Two screen-edge notes apps for Mac, compared side by side.
Both apps keep notes at the edge of your Mac screen — they differ in what those notes are for. Koala is a small rail for notes you need now: a few notes kept beside your work, which you can pull out next to what you're doing and dock back at the edge. SideNotes is built to capture notes, tasks, links and snippets without leaving the app you're in, with folders, search and Markdown to organise them. This page compares the two on facts from each maker's own site.
The short version
Koala checkout runs on Stripe's hosted Checkout page.
| Comparison point | Koala | SideNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99, one-time | $19.99, one-time per major version |
| Subscription | No | No |
| Major upgrades | No promise of free future major upgrades | Free updates within the current major version; later major versions are paid |
| macOS required | macOS 26 or later | macOS 13 or later |
| Apple silicon and Intel | Yes, universal | Yes |
| Trial or demo | Live demo in your browser | Free trial via their website |
| Folders | No | Yes |
| Search | No | Yes |
| Markdown | No | Yes, with a quick formatting toolbar |
| Checklists and tasks | Yes, checklists | Yes, tasks |
| Pin or fold notes | No | Yes |
| Shortcuts and scripting | No Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript or URL API | Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript and URL APIs |
| iCloud sync | Optional, off by default | Available; Apptorium does not publish the default |
| iPhone and iPad app | No | Yes, sold separately |
| Licence covers | One Mac | 2 devices on a website licence |
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.
SideNotes captures notes, tasks, links and snippets from the edge of the screen without leaving the app you are in. Apptorium says it is displayed on top of other apps — in full screen mode, regular windows and Stage Manager — and that you can show or hide it with a keyboard shortcut, by clicking the Open Bar, or by moving the pointer to the screen edge in Hot Side mode.
Rich text with checklists, a colour per note, and images that stay attached to the note until you pull it out. Organisation is the rail itself: the order of your notes, plus movable dividers that split the rail into local sections. There are no folders, no search and no Markdown editor in Koala.
Folders for organisation, with notes moved between them using Command-Shift-M. Search, Markdown formatting with a quick formatting toolbar, notes and folders pinned to the top, long notes folded away, tasks, colours and themes, and images and file shortcuts added by drag and drop.
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.
Apptorium describes SideNotes as private by design: it does not collect, use, store or have access to your notes or personal data, and SideNotes itself collects no usage statistics, analytics or telemetry. Notes are stored locally, and SideNotes also keeps automatic backups.
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. SideNotes also syncs via iCloud, and Apptorium describes it as something you enable ("if you enable iCloud sync"); Apptorium does not publish whether SideNotes sync is on or off by default.
Koala has a global keyboard shortcut you can record for a new note, but no Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript or URL-scheme API.
Apple Shortcuts, an AppleScript API and a URL-based API, with named integrations including Alfred, Hookmark, PopClip, Dropzone and Raycast.
Koala is $9.99 USD, paid once. SideNotes is $19.99 USD, paid once per major version.
No. Neither app is a subscription. Koala does not promise free future major upgrades. SideNotes includes free updates within the current major version, and future major upgrades are paid separately.
Koala needs macOS 26 or later and runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. SideNotes needs macOS 13 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel.
Koala does, on both counts: it works without an account and works offline after one online activation. Apptorium's FAQ does not cover offline use or accounts for SideNotes; it says notes are stored locally on your device, or in your private iCloud account if you enable sync.
Both can sync via iCloud. Koala's sync is off by default; you turn it on from the menu only if you want the same notes on another Mac. For SideNotes, Apptorium describes sync as something you enable and does not publish whether the default is on or off.
In Koala, yes. Pull a note out of the rail, resize it beside your work, and drag it back to the edge when you are done. SideNotes displays its notes at the edge, on top of the app you are in, including full-screen mode and Stage Manager, per Apptorium's site.
SideNotes. SideNotes Mobile runs on iPhone and iPad (iOS and iPadOS 17 or later) and is sold separately. Koala is Mac only.
For Koala, email hello@usekoala.app with your purchase reference to request a cancellation or a refund. Koala's terms do not publish a fixed refund window, and your statutory rights are unaffected. Apptorium does not publish refund terms for SideNotes; they offer a free trial via their website instead. Website orders are processed by Paddle (per Apptorium's FAQ), and App Store orders follow Apple's rules.
This page is published by Koala, one of the two apps compared here. The SideNotes facts come from Apptorium's official site — apptorium.com/sidenotes — and prices and features were checked in October 2026.
Download Koala for macOS 26, or feel the rail first in the live demo.
