Mac, and the web.