Stickies review

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Stickies is a freeware Windows desktop utility for people who want persistent notes directly on their desktop. It supports text and image notes, customizable fonts, colors, buttons, styles, and sizes, along with note arrangements that can remain visible through reboots. Its audience is primarily solo users and small teams that need quick desktop reference, reminders, or lightweight task prompts rather than a broad dashboard of widgets.

The published Freeware plan has no time limit or feature restrictions and can be used on any number of computers, with no charge for home or office use. The feature set includes scheduled hiding, wake times, recurring reminders, and alarms, giving the notes more structure than simple static text. Notes can also be snapped to one another or to screen edges, and attached to applications, websites, documents, or folders. That combination makes Stickies suitable for workflows where context-specific prompts need to stay close to the relevant desktop item.

Stickies also offers practical transfer and integration options through TCP/IP, SMTP, and MAPI, plus an API for connections with other applications. It stores data locally in a SQLite database and supports Unicode and right-to-left text. The trade-off is a narrow scope: its widget categories center on text notes, image notes, reminders, alarms, recurring notes, and attached notes, rather than monitoring, weather, or calendar widgets. It is a strong fit for Windows users who mainly need persistent sticky notes at no cost. Users seeking a wider desktop widget environment or native support beyond Windows should choose a broader alternative.

Stickies pros and cons

• Where it wins
  • Persistent text and image notes survive reboots
  • Reminders, alarms, scheduled hiding, and recurring notes
  • Attachments, note snapping, transfers, and an integration API
• Where it doesn't
  • Windows-only as a native desktop application
  • Focused on notes rather than broader widget categories
  • Support is centered on community resources and documentation

Stickies fact sheet, pricing and score →

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Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update