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Work · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to I made a Note-Taking app for people who keep texting themselves

This project began when I realized that despite trying many fantastic note-taking apps, I often defaulted to dumping notes into chat apps like Slack or iMessage. I wanted to bring that effortless “text yourself” note-taking experience to a dedicated note-taking app. Originally developed as a macOS app, Strflow is now also available for iOS. Strflow is designed to make note-taking as quick and intuitive as possible, centered around a chronological timeline UI. Here are some of its features: * Tag system * Rich editor with text formatting, images, and note linking * Global shortcuts for quick…

Strflow is a note-taking app for macOS and iOS designed to capture thoughts as quickly as texting yourself. It centers on a chronological timeline interface with a rich editor supporting text formatting, images, and… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. I made a Note-Taking app for people who keep texting themselves launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1
    SideNotes▲311

    A beautiful note taking app with superpowers. It shows and hides on the side of your monitor to manage your notes distraction-free. Keep your notes organised, personalised and always at your fingertips. Markdown, tasks, pictures, colors, folders included.

    2025 · apptorium.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Simple notes app that ties notes together with #hashtags

    2016 · betternotesapp.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3
    TalkNotes▲854

    Turn your thoughts into actionable notes, fast

    2023 · talknotes.io · its alternatives →

  4. 4
    Hints▲492

    Valuable info is quickly captured and self-organized

    2022 · hints.so · its alternatives →

  5. 5
    Notebag▲298

    A keyboard-focused note-taking app that gets out of your way

    2020 · notebag.app · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Native (Mac & iOS) note-taking based on local Markdown files

    2020 · noteplan.co · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    Take notes everywhere

    2023 · supernotes.app · its alternatives →

  8. 8
    Jot▲235

    The no-fuss way to take notes

    2018 · gogetjot.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    Minimalist note taking app

    2025 · stupidnotes.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10CN
  11. 11
    Pasteline▲142

    Add your notes, links, and ideas in seconds

    2021 · tapteek.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Quick notes, always available

    2024 · sindresorhus.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13
    Dumbnote▲141

    Offline-first Markdown note app. No lock-in. Just write.

    2025 · dumbnote.app · its alternatives →

  14. 14
    PeekNote▲176

    Lightweight always-on-top notes for devs & multitaskers

    2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Welcome to the Collate Blog! As our first blog post, let’s kick things off with the...

    2017 · collatenotes.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    On iOS, I've flip-flopped back and forth between a bunch of note-taking and journaling apps. None would stick. My initial attempts at building such an app faded just the same, until I realized I wanted the same level of low-friction posting and browsing offered by social media apps, but for my quick notes. Not social, just easy posting, search, and a familiar feed. This is how Journelly came to be. I like to describe it as: tweeting, but for your eyes only (fully offline and in plain text). If you’re an Org markup user, you’ll be delighted to know it’s powered by unicorns under the hood. If…

    2025 · xenodium.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    Thank you for your comments, just some context: - The app is available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and the Web. - The Web version is implemented as a Progressive Web Application that is very responsive, local first, offline first, can be installed, and is entirely free to use. - Native (hybrid) versions do not require subscription fees and have small one-time payment. - You can store your notes in Git using any Git provider such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. However, it has the best built-in integration with GitHub. Self-hosted scenarios like Gitea are also…

    2024 · about.noteshub.app · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Hey hacker news, I've worked on a note/wiki app nights and weekends for almost two years. While still missing some essentials and polish, I'm happy with the progress and some of my use cases: personal CRM, work notes, and a place to write/record funny things my kid says. I bought into the hype a few years ago with linking apps but quickly grew tired of spinners and steep learning curves, so I started over with a text box and my HTML skills from twenty years ago. Then Chatgpt came out, giving me the tools to add a bit of magic and dig into my stance on simplicity even more. I'd love…

    2024 · grugnotes.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19
    Note It▲59

    A feature packed note-taking extension with OCR support

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    📝 Minimalist, 🙈 anonymous and 🆓 free note taking app

    2018 · quicknote.io · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    One list of notes, for you and your AI agents

    Feb 2026 · gravitynotes.app · its alternatives →

  22. 22
    Contexted▲107

    Write, connect & visualize your notes

    2019 · contexted.io · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Your quick notes with you

    2022 · apptorium.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24NA

    We built NotesTab as we couldn't find a note taking app that we liked. Either they were too bloated with needless features or were overly simple like those made by Apple. We wanted something that balanced features with simplicity and could sync seamlessly across platforms - so we made NotesTab - a handy note taking app that fits nicely into your daily workflow. We've already got updates in the works, but wanted to see what fellow HN'ers thought of what we've made so far. Find out more here: http://www.notestab.com App links: iPhone/iPad:…

    2012 · notestab.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →