Koala vs Noticky
A rail of notes beside your work, or floating stickies that stay above everything?
Koala keeps a small set of notes in a rail at the edge of your Mac screen, which you can pull out next to what you are doing and dock back at the edge. Noticky is a menu-bar app of floating sticky notes that stay above every window, including fullscreen apps, summoned with ⌘⇧N. This page compares the two on facts from each maker's own site.
The short version
- Koala
- $9.99 one-time · macOS 26 or later
- Noticky
- $9.99 one-time · macOS 15 or later
Buy Koala — $9.99 one-time →
Koala checkout runs on Stripe's hosted Checkout page.
At a glance.
Koala and Noticky compared, feature by feature
| Comparison point |
Koala |
Noticky |
| Price |
$9.99, one-time |
$9.99, one-time |
| What you get |
Notes only: a rail of notes |
Floating sticky notes, always on top |
| Where notes live |
In a rail at the screen edge; detachable floating notes |
Floating stickies anywhere on screen; one note can dock as a tab at the screen edge (Edge Dock) |
| Always visible |
Yes, the rail stays beside your work |
Yes: notes float above every window, including fullscreen apps |
| Multiple notes at once |
Yes, several notes in the rail, each detachable |
Yes, several floating notes; Free, Stack or Tile layouts |
| Detachable / floating |
Yes: pull a note out, resize it beside your work, dock it back |
Yes: every note is a floating sticky; no rail to dock back into |
| Above fullscreen / across Spaces |
Built to join all Spaces and float alongside full-screen windows; behaviour unconfirmed |
Stated outright: notes render at a window level that persists across Spaces, including fullscreen Spaces |
| Notes search |
No |
Yes: fast filtering across notes and tags |
| Folders / tags |
No |
Folders and smart tags with colours |
| Markdown / plain files |
No |
Yes, Markdown WYSIWYG, rendered live; notes are stored locally and synced via iCloud, export to .md |
| Rich text and images |
Yes, rich text with inline images |
Markdown styling (headings, bold, code); images can be dropped into a note or kept as floating overlays |
| Checklists |
Yes |
Yes, checklist notes with progress |
| Templates |
Not claimed on Koala’s pages |
Yes, pre-built formats for standups, agendas and code reviews |
| Reminders |
No |
Yes, time-based alerts on any note |
| Touch ID lock |
No |
Yes, lock individual notes; locked notes show a blurred preview |
| Sync default |
Optional iCloud sync, off by default, via a private CloudKit database |
iCloud sync automatic when signed in; no setup |
| Sync across devices |
Another Mac, via optional iCloud sync |
Across your Macs via iCloud; iPhone and iPad app sold separately |
| Account required |
No Koala account; an Apple Account only if you turn on iCloud sync |
No Noticky account; iCloud sign-in for sync |
| Refund |
No fixed window: request by email, statutory rights preserved |
All sales final on direct purchases; Mac App Store purchases follow Apple’s policy |
| iPhone and iPad app |
No, Mac only |
Yes, sold separately: free app with optional one-time Noticky Pro ($4.99); Mac licence separate |
| macOS required |
macOS 26 or later |
macOS 15 Sequoia or later; Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Updates |
No free future major upgrades promised |
Future updates included for the current major version; major upgrades may be charged |
| Licence devices |
One Mac installation per activation code |
Not stated on the maker’s site |
| Try free |
Browser live demo, separate from the native app; no free trial of the native app described |
Trial terms depend on the channel; no fixed length published |
The rail vs the floating stickies.
Koala
Koala keeps a rail of notes at the edge of your screen. Hover to open a note, click to edit it. When a note needs room, pull it out of the rail, resize it beside your work, and drag it back to the edge when you are done.
Koala's rail and detached notes are designed to travel with you: the note panels are built to join all Spaces and to float alongside full-screen windows, so a note can stay next to your work wherever it is. That behaviour is design intent; the site does not confirm it as tested behaviour.
Noticky
Noticky is a menu-bar app, not a rail that stays. There is no Dock icon and no window in Cmd+Tab: press ⌘⇧N anywhere and a capture window appears, ready to type. Hit Return and the note is pinned to your screen, floating above whatever you are doing. Notes can also follow the app you are in, and Quick Access brings a chosen note back by shortcut.
Noticky does have one edge feature: Edge Dock docks a single note to the left or right edge as a compact tab. That is a tab for one note, not a rail holding all your notes — there is no always-visible home for the whole set, and no rail to dock a floating note back into.
Above fullscreen, across Spaces.
Koala
Koala's note panels are built to join all Spaces and to float alongside full-screen windows. That is the design intent stated in the app's own description; the site itself does not confirm the behaviour as tested, so this page does not present it as proven.
Noticky
Noticky states the behaviour outright: notes render at a macOS window level that persists across all Spaces, including fullscreen Spaces, so a note stays visible above a fullscreen app instead of disappearing with it. Staying visible in fullscreen is the app's defining feature, and the maker explains the window-level mechanism on its own site.
Say it plainly: this is the one row where Noticky beats Koala on published wording. Koala's panels are built for the same job, but only Noticky states it as a fact on its site.
Notes head to head.
Koala
Koala's notes are rich text with images and checklists, always visible in the rail, several at once, each detachable. What Koala does not have is search: there are no folders, no search and no Markdown editor, so you find a note by where you put it in the rail. There are no templates, no reminders and no Touch ID lock either.
Noticky
Noticky's notes are Markdown WYSIWYG: headings, bold, italic, code blocks and lists render live as you type, with no preview mode. Checklists come with visible progress, and smart tags with colours plus fast filtering keep a large set findable. Templates cover recurring formats, reminders add time-based alerts, and individual notes lock with Touch ID.
Images work differently: screenshots and clipboard images become floating overlays with opacity and click-through controls, and images can be dropped into a note from Quick Add. Notes are stored locally and synced via iCloud, and any note exports to .txt, .md or .pdf. Deleted notes sit in a 30-day trash.
Privacy, storage and sync.
Koala
Local-first. Koala works without an account, and note content stays on your Mac; it is not sent to Koala servers. Koala works offline after a single online activation, and you can export or import a backup archive from the menu. The site does not name the archive's file format.
Noticky
Local plus iCloud, by design. Notes are stored locally and sync via iCloud when you are signed in, with Apple's encryption; the maker states no Noticky account, no telemetry, and that it never sees your data. Private notes stay hidden from screenshots, recordings and screen sharing, and sensitive notes lock with Touch ID behind a blurred preview.
On sync: Koala's iCloud sync is off by default — Koala says so outright, and you turn it on from the menu only if you want the same notes on another Mac. Noticky's sync is automatic once you are signed into iCloud, so notes travel between your Macs with no setup; the iPhone and iPad app is a separate purchase.
Price, honestly.
Koala: $9.99, once
One payment for macOS 26 or later, with unlimited notes, local-first storage, offline use after activation and optional iCloud sync included. Koala states no fixed refund window: to request cancellation or a refund, contact hello@usekoala.app with your purchase reference, with statutory rights preserved.
Noticky: $9.99, once
One payment for macOS 15 or later, with every feature included: Markdown, checklists, smart tags, templates, reminders, Touch ID lock, iCloud sync and export, with no subscription and no account required. The Mac licence is a separate purchase from the iPhone and iPad app, and it is sold direct (via Stripe), through the Mac App Store, and through Setapp. Direct purchases are all sales final; Mac App Store purchases follow Apple's refund policy.
Say it plainly: the two cost exactly the same, so price is not the reason to pick either. The real gap is macOS: Noticky runs back to macOS 15, where Koala needs macOS 26 — and Noticky brings Markdown, search, tags, templates, reminders and Touch ID for that same $9.99, while Koala brings the rail.
Which one fits?
Pick Koala if
- You want notes always beside your work, several at once, in a rail at the screen edge, each detachable.
- You want local-first storage: no account, content stays on your Mac, iCloud sync off unless you turn it on.
- You would rather pay $9.99 once for notes alone, with rich text, images and checklists — and you do not need search, Markdown, tags, templates, reminders or Touch ID.
Pick Noticky if
- You want notes that stay above fullscreen apps, stated outright, with app-aware notes and a global capture hotkey.
- You want Markdown WYSIWYG, search, smart tags, templates, reminders and Touch ID lock for the same $9.99.
- You want your notes on iPhone and iPad too, with a separate purchase.
- You are on macOS 15 to 25: Noticky runs back to macOS 15, where Koala needs macOS 26.
Questions.
Is Koala a replacement for Noticky?
No. Koala is a visible rail of rich-text notes; Noticky is floating stickies that stay above fullscreen apps. Noticky's Markdown, search, tags, templates, reminders and Touch ID have no Koala equivalent, and Koala's always-visible rail has no Noticky equivalent — Noticky's Edge Dock is a tab for one note, not a rail. If you want the rail, Koala is the buy; if you want notes above fullscreen with Markdown, Noticky is.
Can I try Noticky free?
The maker's site says trial and purchase terms depend on the channel shown in the download flow, and publishes no fixed trial length. See noticky.app for the current terms.
Does Noticky sync to iPhone?
Yes, with a separate purchase. The iPhone and iPad app is free with an optional one-time Noticky Pro purchase ($4.99), and the Mac licence ($9.99) is separate. Notes sync between them via iCloud.
Does Koala have Markdown or search?
No. Koala has no notes search and no Markdown editor: notes are rich text with images and checklists, found by where you put them in the rail. Noticky has both: Markdown WYSIWYG and fast filtering across notes and tags.
Can I try Koala free?
The Koala site offers a live demo in your browser, which is separate from the native Mac app. It does not describe a free trial of the native app.
Try Koala on your Mac.
Download Koala for macOS 26, or feel the rail first in the live demo. The live demo runs in your browser and is separate from the native Mac app.
