Gravity vs Tot

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

Tot

• Mac and iPhone users who want a scratchpad for short-lived text
• People who prefer a fixed handful of notes to a growing library
• Shortcuts users who need a place to stash and fetch text

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.

Tot

• The site lists apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch only; there is no Windows, Android or web version.
• Notes are fixed at seven dots of up to 100,000 characters each, and the vendor says more cannot be added.
• Premium features are bought separately on the Mac and on iOS at $19.99 each, and the Apple Watch app costs another $1.99.
• Sync runs through iCloud only, and automatic backups are unencrypted JSON files; the vendor advises against storing secrets in Tot.

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.

Tot

Seven dots

All text lives in seven color-coded dots in one window. The vendor says the limit is deliberate and cannot be raised; each dot holds up to 100,000 characters.

iCloud sync and Apple Watch app

Dots sync between Mac, iPhone and iPad through iCloud. Tot Mini, a separate $1.99 Apple Watch app, joins the same sync and takes dictation and Scribble input.

Rich text, plain text and Markdown

A dot can hold rich or plain text, and rich text can be turned into Markdown for use on the web. Word and character counts update as you type.

Smart bullets and dividers

Smart bullets make checklists whose items toggle with a tap. Version 2 added up to eight custom bullet pairs and eight divider styles.

Menu bar and floating window

On the Mac, Tot opens from the menu bar, the Dock or both, can float above other windows, and can be shown with a keyboard shortcut.

Shortcuts, widgets and backups

Shortcuts actions on macOS and iOS store and retrieve the text of a dot, iOS has Home Screen widgets, and both platforms keep automatic local backups.

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.

Tot

• Free download$0

  Tot for Mac and Tot Pocket for iPhone and iPad are free on the App Store, with premium features locked until purchased.

• Tot for macOS$19.99

  one-time in-app purchase (US Mac App Store)

  Unlocks the premium features on the Mac, such as text dividers and custom smart bullets. Requires macOS 14.0 or later.

• Tot for iOS and iPadOS$19.99

  one-time in-app purchase (US App Store)

  Unlocks the premium features in Tot Pocket on iPhone and iPad. People who paid for Tot 1.0 on iOS get version 2 by restoring the purchase.