Antinote vs Gravity

Antinote

• Mac users who want a throwaway pad beside their main notes app
• Quick sums, conversions and what-if calculations written in words
• Keyboard-driven users of Raycast or Alfred

Gravity

• People who jot quick notes and do not want to file them
• Buyers who would rather pay once than subscribe to a notes app
• Mac users who want a menu bar scratchpad with a global shortcut

Antinote

• It runs on macOS 14 or later only. The vendor plans no Windows or Linux version; an iOS app is in development with an October 2026 release date.
• Notes are plain text with no fonts, colors or styles, and the vendor says very long notes get laggy.
• There are no folders or tags: it is built for short-lived notes that get exported elsewhere when worth keeping.
• iCloud sync, added in version 2.0, is optional and off until switched on; notes otherwise stay in a local SQLite database.

Gravity

• There is no free version or trial, and the iPhone, Mac and Android apps are separate $9.99 purchases.
• iCloud sync covers iPhone, iPad and Mac only; the Play listing says it is not available on Android.
• There are no folders or tag manager by design, and the developer says he turns those requests down.
• The site lists no Windows, Linux or web version, and the Mac app needs macOS 15 or later.

Antinote

Swipe-through temporary notes

A two-finger swipe moves between notes, and swiping past the newest one starts another. Notes can delete themselves, and there are no folders or tags to manage.

Plain text with paste cleanup

Notes are plain text with simple Markdown. Pasting strips formatting, bullets and indentation, pasted links are shortened, and a dropped image becomes text through macOS OCR.

Inline math and conversions

With math on the first line, calculations are worked out as you type beside your own wording. Named variables recalculate, and currencies, crypto, distances and weights convert inline.

Checklists, timers and AutoPaste

Other first-line keywords change what a note does: list makes a checklist, timer runs a stopwatch, countdown or pomodoro, and paste collects everything copied afterwards.

Global hotkey and display modes

Option-A brings the app up from inside any other app. It can live in the Dock, the menu bar or a dropdown, show over full-screen apps and be pinned on top.

Export and automation

A note can be sent to Apple Notes, Obsidian or Bear, or exported as txt, Markdown or PDF. URL schemes, Shortcuts, Raycast, Alfred and JavaScript extensions can drive the app.

Gravity

One stream, newest first

All notes sit in a single list with no folders. New notes go on top and older ones sink; swiping right, or pressing R on the Mac, moves a note back to the top.

Markdown and checklists

Headings, bold, italics, lists, links and quotes show formatted, and a line starting with "- [ ]" becomes a checklist that can be ticked from the stream. Notes are saved as plain Markdown text.

Colon tags and offline search

Starting a note with a word and a colon, such as todo: or idea:, gives it a color of its own. Search covers every note, archived ones included, and works offline.

Quick capture

On the Mac, Option-Space opens a capture panel from any app. On phones, a home screen widget and the share sheet create a note at the top of the stream.

On-device storage with optional iCloud sync

Notes are stored on the device with no account and no analytics. iCloud sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac can be turned on; Android backs up to a chosen folder instead.

Export and command-line tool

Notes export as JSON or Markdown. A gravity command-line tool for the Mac lets scripts and AI agents list, search, add, edit and archive notes.

Antinote

• Antinote$5

  one-time purchase

  A license for the Mac app with lifetime updates and no subscription. Requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.

Gravity

• Gravity for iPhone and iPad$9.99

  one-time purchase (US App Store)

  One purchase covers iPhone and iPad, with optional iCloud sync, a Home Screen widget and capture from the share sheet.

• Gravity for Mac$9.99

  one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)

  Menu bar app with a system-wide capture shortcut, sold separately from the iPhone app. Requires macOS 15 or later.

• Gravity for Android$9.99

  one-time purchase (US Google Play)

  The Android app, sold separately. It has no iCloud sync; notes can be backed up automatically to a folder you choose.

Antinote

• Other savings

  Free license for charity donors and volunteers

  The FAQ says that describing a donation you made or volunteer work you did in the #charity-offer channel on the Antinote Discord earns a free lifetime license.

Gravity

No public discounts listed.