Growly Notes

Free#106 of 214 in Note-Taking Apps

Growly Notes: A free Mac note app for multimedia pages, local storage, and structured notebooks. Ranked #106 of 214 in Note-Taking Apps by our editors (3.0/10); pricing: Free plan; best for free-form multimedia notes on macOS.

3.0/10★★☆☆☆Editor score

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At a glance

• Editor score
  3.0 / 10
• Pricing
  Free plan
• Best for
  Free-form multimedia notes on macOS
• Free plan
  Yes
• Paid from
  Free
• Offline access
  Yes
• Facts checked
  20 Sep 2026

• Where it wins

  • Handles text, images, movies, audio, PDFs, tables, and drawings
  • Organizes content with notebooks, sections, pages, tags, and templates
  • Includes local storage, encrypted notebook files, and floating note windows

• Where it doesn't

  • Available only on macOS
  • No real-time collaboration
  • Removed from the Mac App Store; mobile versions are discontinued or not planned

Our verdict on Growly Notes

Growly Notes is a free Mac desktop note-taking application for class notes, research, trips, to-do lists, journals, and other information. Its free-form pages let users arrange movable, layered content rather than working only in a linear document. Supported content includes formatted text, images, movies, audio, PDFs, tables, lists, links, web pages, and drawings. Notebooks are divided into sections and pages, with search across open notebooks, built-in and custom tags, and page and notebook templates.

The product’s strongest fit is multimedia note organization on macOS. Tables, bulleted lists, numbered lists, and checkbox lists support structured content, while floating windows allow note-taking alongside other applications. Files are stored locally rather than in the cloud, and password protection uses encrypted notebook files. Dropbox and Google Drive support sharing and synchronization through supported folders and services, but Growly Notes does not provide real-time collaboration. Notebook sharing and synchronization can still support collaborative workflows when live co-editing is not required.

The Free plan is free to use without payment, with donations accepted. That makes the full feature set accessible without a paid tier, but platform coverage is narrow: the application is available only on macOS. Growly Notes was removed from the Mac App Store, and mobile versions are discontinued or not planned, which reduces its suitability for people who need notes across Mac, phone, and tablet. Choose it for free-form, locally stored multimedia notebooks on a Mac. Choose an alternative if real-time collaboration, mobile access, or broader platform coverage is essential.

Questions about Growly Notes

Does Growly Notes have a free plan? Yes, there is a free plan.

What does Growly Notes run on? macOS. It runs as a desktop app.

What does Growly Notes integrate with? 2 integrations: Dropbox and Google Drive.

Who is Growly Notes built for? Solo users and small businesses (our editorial estimate).

Your product? Our editors can test Growly Notes in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

Growly Notes pricing

All 1 Growly Notes plans and prices →

Growly Notes fact sheet

Growly Notes integrations

Growly Notes lists 2 integrations on its own site.

• Dropbox
• Google Drive

Alternatives to Growly Notes

• Microsoft OneNoteA broad, collaborative note system with strong Microsoft integration and a capable free option.9.3
• NotionA flexible workspace for teams that want notes and knowledge bases alongside databases and collaboration.9.2
• EvernoteA broad note-taking workspace for organizing information, tasks, calendars, and documents.9.0

See all Growly Notes alternatives →

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Featured on iTechGuides

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Nov 2026

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Last updated 14 Nov 2026 · How we research and update