Work · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Notational Velocity

A unique modeless, mouseless Mac OS X note-taking app

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Notational Velocity launched in 2014; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Notational Velocity for Vim▲171

   Notational velocity for vim. . Contribute to alok/notational-fzf-vim development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2RT
   Real-time notes app built with Vue.js, inspired by Notational Velocity▲257

   2017 · notational.co · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Paragraph Notes▲155

   A private Markdown notes app for Mac

   Sep 2026 · paragraphnotes.md · its alternatives →

4. 4
   nValt▲69

   Notational Velocity with MultiMarkdown features

   2015 · brettterpstra.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Notational▲113

   Notes at the speed of thought

   2017 · notational.co · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Paragraphs▲272

   A minimalist writing app for Mac

   2015 · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Bullet Journal▲86

   An analog note-taking system for the digital age

   2014 · bulletjournal.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   nvNotes▲5

   Notational Velocity Inspired Note Taking for iOS

   2015 · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Composé▲91

   An editor for creating interactive iOS prototypes and apps

   2015 · its alternatives →

10. 10
    I wrote a local-first notes app for Mac, with data longevity in mind▲128

    Noteship is a note taking app for Mac that combines notes, todos, and reminders and is based on simple files and folders.

    2021 · noteship.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    VelocityX▲71

    A minimalist Flutter framework

    2021 · pub.dev · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Godspeed is a fast, 100% keyboard oriented todo app for Mac▲328

    Hi everybody, today I'm launching version 1.0 of Godspeed, a todo manager built with two priorities in mind: speed and 100% keyboard orientation. Every action in Godspeed can be done from your keyboard and will respond instantly. It's like Superhuman for your todo list. Godspeed has everything you expect in a todo manager like shared lists, labels, smart lists, boolean search operators, and cloud sync. If you're already a user of an app like Todoist or OmniFocus you should be able find everything you need in Godspeed. I think the most appealing thing to most HN users would be the keyboard…

    2024 · godspeedapp.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Framer Flows▲187

    App design made simple.

    2016 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Notebag▲298

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

    2020 · notebag.app · its alternatives →

15. 15EN
    Edna, note taking app for developers▲331

    I took a small break from coding SumatraPDF and wrote a note taking application that is perfect for me: https://edna.arslexis.io/ Edna is a note taking app for developers and power users. A cross between Obsidian and Notational Velocity. Markdown, plain text, code, works in browser so no installation required, private (notes are stored in your browser or disk) and secure (can encrypt notes with a password). The story so far. I was always attracted to editors with minimalistic UI, like https://mak.ink/, simplenote, Notational Velocity. I like having most of the…

    2024 · edna.arslexis.io · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Octave▲191

    A free library of UI sounds for your apps

    2014 · raisedbeaches.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Compose for macOS▲280

    Your personal writing assistant to increase productivity

    2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Notation▲190

    The notepad that is always just one keystroke away 📝

    2019 · notation.studio.site · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Gravity Notes For Mac▲121

    One list of notes, for you and your AI agents

    Feb 2026 · gravitynotes.app · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Stack▲120

    A beautiful and smart key-value based writing app

    2017 · stack-writer.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Velocity▲109

    Read faster, one word at a time

    2013 · velocity.black · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Element Note▲128

    Your digital notebook, reimagined

    2022 · elementnote.app · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Jot▲115

    Simplest notes app for the Mac Menu Bar the world has seen.

    2020 · getjot.app · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Standard Notes▲164

    A simple and private notes app.

    2017 · standardnotes.com · its alternatives →

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 →