Growly Notes for Mac

Quick summary

Growly Notes is a compact productivity application for macOS that helps you gather and organize a wide variety of materials in a single place. It works well for research, travel planning, to-do lists, journals and informal scrapbooks of images, links and short video clips. If you want a polished, inexpensive note-management tool, Growly Notes is a solid option.

Types of content you can store

• Hand-drawn sketches and annotations created inside notes
• Tables and structured data
• Basic text with formatting (headings, bold, lists)
• Links to websites and local files
• Embedded images
• Audio recordings and clips
• Video files and short movies
• PDF attachments

How it helps you organize information

You can place items anywhere on a page, so you’re not confined to rigid templates. Tabs let you separate projects or brainstorming sessions and switch between them quickly. Many of the features offered for free mimic functionality found in more expensive apps, giving you flexibility for visual layouts and idea-mapping without a steep price.

Strengths and current limitations

Growly Notes comes very close to the experience of apps like MS OneNote in terms of layout freedom and multimedia handling, while providing a macOS-style interface. It also shares similarities with higher-end tools such as Curio in polish and capability. However, it lacks some of the advanced integrations that OneNote provides—most notably web app synchronization and Outlook integration aren't supported.

Mobile and sync plans

The developer, GrowlyBird, announced plans for an iPad version intended to sync with the Mac release (targeted for late 2014). Native cross-device synchronization between Mac and mobile was a stated goal, though integration with Microsoft cloud services remains outside Growly Notes’ scope.

Recent improvements

• A fully refreshed user interface for an updated look and smoother workflows
• PDF annotation tools so you can mark up documents directly in the app
• Better audio and video capture and playback features
• Improved handling and editing of text content
• Synchronization capabilities between computers
• Numerous smaller tweaks and refinements across the app

Recommendation and alternatives

If you prefer a paid option with deep integration into the Microsoft ecosystem, Microsoft Word (paid) is a recommended alternative. Growly Notes, on the other hand, is a cost-effective pick for users who want a flexible, media-friendly note environment without a large investment.