Apple Stickies Alternative: What Stacco Does Differently
Stickies is built into macOS, free — and for many, that’s enough. A few things work differently in Stacco.
| Apple Stickies | With Stacco |
|---|---|
| A new note comes from the menu “File > New Note”; the system service for new notes only works with selected text (“Make Sticky”) | ⌥⌘N from anywhere, plus the pull gesture |
| “Float on Top” keeps a note in front of other windows; Apple’s guide doesn’t mention full-screen apps | Notes stay visible — even over full-screen apps |
| History per note: not listed in Apple’s guide | History per note — the last 30 versions are recoverable |
Sources: Apple's Stickies User Guide, the Stickies app's system services on macOS 27.
Honest verdict
Stickies is free and enough for “buy milk”. Stacco costs $6.99 once and is for people who think in notes all day.