Canopy for Mac vs Notchy: macOS 26.6 or macOS 13
Canopy 2 is a calm, media-first Dynamic Island for Mac: €15 for two Macs, a 48-hour free trial, and macOS 26.6 or later. Notchy costs $24.99 one-time for one Mac, installs from a signed DMG or one Homebrew command, and runs back to macOS 13.
| Fact | Canopy | Notchy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €15 — two Macs, three with the bonus device | $24.99 one-time — one Mac |
| Free trial | 48 hours | 7 days |
| macOS | 26.6 or later | 13 Ventura or later |
| Macs with no notch | Yes — external displays too | Yes — floating island, external displays too |
| Now Playing and lyrics | Yes | Yes |
| Clipboard, OCR, timers | Not listed | Included |
From getcanopy.pro (home, download and changelog pages), checked November 2, 2026, against Notchy’s shipping build.
Canopy is paid — not the GitHub project
Search for Canopy and you will also find a free GitHub repository with the same name. Its own README says it is an independent reimplementation, not affiliated with Canopy. The app at getcanopy.pro is €15, and one licence covers two Macs.
macOS 26.6 is the real cut-off
Canopy 2 needs macOS 26.6 or later. If your Mac is on Ventura, Sonoma or Sequoia, Notchy is a download that installs from macOS 13 and updates itself.
Lyrics, on both sides
Canopy puts live lyrics next to Now Playing, even on the lock screen. Notchy does synced lyrics in the notch as well, advancing line by line with playback — so this is not the thing to choose on.
Where the scope diverges
Canopy is a media island: Now Playing, lyrics, a file tray, AirPods and weather. Notchy is a toolkit that lives there: clipboard history, OCR, timers, system stats, window snapping and AI usage tracking.
How Notchy stacks up
Honest, feature-by-feature comparison of every major macOS notch app — no affiliates.
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Everything Notchy does, in one app
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
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- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Custom islands through the local developer API (off by default)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 134 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple silicon
Notchy vs Canopy — FAQ
How much does Canopy cost?
Canopy lists €15 on getcanopy.pro, and one licence covers two Macs, or three once you claim its free bonus device. There is a 48-hour free trial. It is not free: pages calling it free and open source, including an earlier version of this one, confused it with an unaffiliated GitHub project of the same name. Notchy is $24.99 once for one Mac after a 7-day free trial.
What macOS does Canopy need?
Canopy 2's download page lists macOS 26.6 or later, as a universal build. Notchy runs on macOS 13 Ventura and later, so it also covers Macs that have not moved to macOS 26.
Does Canopy work on a Mac without a notch?
Yes. Canopy's site says it works on external displays and Macs without a notch. Notchy does too: it draws a floating island on a Mac mini or Mac Studio display, an older MacBook Air, or any second monitor.
Is Canopy open source?
Not as far as its own site shows: getcanopy.pro links no source code. A GitHub repository named Canopy exists, but its README describes it as an independent reimplementation that is not affiliated with Canopy. Notchy is not open source either.
Do both have synced lyrics?
Yes. Canopy shows live lyrics alongside Now Playing, including before you sign in. Notchy also shows synced lyrics in the notch and on the lock screen, advancing each line with the playback position.
What does Notchy add over Canopy?
Both cover Now Playing, lyrics, a file shelf, AirPods battery, charging status and weather. Notchy adds clipboard history, OCR, timers, system stats, window snapping, an app launcher, AI usage tracking, Claude Code and Codex approvals and a terminal in the island.
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