Antinote vs Strflow
We give Antinote a 2.8 GPA and Strflow a 3.2, out of 4.0. Strflow grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Antinote
Mac scratchpad for temporary notes, quick math and checklists
Strflow
Chat-style notes timeline for iPhone, iPad and Mac
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAAntinoteGood | 3.2GPAStrflowVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$5 once, with lifetime updates and no subscription. Paid plans in this category typically start at $5.99 a month, so the whole app costs less than one month of most of them. | AStrflow Plus is $1.49 a month or $14.99 a year, about as cheap as paid note apps get. Lifetime is $37.99 if you'd rather pay once. What it buys is encrypted iCloud sync and backup, plus private tags locked behind Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's no free version to stay on. You can download a free trial with no account, which is the right way to do it, but the site doesn't say how long it lasts. After that it's the $5. | BUnlimited notes, tags, reminders and attachments, free, with no account. The limit is one device: sync and backup both need Plus, so free notes on your iPhone never reach your Mac. Plus has a free trial, though the site doesn't say how long. |
| Features | AIt's only a scratchpad, but it does that job fully. Sums worked out as you type, with currencies, distances and weights converted inline. Checklists, a pomodoro timer, text pulled from a dropped image, and export to Apple Notes, Obsidian or Bear. | ANotes sent like messages into a timeline, a timeline per tag, a Todo timeline, and notes you can schedule to come back later with a notification. Rich text, links between notes, attachments, Markdown export and Spotlight search are all in. OCR, voice recording and a calendar view are still on the roadmap. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. One hotkey opens it and a two-finger swipe moves between notes, with nothing to organise. You do have to learn the first-line keywords. | BNo rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. If you can send a text you can use this: type, send, done. There's no account to make and nothing to file first. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, and only macOS 14 or later. The vendor plans no Windows or Linux version, and the iOS app is still in development. On the Mac it does plug into Raycast, Alfred, Shortcuts and iCloud sync. | CiPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision, with Apple Shortcuts, widgets and the share sheet for getting notes in. All Apple, though. There's no Windows, Android or web version. |
| Best for | a throwaway scratchpad on the Mac | texting notes to yourself on Apple devices |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Antinote and Strflow. How we grade
Where they differ
- Antinote starts at $5 one-time purchase. Strflow starts at $1.49 per month, or $14.99 per year.
- Strflow has a free plan. Antinote does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Strflow lists an iOS app.
- Antinote can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Antinote also covers Pomodoro timer, menu bar app and calculator.
- Strflow also covers tasks.
At a glance
| Antinote | Strflow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 one-time purchase | $1.49 per month, or $14.99 per year |
| Free plan | None | Unlimited notes, tags, reminders and attachments on one device, with no account. Sync and backup across devices need Strflow Plus. |
| Free trial | Free trial download with no account needed; the site does not state its length | Free trial of Strflow Plus; the site does not state its length |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Cmd-N Studios Inc. | Shingo Eguchi |
| Price read from | antinote.io | strflow.app |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Strflow
- People who already text themselves notes, links and to-dos
- Jotting thoughts down on iPhone or Mac without filing them first
- Apple users who want notes kept on device or in their own iCloud
Worth knowing
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.
Strflow
- The App Store listing covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision only; there is no Windows, Android or web version.
- Sync and backup between devices need Strflow Plus; the free plan keeps notes on one device.
- End-to-end encryption applies only when the user has turned on iCloud's Advanced Data Protection.
- Private tags are limited to Strflow Plus, and the roadmap still lists OCR, voice recording and a calendar view as planned or under consideration.
Key features
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.
Strflow
- Chat-style timeline
- Notes are typed into a message box and sent, which builds a chronological timeline. Adding tags creates separate timelines for individual topics.
- To-do timeline and reminders
- Checklists are collected into a dedicated Todo timeline. A note can be scheduled for a future date; it stays hidden until then and arrives with a notification.
- Capture from anywhere
- Notes can be added from the share sheet, from widgets, through Apple Shortcuts actions, or on the Mac with a keyboard shortcut that opens a quick note panel.
- Rich text and attachments
- The editor handles inline and block formatting, checklists, links between notes and link previews. Images and other file types such as PDFs and videos can be attached.
- Encrypted iCloud sync
- Strflow Plus syncs and backs up notes through iCloud, encrypted with the iCloud Keychain. With Apple's Advanced Data Protection turned on, the data is end-to-end encrypted.
- Markdown export and Spotlight search
- All notes can be exported as Markdown. Notes, tags, link previews and attachment file names can be found through Spotlight on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
Plans
Antinote
Antinote$5
one-time purchase
A license for the Mac app with lifetime updates and no subscription. Requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.
Strflow
Free$0
Unlimited notes on a single device with all core features, including tags, reminders and attachments. No account needed.
Strflow Plus (Monthly)$1.49
per month
Encrypted iCloud sync and backup across iPhone, iPad and Mac, plus private tags locked behind Face ID, Touch ID or the device passcode.
Strflow Plus (Annual)$14.99
per year
The same Strflow Plus features as the monthly plan, billed once a year through the App Store.
Strflow Plus (Lifetime)$37.99
one-time purchase
Non-renewing purchase of Strflow Plus. The US App Store also lists a $27.99 lifetime price for people who have paid for a yearly subscription.
Ways to pay less
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.
Strflow
- Annual discount
About 16% off with annual billing
Strflow Plus costs $14.99 a year against $1.49 a month, which comes to $17.88 over 12 months, a saving of about 16%.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Strflow Plus for $37.99
A one-time, non-renewing purchase gives permanent access to Strflow Plus. The terms say a discounted lifetime price may be offered to people who have paid for a yearly subscription.
