A NotchSpace Alternative that does more
NotchSpace turns the notch into a temporary workspace: a smart shelf for files, images, links and text, a launch bar, a menu bar manager with ⌘-drag rearranging, HEX colour detection, image compression, Quick Look and a break reminder — free, local and on macOS 15. Notchy covers that ground from macOS 13 and then becomes a full Dynamic Island.
Looking for NotchSpace itself? It lives on the App Store.
- NotchSpace price
- Free
- NotchSpace requires
- macOS 15 or later
- Notchy price
- $24.99 one-time, 7-day free trial
Why use Notchy instead of NotchSpace?
- Shelf, launcher and menu bar, covered
Notchy's file drop shelf persists across relaunches and AirDrops, the App Launcher pins your apps, and menu bar icon hiding reaches the extras behind the notch.
- Image tools and break reminders too
Compress images to a target size, convert HEIC, sample colours with an eyedropper, and get 20-20-20 break nudges.
- Then a live Dynamic Island
Now Playing with lyrics, calls, timers, HUD replacements, AI usage — and Face Unlock.
- Runs on macOS 13
NotchSpace needs macOS 15; Notchy runs from Ventura on Intel and Apple silicon.
How Notchy stacks up
Honest, feature-by-feature comparison of every major macOS notch app — no affiliates.
Swipe the table sideways to see every app.
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
The honest verdict on NotchSpace
NotchSpace is a neat free workspace for Sequoia users. Notchy gives you the same shelf, launcher and menu bar tools on more Macs, and a whole Dynamic Island on top.
NotchSpace alternative — FAQ
Is NotchSpace free?
Yes, per its Mac App Store listing, with no in-app purchases mentioned.
What macOS does NotchSpace need?
macOS 15.0 or later. Notchy runs from macOS 13.
Does Notchy detect HEX colours in copied text?
Not automatically. Notchy has a colour eyedropper that copies HEX; NotchSpace generates colour cards from HEX it detects.
Is Notchy free?
No. Notchy is a one-time $24.99 purchase for one Mac with a 7-day free trial — no subscription or in-app purchase.