Oh My Notes vs Apple Stickies
Quick answer: Apple Stickies is free, built into macOS and starts with zero setup — but notes disappear the moment an app goes fullscreen, and nothing is saved as Markdown. Oh My Notes keeps a Today layer of floating notes that can stay visible above fullscreen apps and across Spaces (Pro), saves everything as plain .md files in your folder, adds reminders and unfocused opacity, and speaks English, 简体中文 and 繁體中文.
Side by side
← Swipe to see the full table →
| Oh My Notes | Apple Stickies | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free + Pro $9.99 one-timeearly bird $7.99 | Freebuilt into macOS |
| Floats above fullscreen apps | ✓ Propin any note; stays visible across Spaces | ✕hidden in fullscreen |
| Unfocused opacity | ✓adjustable, 40–100% | —not verified — check vendor site |
| Global hotkey to capture | ✓ | ✕1 |
| Notes saved as plain .md files | ✓your folder, your sync | ✕ |
| Point at your Obsidian vault | ✓ Pro | ✕ |
| Reminders | ✓one-shot on Free; recurring plus Apple Reminders & Calendar sync on Pro | —not verified — check vendor site |
| Account | ✓none needed — notes stay local | ✓none — it is part of macOS |
| Platforms | macOS 13+Windows in development · Linux next | macOScomes with the system |
✓ yes · ✕ no · — not confirmed in our research (it may well exist).
1 Per a review on Noticky’s blog (a competitor, so possibly biased).
Who should stay on Stickies
If you jot a note once in a while and always work in windowed mode — never fullscreen — Stickies is genuinely all you need. It is free, already installed, starts instantly and stays out of the way. Casual note-takers and anyone happy with it today should keep it.
Who should switch
Switch if you live in fullscreen apps — Xcode, a terminal, an editor, Keynote — and want today’s to-dos visible inside them. Oh My Notes Pro keeps a note above fullscreen apps and across Spaces and fades to your chosen opacity (40–100%) when you click away. Everything is saved as plain .md files in a folder you choose (Pro), with reminders — recurring on Pro — plus Apple Reminders & Calendar sync (Pro), and an English / 简体中文 / 繁體中文 interface with pinyin search.
Where Stickies wins
Stickies is free and already on your Mac: zero setup, zero download, zero cost. It opens in a blink and needs no onboarding, and notes can be exported to Apple Notes. “Free and already there” is a real advantage, and we are not going to pretend otherwise — if it covers your needs, it is the better tool for you.
Try Oh My Notes against your Stickies
Free to try. Pro is a one-time purchase — early bird $7.99 (regular $9.99). macOS 13+. No subscription.
Researched October 2026 from each product’s public website, App Store listing or docs. Prices in USD. Competitor details change often, so please check their sites for current information. Oh My Notes pricing is current.