Tot Alternatives for Mac (Scratchpads Without a 7-Note Cap)

Tot gives you seven pages of text in a small scratchpad, synced between Mac and iPhone through iCloud. The right Tot alternative depends on why you're leaving. If seven pages isn't enough, Stickies and Apple Notes are free and already on your Mac. If you want lists, calculations or timers in the same window, or you also work on Windows, look at Gubb.

The quick list, ordered from built-in and free to paid:

• Stickies: best for free desktop notes on one Mac, with no install.
• Apple Notes: best if you need more than seven notes and still want them on your iPhone, for free.
• Drafts: best for a capture-first habit where each note gets processed and archived, across Apple devices.
• Gubb: best for one pinned window with no fixed note limit plus checklists, Kanban boards, clipboard history and timers, on Mac and Windows, for a one-time price.

We make Gubb, so weigh our view accordingly; we've tried to be fair to every app here, including Tot.

What Tot does, and why people switch

Tot is a "tiny text companion" from The Iconfactory: a scratchpad with exactly seven pages for short bits of text. As of November 2026:

• Platforms: Mac (macOS 14 or later), iPhone and iPad as Tot Pocket (iOS 17 or later), and Apple Watch as Tot Mini.
• Sync: text syncs between iOS and macOS through iCloud.
• Text: rich or plain text, with automatic conversion to Markdown. It shows word and character counts as you type.
• Price: free to download and try. Premium features are an in-app purchase of $19.99 on the Mac and a separate $19.99 on iPhone and iPad. Both appear to be one-time purchases.
• Tot 2 (August 2025) added automatic iOS backups and adaptive Mac Dock icons.

The reasons people look elsewhere follow from that list:

1. Seven pages, on purpose. The limit is the design, since Tot is meant for short-lived text. If you keep reference notes, lists and drafts side by side, you run out of pages.
2. Apple only. There is no Windows or web version.
3. macOS 14 or later. Older Macs can't run the current version.
4. Text-focused. None of the sources we checked mention checklists, boards, calculations, clipboard history or timers in Tot. If you want those next to your notes, you're adding another app.

If none of these bother you, read the last section before switching.

Tot alternatives compared

Stickies

Stickies comes with every Mac, so there's nothing to install or buy. Each note is its own small window on your desktop, and you can make as many as you like.

Good at:

• Content saves automatically.
• You can drag pictures or PDFs into a note and mark them up (crop, rotate, write or draw).
• You can change note colors. A collapsed note shows its first line in its title bar, so a desk full of notes stays readable.
• Window > Float on Top keeps a note above other windows.

Lacks:

• Notes are visible only while the Stickies app is open.
• Mac only, with no iCloud sync and no iPhone version. Everything stays on that one Mac.
• Apple's Stickies guide doesn't mention checklists, timers, math or voice input.

Price: free with macOS, as of November 2026.

Pick it if you mostly used Tot on the Mac, never relied on iPhone sync, and just need more than seven places to put text. For other desktop-note options, see our guide to sticky notes apps for Mac.

Apple Notes

Apple Notes is the free option if you need more than seven notes and still want them on your iPhone and iPad through iCloud.

Good at:

• Checklists you can tick off, attachments (PDFs, photos, links), a document scanner and notes you can lock.
• You can record audio straight into a note, and it is transcribed.
• Typing something like 5 * 3 = shows the answer inline.
• Tags and Smart Folders for when your scratch notes grow into a collection.
• For quick capture on a Mac, press Fn-Q (Globe-Q) to open a Quick Note over whatever app you're in.

Lacks:

• It is a full notes app. Opening it puts you in a library of folders and notes rather than a small page you glance at.
• Apple platforms only.
• The sources we checked show no Kanban boards, clipboard history, timers or break reminders.
• Apple Intelligence features need newer hardware.

Price: free with macOS, iOS and iPadOS, as of November 2026.

Pick it if iPhone sync is the reason you used Tot and you're happy with a bigger app. Our Apple Notes alternatives page covers what to try if it feels too heavy.

Drafts

Drafts is a quick-capture text app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Like Tot, it is built for getting text out of your head quickly. Unlike Tot, each capture is meant to be processed and moved on.

Good at:

• New drafts land in an Inbox. Once you've dealt with one, you move it to the Archive or the Trash, much like email.
• Actions let you do something with the text, including actions from the Drafts Directory.
• The free tier includes unlimited drafts and sync.
• Dictation can continue in the background, per its release notes.

Lacks:

• Advanced features need Drafts Pro, a subscription. The prices we found on Drafts' own pages are about five years old and disagree on the annual rate, so check the current price before you buy.
• Apple platforms only. No Windows or web version is listed.

Price: free core app; Pro is a subscription, as of November 2026. See getdrafts.com.

Pick it if your Tot pages are really an inbox (ideas, snippets, things to send somewhere) and you want them cleared out regularly rather than kept in seven fixed slots.

Antinote

Antinote is a Mac scratchpad app that often comes up alongside Tot. We couldn't verify its current features, price, system requirements, note limits or sync for this page, so we're not rating it here. Check its own site before you buy, and see Antinote alternatives if you're comparing it with other scratchpads.

Gubb

Gubb is our app: a single small window (600×600 by default, resizable) for quick notes, with several everyday tools built into the same window. On the Mac it has a menu bar icon and a Dock icon, and there's no fixed note limit.
Good at:

• As many notes as you want. Click + (Create New Note) in the title bar to start another note. Each note is titled from the first 30 characters of its first line. Notes History lists every note and sorts it by Newest first, Oldest first or Alphabetical, and the title-bar Search notes... field finds notes by title and preview.
• Menu bar access. Left-click the menu bar icon to show or hide the window. Pin window on top in the right-edge buttons keeps it above other apps, and the setting is remembered.
• Markdown as you type. # plus Space makes a heading, - a bullet, [ ] a checklist item. Typing saves automatically.
• Notes that become tools. A line with only gubb@todo turns the note into a to-do list with due dates, priorities and subtasks. A line with only gubb@board turns it into a Kanban board with To Do, In Progress and Done columns.
• Quick math. After gubb@math, a line like 12*3 = gets its answer. gubb@conversions converts units offline (type 10 ft to m, then press Return), and gubb@currency converts currencies using live rates.
• Extras in the same window: clipboard history for copied text, a timer with countdown, stopwatch and Pomodoro modes, full-screen break reminders, and speech-to-text that types into the open note.
• Local, no account. Notes are stored on your computer, with no sign-up.
• Windows too. Gubb is also on the Microsoft Store. Tot, Stickies, Apple Notes and Drafts don't run on Windows.

Lacks:

• No sync and no iPhone or iPad app. If you read Tot pages on your phone, Gubb won't replace that.
• No global hotkey. You open Gubb from the menu bar icon or the Dock, not with a keyboard shortcut from another app.
• Math is basic arithmetic: + - * / ^ and brackets. Percentages and functions such as sqrt() don't work, even though the math-mode hover list shows them.
• Currency conversion needs internet. Offline, nothing happens.
• Pomodoro mode counts down like the countdown timer; it doesn't cycle work and breaks for you.
• Speech-to-text in local mode is English only and transcribes the first 30 seconds of each recording. It works only inside Gubb notes, not in other apps.
• Notes aren't plain files. They live in a local database, and the Markdown and Plain Text exports currently write raw editor data instead of readable text.
• Clipboard history captures text only, starts recording when you first open its panel, and stores anything copied as text in plain text, including from password managers.

Price: $59 one-time for a lifetime license from gubb.net that activates on up to 3 devices, as of November 2026. The Mac download from gubb.net includes a 7-day free trial with no account. Gubb is also on the Mac App Store and the Microsoft Store.

Pick it if you mainly use Tot on a computer, want more than seven notes, and would like checklists, boards, calculations, clipboard history and timers in the same window instead of separate apps. You can download the free Mac trial.

Moving Tot pages into Gubb: copy each Tot page and paste it into a new Gubb note. Don't use Import for .md or .txt files for now, because notes imported that way currently open empty.

How to choose

• Pick Stickies if you want free, more-than-seven notes on one Mac and don't need your phone.
• Pick Apple Notes if iPhone and iPad sync matters most and you don't mind a full notes app.
• Pick Drafts if your scratchpad is an inbox you clear out, and you're fine with a subscription for advanced features.
• Pick Gubb if you work on a Mac or Windows PC and want quick notes without a page limit, plus lists, boards, math, clipboard history and timers in one window for a one-time price.
• Stay with Tot if seven pages and iPhone sync are exactly what you want.

On Windows only, Microsoft Sticky Notes is free and syncs with OneNote Mobile and Outlook for Windows; see our Windows Sticky Notes alternatives for more.

Should you switch at all?

Tot's seven-page limit is a deliberate choice, and for many people it's the point: a scratchpad that can't fill up stays a scratchpad. If you clear pages often, the limit costs you nothing.

Tot also does things some alternatives here don't. It syncs between Mac and iPhone through iCloud and runs on Apple Watch, which Gubb and Stickies can't do. It shows word and character counts as you type, which Gubb doesn't. And at $19.99 for the Mac premium features, it costs less than Gubb's $59.

Switch when the limit actually gets in your way: you keep deleting notes you wanted, you've added a second app for lists or calculations, or you need the same scratchpad on Windows. For more ways to jot things down quickly, see quick notes on Mac.

FAQ

Is there a free Tot alternative for Mac?

Yes. Stickies and Apple Notes are both built into macOS, and neither caps you at seven notes. Drafts also has a free tier with unlimited drafts and sync.

Which Tot alternative syncs with iPhone?

Apple Notes (free, through iCloud) and Drafts (the free tier includes sync) both work on iPhone. Stickies and Gubb don't sync and have no iPhone app.

Is there a Tot alternative for Windows?

Gubb runs on Windows and is listed on the Microsoft Store. For plain desktop notes, Microsoft Sticky Notes is free from Microsoft.

Can I keep a scratchpad on top of other windows?

Yes. In Stickies, choose Window > Float on Top. In Gubb, click Pin window on top in the right-edge buttons (a break reminder turns it off, so pin again afterward). For other apps, see how to keep a window on top on Mac.