Drafts vs Gravity

Drafts

• Jotting text down quickly on iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch
• People who route notes into other apps such as task managers
• Automation fans who script their own text workflows

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

Drafts

• Apps exist only for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. The Web Capture page can create drafts in any browser but cannot review or edit them.
• Creating and editing actions, workspaces, themes, Mail Drop and the AI chat console all require the Drafts Pro subscription.
• Sync runs through iCloud and needs the same iCloud account, with iCloud Drive active, on every device.
• A subscription bought on iOS cannot be restored on the Mac App Store or the reverse; it carries over only through a shared iCloud account.

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.

Drafts

Capture first, file later

The app opens to a new page with the keyboard ready. Entries go to an inbox and can be tagged, flagged or archived afterwards.

Actions

Actions copy, share or send text to other apps and services. Running installed actions is free; creating and editing them needs Drafts Pro.

Dictation and transcription

A custom dictation interface built on Apple's speech recognition, plus transcription of existing audio and video files into text.

Workspaces

Saved views of the drafts list that restore a preferred tag filter, query and sort order. Workspaces are a Drafts Pro feature.

Capture from outside the app

Text can arrive through Siri, widgets, the share extension, a personal Mail Drop email address (Pro) and a Web Capture page for any browser.

Automation hooks

Supports Shortcuts, URL schemes, AppleScript and JavaScript scripting in actions, and Pro adds an AI chat console that can query and edit drafts.

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.

Drafts

• Free$0

  Unlimited drafts, editing and iCloud sync, plus the actions that ship with the app or come from the Drafts Directory.

• Drafts Pro$19.99

  per year; $1.99 billed monthly

  Create and edit actions, themes and custom icons, workspaces, the AI chat console, Mail Drop and enhanced widgets on all Apple devices.

• Drafts Pro Patron$29.99

  billing period not shown on the App Store listing

  A supporter tier with the same features as Drafts Pro, for people who want to pay more toward development.

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.

Drafts

• Annual discount

  Annual billing costs about 16% less

  Drafts Pro is $19.99 a year or $1.99 a month, so twelve monthly payments come to $23.88 against $19.99 for the annual option.

• Other savings

  Family Sharing on both subscriptions

  The monthly and annual Drafts Pro subscriptions support Apple Family Sharing, so one subscription can unlock Pro features for the family group.

Gravity

No public discounts listed.