What is the best free note-taking app for Mac?

Obsidian is our first pick. Local-first markdown notes with a powerful link graph. Obsidian has a free plan, with paid plans that unlock more features or usage.

Are these note-taking apps really free?

Yes, every pick is free to start. Logseq, Joplin, Rnote, Anytype and 1 other are completely free. Obsidian, Notion, MindNode, AppFlowy and 1 other have free plans with paid upgrades.

Which of these note-taking apps are open source?

Logseq, Joplin, AppFlowy, Rnote and Xournal++ are tagged open source in our directory, so you can read the code of each and, depending on the licence, self-host or modify it.

Which ones work offline on a Mac?

Obsidian, Logseq, Joplin, AppFlowy, Rnote and 2 others are listed as working offline. The others need an internet connection for at least some features.

Which are easiest for beginners?

MindNode, Rnote and Xournal++ are rated beginner-friendly. 7 picks take more time to learn.

How many free note-taking apps for Mac are in the directory?

44 match: listed under Note-Taking, available on a Mac and free to start. This page ranks the top 10 and names up to 20 more under More matches. The Note-Taking category page has every listing, paid ones included.

Free picks · Mac

Best free note-taking apps for Mac (2026)

Every pick is listed under Note-Taking in our directory, runs on a Mac and is completely free or has a free plan. We rank them by our rating and popularity, then favour tools made mainly for note-taking and apps built for Mac.

Short answer

The best free note-taking apps for Mac are Obsidian, Logseq and Notion, the top three of 44 matches in our directory. 5 of the 10 picks are completely free and the other 5 have a free plan; 5 are open source.

Updated October 2026

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At a glance

Counted from the top 10 picks, except the total.

Matching tools: 44
Completely free: 5
Open source: 5
Work offline: 7
Native apps: 8

Comparison table

“Free plan” means a free tier with paid upgrades. A dash in Licence means our directory does not list the tool as open source.

#	Name	Pricing	Platforms	Licence	Why pick it
1	Obsidian	Free plan	macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android	—	Local-first markdown notes with a powerful link graph.
2	Logseq	Free	macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Web	Open source	A privacy-first, open-source knowledge base that works on local files.
3	Notion	Free plan	Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows	—	One workspace for notes, docs, projects and wikis.
4	Joplin	Free	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Open source	Free, open-source notes and to-dos with end-to-end encrypted sync and Evernote import.
5	MindNode	Free plan	macOS, iOS	—	Visualizing your ideas has never been easier.
6	AppFlowy	Free plan	macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Web	Open source	The open-source alternative to Notion, with docs, databases and AI you control.
7	Rnote	Free	Linux, Windows, macOS	Open source	A handwriting and sketching app for notes, diagrams and PDF annotation.
8	Anytype	Free	macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android	—	The local-first, privacy-focused alternative to Notion.
9	Xournal++	Free	Windows, macOS, Linux	Open source	Take handwritten notes and annotate PDFs with a pen or tablet.
10	Mem.ai	Free plan	Web, iOS, macOS	—	Your mind, amplified.

Why each pick made the list

Every reason is taken from the tool's own listing: its categories, platforms, features, rating and pricing.

Obsidian
Free plan4.8
Our top Mac pick, rated 4.8/5, the highest here. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. A desktop app that runs on a Mac, and also on Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. Its listing says it works offline (7 of 10 here), syncs through the cloud (5 of 10 here) and is privacy-focused (6 of 10 here). On our Windows list it is number 1. Not tagged open source.
Watch out for: Sync costs extra
Pros, cons and details Visit
Logseq
Free4.6
Number 2 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.6/5. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. A desktop app that runs on a Mac, and also on Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and 1 more platform. Its listing says it works offline (7 of 10 here) and is privacy-focused (6 of 10 here). On our Windows list it is number 2. Tagged open source: number 1 on the open-source Mac list.
Watch out for: Steep learning curve for users unfamiliar with graph databases or block-based note-taking
Pros, cons and details Visit
Notion
Free plan4.7
Number 3 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.7/5. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on a Mac, and also on Web, iOS, Android and Windows. Its listing says it syncs through the cloud (5 of 10 here) and has AI features (3 of 10 here). On our Windows list it is number 3. Not tagged open source.
Watch out for: Can get slow with large databases
Pros, cons and details Visit
Joplin
Free4.5
Number 4 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.5/5. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. A desktop app that runs on a Mac, and also on Windows, Linux, Android and iOS. Its listing says it works offline (7 of 10 here), syncs through the cloud (5 of 10 here) and is privacy-focused (6 of 10 here). On our Windows list it is number 4. Tagged open source: number 2 on the open-source Mac list.
Watch out for: Interface is plainer than Evernote's
Pros, cons and details Visit
MindNode
Free plan4.7
Number 5 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.7/5. Made mainly for brainstorming, it is the only pick here that covers note-taking as a second use. A Mac app that runs on a Mac, and also on iOS. Its listing says it syncs through the cloud (5 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (3 of 10 here). It is not in the Windows top 10 (not listed for Windows). Not tagged open source.
Watch out for: Exclusive to the Apple ecosystem, excluding Windows and Android users
Pros, cons and details Visit
AppFlowy
Free plan4.4
Number 6 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.4/5. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. A desktop app that runs on a Mac, and also on Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and 1 more platform. Its listing says it works offline (7 of 10 here), is privacy-focused (6 of 10 here) and has AI features (3 of 10 here). On our Windows list it is number 5. Tagged open source: number 3 on the open-source Mac list.
Watch out for: Free cloud plan has 100 MB of storage
Pros, cons and details Visit
Rnote
Free4.6
Number 7 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.6/5. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. A desktop app that runs on a Mac, and also on Linux and Windows. Its listing says it works offline (7 of 10 here), is privacy-focused (6 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (3 of 10 here). On our Windows list it is number 6. Tagged open source: number 4 on the open-source Mac list.
Watch out for: Best with a stylus or drawing tablet
Pros, cons and details Visit
Anytype
Free4.4
Number 8 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.4/5. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. A desktop app that runs on a Mac, and also on Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. Its listing says it works offline (7 of 10 here) and is privacy-focused (6 of 10 here). On our Windows list it is number 7. Not tagged open source.
Watch out for: Steeper learning curve due to its unique data model and flexibility
Pros, cons and details Visit
Xournal++
Free4.6
Number 9 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.6/5. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. A desktop app that runs on a Mac, and also on Windows and Linux. Its listing says it works offline (7 of 10 here) and is easy to pick up (3 of 10 here). On our Windows list it is number 8. Tagged open source: number 5 on the open-source Mac list.
Watch out for: Interface looks dated next to newer note apps
Pros, cons and details Visit
Mem.ai
Free plan4.6
Number 10 of 10 for Mac, rated 4.6/5. Made mainly for note-taking, one of 9 such picks here. Runs on a Mac, and also on Web and iOS. Its listing says it syncs through the cloud (5 of 10 here) and has AI features (3 of 10 here). It is not in the Windows top 10 (not listed for Windows). Not tagged open source.
Watch out for: AI features can sometimes be a black box; less control over explicit organization.
Pros, cons and details Visit

Running these on Mac

Counted from each pick's listing type and platforms.

By listing type, the 10 Mac picks are 7 desktop apps (Obsidian, Logseq, Joplin, AppFlowy and 3 others), 1 AI tool (Mem.ai), 1 Mac app (MindNode) and 1 web app (Notion).
8 of 10 are apps you install on a Mac, and MindNode is made specifically for Mac; the other 2 are web or cloud tools listed for Mac.
Every Mac pick here also runs somewhere else. AppFlowy reaches furthest, on 5 other platforms besides Mac.
8 of 10 also run on iPhone and iPad, so the same tool can follow you between Mac and iPhone; Rnote and Xournal++ do not.

How this list compares

The same search on other platforms, and the other price filter. Only the differences are named.

Free note-taking apps for Windows
8 of these 10 Mac picks also make the Windows top 10. 2 are on this list only: MindNode (not listed for Windows) and Mem.ai (not listed for Windows). In their place the Windows list has Heynote and QOwnNotes.
Free note-taking apps for iPhone
6 of these 10 Mac picks also make the iPhone top 10; the 4 that do not are AppFlowy, Rnote, Anytype and Xournal++.
Free note-taking apps for Android
6 of these 10 Mac picks also make the Android top 10; the 4 that do not are MindNode, Rnote, Xournal++ and Mem.ai.
Free open-source note-taking apps for Mac
Want code you can inspect? 5 picks of 10 here are tagged open source; the open-source Mac list ranks 22 such tools, led by Logseq, Joplin and AppFlowy.

More matches

34 more free note-taking apps for Mac in our directory; the next 20 by our ranking are below.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free note-taking app for Mac?: Obsidian is our first pick. Local-first markdown notes with a powerful link graph. Obsidian has a free plan, with paid plans that unlock more features or usage.
Are these note-taking apps really free?: Yes, every pick is free to start. Logseq, Joplin, Rnote, Anytype and 1 other are completely free. Obsidian, Notion, MindNode, AppFlowy and 1 other have free plans with paid upgrades.
Which of these note-taking apps are open source?: Logseq, Joplin, AppFlowy, Rnote and Xournal++ are tagged open source in our directory, so you can read the code of each and, depending on the licence, self-host or modify it.
Which ones work offline on a Mac?: Obsidian, Logseq, Joplin, AppFlowy, Rnote and 2 others are listed as working offline. The others need an internet connection for at least some features.
Which are easiest for beginners?: MindNode, Rnote and Xournal++ are rated beginner-friendly. 7 picks take more time to learn.
How many free note-taking apps for Mac are in the directory?: 44 match: listed under Note-Taking, available on a Mac and free to start. This page ranks the top 10 and names up to 20 more under More matches. The Note-Taking category page has every listing, paid ones included.

Keep exploring

Wider lists

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