Floating notes apps for Mac, compared

The comparison

"Not stated" means I couldn't find it on the app's site. It doesn't mean the app can't do it.

Why Floate comes out on top

Most of these apps do one or two of the things you need. Floate does all of them, plus a drawing canvas, for the lowest price of the paid apps:

• It floats over full screen, every note. Press ⌘⇧N in any app and a note opens on top, including full-screen YouTube, Keynote and Google Meet, and on every desktop. Open as many as you like.
• It hides from screen sharing. Turn it on for any note and that note stays out of screenshots, recordings and most screen shares. You see it, the people watching don't.
• Your notes are plain Markdown files. Every note is saved in a folder on your Mac. Open them in any editor, back them up, keep them in iCloud Drive. No account, works offline. Use Obsidian? Point Floate at your vault folder and your notes show up in both apps. Only drawings stay Floate-only, since Obsidian can't render them.
• It's built for notes over video. Make any note see-through so the slide behind it shows, type / for headings and checklists, paste screenshots right into the note.
• It has a drawing canvas inside every note. Sketch diagrams, annotate slides or map out ideas without leaving the note. None of the other floating notes apps here mention one.
• Quick notes grow into real notes. A library window keeps every note in folders, and ⌘K searches inside all of them.
• It costs less. $2.99 once for the waitlist, $6.99 after launch, with a 7-day free trial. Noticky and HushNotes are $9.99, Flotnote is $9.99 after its launch price, SideNotes is $19.99.

It runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 13 Ventura or later, so it works on Macs that Noticky (macOS 15) and HushNotes (macOS 14) don't support.

Floate launches in mid-November 2026. Join the waitlist to get it for $2.99.

When another app fits better

Noticky. You want notes tied to specific apps. Noticky can show a note automatically with a linked app, docks notes to screen edges and syncs over iCloud. It needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later (Noticky).

HushNotes. You want every note hidden from screen share by default and locked with Touch ID (HushNotes). It's $9.99 and needs macOS 14 or later.

Flotnote. You don't need a drawing canvas, you want search that still finds a note when you mistype, and you want one license that covers two Macs (Flotnote).

SideNotes. You'd rather keep notes in a panel at the edge of the screen than in floating windows (App Store).

Scratchpad. You need exactly one free note above everything, and nothing more (Scratchpad).

Raycast Notes. You already use Raycast as your launcher. Five notes are free, more need Raycast Pro (Raycast).

Apple Notes and Stickies. You work in normal windows and need a note or two on top. Both are free and built in, but neither follows you into a full-screen app without workarounds. Here's Floate vs Apple Notes and Floate vs Stickies in detail.

How to choose

1. Do you watch or present in full screen? Then Stickies and Apple Notes are out. You need an app that floats over full screen: Floate, Noticky, HushNotes, Flotnote, SideNotes or Scratchpad.
2. Do you share your screen? Narrow it to the apps that hide notes from screen share: Floate, Noticky, HushNotes and Flotnote.
3. Where should your notes live? If you want plain Markdown files you own, that leaves Floate and Flotnote.
4. Do you draw? Diagrams, sketches and slide annotations need a canvas. Of these, only Floate has one in every note, and it costs less.

How screen-share hiding works

Apps that hide notes from screen sharing use a macOS window setting that capture apps are meant to respect. Most do, but not every app behaves the same: ShowNotes, which uses the same setting, says FaceTime ignores it and newer Zoom versions need a setting turned on (ShowNotes compatibility). HushNotes calls it "a strong privacy measure and not a guarantee" (HushNotes). Whichever app you pick, do a quick test share before a call that matters.