Quick Note vs Tot
We give Quick Note and Tot the same GPA: 2.8 out of 4.0. Quick Note grades higher on value for money. Tot grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Quick Note
Menu bar sticky notes that float above other Mac windows
Free trial · from $12.99 one-time
Tot
Seven-note text scratchpad for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
Free plan · from $19.99 one-time
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAQuick NoteGood | 2.8GPATotGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APro is $12.99 once on the US App Store, and that one purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. Paid plans in this category typically start at $5.99 a month, so it's about two months of somebody else's subscription. | BThe unlock is $19.99 once, which is cheap next to a subscription. But you pay it separately on the Mac and on iOS, the Apple Watch app is another $1.99, and the listing only names text dividers and custom smart bullets among the things it buys. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's no free plan to stay on. You can use it free for 30 days with up to 6 notes, which is enough to see if a floating note suits you. Going further needs the Pro purchase, and iCloud sync is Pro only. | BTot for Mac and Tot Pocket for iPhone and iPad are free to download, with premium features locked. The listing can't say exactly where the free line is drawn, beyond text dividers and custom smart bullets sitting on the paid side. |
| Features | BIt does one small thing fully. Notes float above other windows, turn translucent or collapse when they're in the way, and take headings, checklists and links from keyboard shortcuts. Colours, folders and favourites keep them sorted. It's a sticky note, not a notebook, and it doesn't pretend otherwise. | BSeven colour-coded dots in one window, each holding up to 100,000 characters of rich or plain text that converts to Markdown. Smart bullets for checklists, iCloud sync, Shortcuts actions, widgets and automatic backups. It does the scratchpad job fully. But seven is the limit, and the vendor says it can't be raised. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is our ceiling. Click the menu bar icon, or press the shortcut, and you're typing, with nothing to name or save. | BNo rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. There's nothing to organise, because there are only seven places to put anything. On the Mac it opens from the menu bar or with a keyboard shortcut. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac, iPhone and iPad, synced over iCloud with Pro, plus Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript, a desktop widget and Spotlight. All Apple. It needs macOS 15 or iOS 18 or later, and there's no Windows or Android version. | CMac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, synced through iCloud only, with Shortcuts actions on macOS and iOS. No Windows, Android or web version. The Mac unlock needs macOS 14.0 or later. |
| Best for | floating sticky notes from the Mac menu bar | a seven-note scratchpad 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: Quick Note and Tot. How we grade
Where they differ
- Quick Note starts at $12.99 one-time. Tot starts at $19.99 one-time in-app purchase, per platform.
- Tot has a free plan. Quick Note does not, though it has a free trial.
- Tot also covers Markdown.
In commonmacOSiOSOne-time purchaseNotesMenu bar app
At a glance
| Quick Note | Tot | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12.99 one-time | $19.99 one-time in-app purchase, per platform |
| Free plan | None | The Mac app and the iPhone and iPad app are free to download. Premium features, which the vendor says include text dividers and custom smart bullets, need the paid unlock. |
| Free trial | Free to use for 30 days with up to 6 notes | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Kaunteya Suryawanshi | The Iconfactory |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Quick Note
- Mac users who want a note visible on top of the window they work in
- Short-lived reminders, phone numbers and checklists
- People who format text from the keyboard
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
Worth knowing
Quick Note
- The free version stops at 6 notes and 30 days of use; going further needs the one-time Pro purchase.
- iCloud sync is part of Pro only.
- There is no Windows or Android version. The docs FAQ still calls the app Mac only, while the App Store lists an iPhone and iPad version.
- The App Store listing requires macOS 15 or later on the Mac and iOS 18 or later on iPhone and iPad.
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.
Key features
Quick Note
- New note from the menu bar
- A click on the menu bar icon or a global keyboard shortcut opens a new note straight away, with nothing to name or save.
- Floating notes
- Notes stay on top of other apps' windows. A note can be made translucent when it is in the way, or collapsed to save space and expanded again.
- Rich text on keyboard shortcuts
- Headings, bold, italics, strikethrough, highlight, named links and bulleted, numbered and checklist lists are all applied with keyboard shortcuts.
- Colors, folders and favorites
- Each note can have its own color, related notes can be grouped in folders, and favorite notes are pinned to the top of the menu.
- iCloud sync
- With Pro, notes and folders are backed up to the user's iCloud account and kept in sync across Macs and with the iPhone and iPad app.
- macOS automation
- Notes can be created from a desktop widget, the Services menu, Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript or Terminal, and found through Spotlight search.
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.
Plans
Quick Note
Quick Note Pro$12.99
one-time purchase (US App Store)
Removes the 6-note and 30-day limits of the free version and adds iCloud sync. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac.
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.
