Antinote vs SideNotes

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

SideNotes

• Mac users who want notes at hand without switching apps
• Keeping snippets, links and screenshots beside the work in progress
• People who prefer a one-time purchase to a subscription

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.

SideNotes

• Apple platforms only: the Mac app needs macOS 13 or later, and SideNotes Mobile needs iOS or iPadOS 17.
• SideNotes Mobile is a separate $9.99 purchase and lacks the Mac app's file shortcuts and backups.
• The payment covers version 1.x. The vendor says SideNotes 2 will be a paid upgrade, discounted for owners and free for those who bought in the prior 6 months.
• A free trial is offered, but the site does not say how long it lasts.

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.

SideNotes

Screen-edge panel

The panel sits on the left or right edge of the screen and shows above other apps, including full-screen ones. It opens with a click, a keyboard shortcut or by moving the cursor to the edge.

Folders, colors and pinning

Notes are grouped into folders, can be given colors, reordered by drag and drop, pinned to the top of the list and folded to save space.

Markdown with hidden markup

Notes are formatted with Markdown, and the markup can stay out of sight while writing. A formatting toolbar appears when text is selected.

Tasks, images and file shortcuts

A note can hold checklists, pictures, text snippets, or a shortcut to a file or folder. Color codes typed as #rrggbb get a preview.

iCloud sync and backups

Notes sync through iCloud across Mac, iPhone and iPad. The Mac app also backs notes up automatically to a local folder, or to iCloud.

Automation

Shortcuts actions, an AppleScript API and URL links to notes and folders let other apps create, find and open notes. The site lists Alfred, Raycast, PopClip, Hookmark and Dropzone.

Antinote

• Antinote$5

  one-time purchase

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

SideNotes

• SideNotes Mobile$9.99

  one-time purchase (US App Store)

  The iPhone and iPad app, sold separately from the Mac app. It syncs through iCloud but has no file shortcuts or backups.

• SideNotes$19.99

  one-time purchase per major version

  The Mac app: a license for 1 user on up to 5 Macs, free updates within version 1.x and a 14-day money-back guarantee.

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.

SideNotes

• Education

  Student discount through Student App Centre

  Apptorium's buy page says a student discount on SideNotes is available through Student App Centre. The page does not give the size of the discount.