boring.notch vs Yoink
We give boring.notch a 3.0 GPA and Yoink a 2.8, out of 4.0. boring.notch grades higher on the free plan. Yoink grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
boring.notch
Turns the MacBook notch into a music player and file shelf
Free
Yoink
Drag-and-drop shelf for files and snippets on the Mac
Free trial · from $8.99 one-time
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAboring.notchVery good | 2.8GPAYoinkGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt costs nothing. The whole app is free and open source under GPL-3.0, and the website says it always will be free. Donations through Ko-fi or Buy Me a Coffee are optional. | A$8.99 once, from the developer's site or the Mac App Store, and the site says both versions do the same. That's far less than a year of what paid utilities here typically cost. It's on Setapp too. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature is free, with no account and no license key. You get a universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs from GitHub Releases or Homebrew. | CThere's no free version. The trial download from the developer's website runs for 28 days, and after that it has to be bought. |
| Features | BMusic controls with a visualizer, a file shelf for AirDrop, calendar and reminders, and its own volume and brightness indicators. Good basics. But weather, customizable layouts, lock screen widgets and an extension system are still on the roadmap, and synchronized lyrics are in beta. | AThe shelf holds files, text and images, and stacks several files dropped at once. It keeps a clipboard history, passes files between Apple devices with Handoff and takes photos from an iPhone with Continuity Camera. It works with Shortcuts, Automator and the Terminal. One job, done fully. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating is on record to go by, so a B. Day to day you just hover over the notch or drag a file to it. Getting it open the first time is the fiddly bit: macOS blocks it until you run a Terminal command or override it in System Settings. Homebrew avoids that. | BNo store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. Start dragging and the shelf fades in by itself. You can have it appear at the screen edge or at the mouse cursor, and tell it to ignore chosen apps. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, and built around the MacBook's notch. It works with Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music and AirDrop. The README asks for macOS 14 Sonoma or later, while the website's download card says macOS 13 Ventura. | DThis one is the Mac app, for macOS 10.13 High Sierra or newer. Yoink for iPad and iPhone is a separate app, and Handoff with those devices needs it. No Windows version. |
| Best for | music controls and a file shelf in the MacBook notch | a shelf to park files on while you drag them around a Mac |
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: boring.notch and Yoink. How we grade
Where they differ
- boring.notch is free. Yoink starts at $8.99 one-time purchase.
- boring.notch has a free plan. Yoink does not, though it has a free trial.
- boring.notch is open source, according to its own site.
- Yoink can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- boring.notch also covers menu bar app.
- Yoink also covers clipboard manager and file management.
In commonmacOS
At a glance
| boring.notch | Yoink | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $8.99 one-time purchase |
| Free plan | The whole app is free and open source under GPL-3.0, and the website says it always will be free. Donations through Ko-fi or Buy Me a Coffee are optional. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free for 28 days with the trial download from the developer's website |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | TheBoredTeam | Eternal Storms Software |
| Price read from | theboring.name | eternalstorms.at |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
boring.notch
- MacBook owners who want media controls in the notch area
- People who share files by AirDrop and want a drop target at the top of the screen
- Anyone looking for a free, open-source notch app
Yoink
- Mac users who drag files between windows, spaces and full-screen apps
- People who prefer a one-time purchase under $10
- Owners of several Apple devices who pass files between them with Handoff
Worth knowing
boring.notch
- macOS only. The README requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later, while the website's download card says macOS 13 Ventura or later.
- The team has no Apple Developer account, so macOS blocks the first launch until a Terminal command or a System Settings override is used; the Homebrew install avoids this.
- Bluetooth live activities, weather, customizable layouts, lock screen widgets and an extension system are on the roadmap but not marked as done.
- YouTube Music support needs version 3.11 or later of the YouTube Music (Pear Desktop) app.
Yoink
- This is the Mac app, for macOS 10.13 High Sierra or newer. Yoink for iPad and iPhone is a separate app, and Handoff with iOS devices requires it.
- There is no free version: after the 28-day trial it has to be bought.
- Continuity Camera needs macOS Mojave 10.14 or newer and an iPhone or iPad on iOS 12 or newer.
Key features
boring.notch
- Music controls in the notch
- Shows what is playing with a visualizer and playback controls that can be rearranged, including 15-second skips, app volume and favorites, plus synchronized lyrics in beta.
- File shelf with AirDrop
- Dragging files to the notch opens a shelf that holds them for AirDrop and other sharing services, with multi-item selection and a right-click menu of file actions.
- System HUD replacement
- Replaces the macOS on-screen indicators for volume, screen brightness and keyboard backlight with its own display in the notch, with optional percentages.
- Calendar and reminders
- Calendar and reminders integrations are built in, with settings to hide all-day events, scroll automatically to the current or next event and stop long event names being cut off.
- Mirror and battery indicator
- The project roadmap marks two further additions as done: a mirror, and a charging indicator that shows the current battery percentage.
- Lock screen and screenshot options
- The notch can appear on the lock screen, can be hidden from screenshots and recordings, and its size and gestures can be adjusted for different displays.
Yoink
- Shelf at the screen edge
- The shelf fades in at the edge of the screen when a drag starts. Drop files on it, move to the destination window, space or full-screen app, then drag them out again.
- Files and app content
- Holds files from Finder as well as content such as text from a word processor or images from a website. Several files dropped at once are condensed into a stack.
- Placement and shortcut
- The shelf can appear at once, only near the screen edge or at the mouse cursor, and can ignore chosen apps. Its shortcut also recalls removed files or saves the clipboard.
- Clipboard history
- Stores recently copied items, which can be sent to the shelf or copied again from the app or its Notification Center widget. Popular password managers are excluded by default.
- Handoff and Continuity Camera
- Transfers files between Macs, iPads and iPhones running Yoink, and accepts photos or documents sent from an iPhone or iPad with Continuity Camera.
- macOS integration
- System services, a Quick Action and a Share extension add files without dragging, and it works with the Terminal, Automator and Shortcuts. Previews use QuickLook.
Plans
boring.notch
boring.notch$0
Every feature, as a universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs from GitHub Releases or Homebrew. No account or license key.
Yoink
Yoink for Mac (website)$8.99
one-time purchase (also listed as 9,99 € and £8.99)
Bought directly from the developer. The site says the website, Mac App Store and Setapp versions have the same functionality.
Yoink for Mac (Mac App Store)$8.99
one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)
The same app through the Mac App Store, with optional tips as in-app purchases. Also sold in the developer's Productivity Bundle.
Ways to pay less
boring.notch
No public discounts listed.
Yoink
- Other savings
Productivity Bundle at about 20% off
The developer's Mac App Store bundle sells Yoink together with ScreenFloat, Transloader and DeskMat at roughly 20% off.
