Craft Review 2026: The Design-First Notes App That's Almost the Apple Notes Replacement

Craft has been the "almost" app for years. Almost as structured as Notion, almost as simple as Apple Notes, almost a true PKM tool. The 2026 version is the strongest it has ever been and the case for Craft as a real primary notes app is more defensible than it was two years ago.

What Craft is

A block-based notes and documents app built by a small Hungarian team, aimed primarily at Apple platforms. Each note is a document composed of blocks (text, images, embeds, sub-pages). Documents can reference each other, nest, and export as beautiful PDFs. There are also limited database features for structured data, though they're thinner than Notion's.

What Craft does well

Design. Typography, spacing, animation, color palette — everything about Craft is more considered than any of its direct competitors. If you spend all day in a notes app, this matters more than any feature comparison suggests.

Block model. Craft's blocks are less fussy than Notion's. Creating a sub-page is one keystroke. Linking documents is fluent. The mental model is easier to hold than Notion's.

Export quality. Exported PDFs from Craft look like documents you would send to a client without embarrassment. Markdown export works cleanly. HTML export is solid. For a notes app, the export story is best-in-class.

iCloud sync. Sync is native and fast. No third-party sync layer, no subscription for basic cross-device use.

Native feel. Craft feels like a Mac app. It feels like an iOS app on iOS. It uses platform conventions instead of inventing its own. This is underrated.

Where Craft falls short

Apple-only (mostly). Craft has a web client and limited Windows support but its center of gravity is Apple platforms. Cross-platform users will hit rough edges.

No true backlinks. Craft has document linking but not Obsidian-style backlinks with indexed reverse references. For users who want PKM features, this is a real gap.

Thin database features. Craft has some database-like structured data features but they're shallow compared to Notion. If you need real relational data, Craft is not the tool.

Subscription creep. Craft was more affordable a few years ago. The current pricing is still reasonable but the trajectory is the familiar one.

Plugin / extension story. Effectively nonexistent. What ships is what you get.

Who should use Craft

• Apple users who want Notion-style structure without the bloat
• Consultants and designers who produce client-facing documents from their notes
• Users who care about typography and visual polish
• Apple Notes users who have outgrown it but don't want to go to Obsidian

Who should not use Craft

• Cross-platform users
• PKM users who need real backlinks and graph views
• Teams needing structured collaboration (use Notion)
• Users with heavy database needs

Pricing

Free tier is usable for light personal use. Plus is $5/month ($48/year) and removes limits for individuals. Business is $10/user/month for teams.

Bottom line

Craft is the right call for a specific user: an Apple-centric knowledge worker who has outgrown Apple Notes, doesn't need PKM features, and cares about documents that look good. For that user, Craft is better than Notion on polish and better than Apple Notes on structure. For every other user, there's a cleaner pick.