The short answer. Heynote is the dedicated scratchpad for developers. Itsypad is a tiny fast scratchpad that also keeps clipboard history. SideNotes puts quick notes on the side of the screen with Markdown support. Memo and Quick Note are the sticky notes — one unlocked with Touch ID, one in the menu bar. Memo Widget puts sticky notes on the desktop. LINQPad is the odd one out and the reason this category is worth thinking about: it is a scratchpad for running code, queries and database exploration, not for text. A scratchpad is defined by what it throws away, so the real question is whether the note survives a reboot.
This guide covers 7 scratchpad apps for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heynote | productivity app | Open source | not published | 2.9.1 |
| Itsypad | productivity app | Open source | MIT | 1.18.0 |
| LINQPad | developer tool | Free | not published | 9.11.10.4566546 |
| Memo | Mac utility | Free | not published | — |
| Memo Widget | Mac utility | Free | not published | 1.4.0 |
| Quick Note | productivity app | not published | not published | 1.1.0 |
| SideNotes | productivity app | not published | not published | 1.6.6 |
What actually decides this
- Does the note survive a reboot. A true scratchpad is disposable and some of these are built to forget. A note that is still there tomorrow is a note-taking app with a lighter interface, and the two are indistinguishable in the screenshot and completely different in use.
- How fast it opens. The whole value is the three seconds between having a thought and writing it down. A global hotkey, a menu bar icon and a desktop widget are three different times-to-open, and the difference is why these apps exist.
- Desktop, side of screen or menu bar. These are three placements with three different behaviours about occlusion and focus. A desktop sticky note lives behind your windows; a side note docks beside whatever you are reading; a menu bar pad appears only when summoned.
- What else it does. Clipboard history, Markdown rendering, Touch ID and code execution are four features that arrive with a notepad. Each one is genuinely useful and each one makes the app take longer to open, which is the trade the category exists to avoid.
- Text or code. A scratchpad for snippets and queries needs a language model, not a text buffer. The text scratchpads will happily accept a code sample and will do nothing useful with it, which is the mistake this axis prevents.
Our picks
- Heynote — Its record describes a dedicated scratchpad for developers, which is the developer case. Choose it when the scratchpad is for snippets and buffers while you are working.
- Itsypad — Its record describes a tiny, fast scratchpad and clipboard manager for macOS, which is the combined case. Choose it when you want a tiny fast pad that also keeps clipboard history.
- SideNotes — Its record describes quick notes on the screen side with Markdown support, which is the side-docked case. Choose it when you want the notes docked to the side of the screen in Markdown.
- Memo — Its record describes a simple and elegant app unlocked more quickly with Touch ID, which is the locked case. Choose it when you want a simple elegant pad locked behind Touch ID.
- Quick Note — Its record describes colourful sticky notes in the menu bar, which is the menu bar case. Choose it when you want sticky notes reachable from the menu bar.
- Memo Widget — Its record describes sticky notes on your desktop, which is the desktop case. Choose it when you want the notes on the desktop where you can see them.
- LINQPad — Its record describes a scratchpad for running code, queries and database exploration, which is the code case. Choose it when the scratchpad is for running code, queries and database exploration.
The apps
Heynote
Heynote is a productivity app for macOS. A dedicated scratchpad for developers. It is open source.
What it does. A dedicated scratchpad for developers.
Heynote is listed with current version 2.9.1.
Full profile and verified facts for Heynote →
Itsypad
Itsypad is a productivity app for macOS. A tiny, fast scratchpad and clipboard manager for macOS. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Free macOS scratchpad with syntax highlighting for 185+ languages, multi-tab split view, 1,000-item clipboard history, global hotkeys, and iCloud sync. No telemetry.
Itsypad is listed with current version 1.18.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Itsypad →
LINQPad
LINQPad is a developer tool for macOS. .NET scratchpad for running code, queries, and database exploration. It is free.
LINQPad is listed with current version 9.11.10.4566546.
Full profile and verified facts for LINQPad →
Memo
Memo is a Mac utility for macOS. Simple and elegant app. Unlock memos even more quickly using Touch ID. It is free.
Full profile and verified facts for Memo →
Memo Widget
Memo Widget is a Mac utility for macOS. Sticky notes on your desktop. It is free.
What it does. Sticky notes on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, and desktop. The app provides widgets that act like sticky notes. Show them on your Home Screen, Lock Screen….
Memo Widget is listed with current version 1.4.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Memo Widget →
Quick Note
Quick Note is a productivity app for macOS. Colorful sticky notes in the Menu bar. Its pricing is not published.
What it does. One keystroke to a new note that stays on top of everything — nothing to open, nothing to save. A sticky note app for your Mac menu bar.
Quick Note is listed with current version 1.1.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Quick Note →
SideNotes
SideNotes is a productivity app for macOS. Quick notes on the screen side with Markdown support. Its pricing is not published.
SideNotes is listed with current version 1.6.6.
Full profile and verified facts for SideNotes →
How to choose
- Free of charge. LINQPad, Memo and Memo Widget — no payment is required.
- No licence fee, source available. Heynote and Itsypad — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- Pricing not published in our data. Quick Note and SideNotes — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.
Open source: Heynote and Itsypad (2 of 7).
Common mistakes
- Treating a scratchpad as the place for something you will need next week. The tool has no obligation to keep it, and some are designed not to.
- Choosing by the icon. The placement is the feature, and placement only shows up once you have used it for a day.
- Adding clipboard history to a scratchpad and then wondering why it opens slowly. The two features want opposite things from the app.
- Using a text scratchpad for code. It will hold the text and do nothing with it, which is the specific case a code scratchpad exists for.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these scratchpad apps?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 7 scratchpad apps: Heynote, Itsypad, LINQPad, Memo, Memo Widget, Quick Note and SideNotes. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these scratchpad apps free?
Pricing across this group: open source (Heynote and Itsypad), free (LINQPad, Memo and Memo Widget) and not published (Quick Note and SideNotes). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these scratchpad apps are open source?
Heynote (not published) and Itsypad (MIT) are open source.
Do these scratchpad apps support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
