--- title: "The best free notch apps for Mac in 2026" description: "The best free notch apps for Mac in 2026: Vorssaint, The Boring Notch and Atoll compared on safety, Intel support and features, plus one you can earn free." canonical: "https://getdroppy.app/blog/best-free-notch-apps-mac" last-updated: "2026-11-02" --- # The best free notch apps for Mac in 2026 [All posts](https://getdroppy.app/blog/) Comparisons Jordy Spruit November 2, 2026 8 min read You can turn the MacBook notch into something useful without paying a cent. Three free apps do it well, all open source. Free still has a price, though: one of them only runs on Apple Silicon, one is not notarized by Apple, and one keeps its newest work in beta. Here is what each free notch app really gets you, and what it asks of you in return. I build [Droppy](https://getdroppy.app/), a paid notch app, so read my take on the free ones with that in mind. Everything below comes from each project's own README, site or App Store page, read on November 2, 2026. Short answer **Vorssaint** is the best free notch app on an Apple Silicon Mac: open source, notarized, and broad. **The Boring Notch** is the free pick for Intel MacBooks, if you accept an unsigned build. If you want files, clipboard and an island on every display, **Droppy** is $9.99 once, and free if you post a video of it in use. | App | Price | Apple check | Runs on | Mac without a notch | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Vorssaint | Free, GPL-3.0 | Signed and notarized | Apple Silicon only | Yes, simulated island | | The Boring Notch | Free, GPL-3.0 | Not notarized | Apple Silicon and Intel | Not stated | | Atoll | Free, GPL-3.0 | Notarized since 2.0 | macOS 14 or later | Stable asks for a notch | | NotchNest | Free, in-app purchases | Mac App Store | macOS 14 or later | Not stated | | Droppy | $9.99 once, or free for a video | Signed and notarized | Apple Silicon and Intel | Yes, per display | ## Vorssaint: the best free notch app on Apple Silicon [Vorssaint](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils) is a whole free toolkit for the menu bar, under GPL-3.0, with more than 32,000 stars on GitHub and a README that says it is free and will stay that way. Its Dynamic Island wraps the camera, or draws a simulated one on Macs without a notch, and carries music, notifications, calendars, timers, downloads, lyrics, a camera preview, file tools and AI agent usage. It is Developer ID signed and notarized, and 3.4.3 shipped on October 29. **What free costs you here:** Apple Silicon only. There is no Intel build, and the island is one part of a large toolkit, so expect a lot of settings. ## The Boring Notch: free, and the one for Intel [The Boring Notch](https://theboring.name) is the free notch app most people start with: GPL-3.0, more than 11,000 stars, music controls with a visualizer and beta synced lyrics, a calendar, a file shelf with AirDrop, and a replacement for the volume and brightness HUDs. It runs on macOS 14 and later, on Intel as well as Apple Silicon. **What free costs you here:** trust and pace. The team has no Apple Developer account, so the app is not notarized and macOS warns you the first time you open it. The last stable release, 2.7.3, is from November 2025; 2.8 has been in release candidates since October. ![Droppy's Now Playing in the MacBook notch, with album art, a progress bar and playback controls](https://getdroppy.app/assets/features/zoom/now-playing-20261028r3.webp) Music in the notch is where every app here starts. This is Droppy's player; the free apps draw their own. ## Atoll: free system stats in the notch [Atoll](https://github.com/Ebullioscopic/Atoll) is the specialist: CPU, GPU, memory, network and disk stats in the notch, plus media controls, live activities for Focus, screen recording and charging, Lock Screen widgets, clipboard history, timers and a calendar. GPL-3.0, notarized by Apple since 2.0 in March, actively developed, with a stable 2.3.3 from July. **What free costs you here:** the stable release asks for a MacBook with a notch, and the newest work lives in alphas and betas, so the version with the most features is not the stable one. Which free app fits your Mac? Switch on what you need. Musts rule out apps whose pages do not promise them. Vorssaint 0 of 0 Boring Notch 0 of 0 Atoll 0 of 0 Droppy 0 of 0 Switch on a few rows to see which app fits. Counts only what each project states in its own README, site or listing, read on November 2, 2026. ## Free to try: the paid apps If none of the free three fits, every serious paid notch app lets you try first, so you can still start without paying: - **Droppy:** 3 days with every feature, no card, then $9.99 once for 2 Macs, with a 14-day refund. - **Alcove:** 72 hours, then $12.99 once for 3 Macs. It needs macOS 15. - **NotchNook:** 48 hours, then Pro at $19 once or $3 a month on Apple Silicon, or Classic at $15 once or $2 a month for Intel. - **Notchy:** 7 days, then $24.99 once for 1 Mac. What a notch app costs over time Drag to choose how long you will keep it. Years of use 3 years - Droppy once, 2 Macs **$9.99** - Alcove once, 3 Macs **$12.99** - NotchNook Pro monthly plan **$108.00** - NotchNook Pro lifetime **$19.00** - Notchy once, 1 Mac **$24.99** - Vorssaint, The Boring Notch, Atoll free **$0.00** Each developer's own US price, read on November 2, 2026, before tax. Droppy charges less in 126 countries, and a Droppy lifetime license is free for a qualifying public video. ## The paid one you can earn free Droppy is not free, and I would rather say so plainly than hide a trial behind the word. There is a way to own it without paying, though. Record a public video on X, Instagram or TikTok that genuinely shows Droppy doing something useful, mention getdroppy.app, and [send the link](https://getdroppy.app/social-license). A person watches every one. There is no follower minimum, and an approved video gets a real lifetime license for 2 Macs. ## Installing a free notch app safely 1. Download only from the project's own GitHub releases or website, never from a mirror or a "free download" page. 2. Check whether the build is notarized. A notarized app opens normally; an unsigned one makes macOS stop you first. 3. If you choose an unsigned app, approve it once in System Settings, Privacy and Security, and only for that app. 4. Grant permissions one at a time, as the app asks for them, and skip any it does not explain. 5. Run one notch app at a time. Two apps fighting over the same notch is the most common cause of glitches. ## The verdict - **Apple Silicon, free:** Vorssaint, notarized and open source. - **Intel MacBook, free:** The Boring Notch, if you accept an unsigned build. - **System stats in the notch:** Atoll. - **Files, clipboard and an island on any display:** Droppy, $9.99 once or free for a video. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the best free notch app for Mac?** On an Apple Silicon Mac, Vorssaint: it is free, open source under GPL-3.0, signed and notarized, and its island covers music, notifications, calendars, timers, downloads and lyrics. On an Intel Mac, The Boring Notch is free and open source, but its build is not notarized, so macOS warns you before it opens. **Is The Boring Notch safe?** Its source code is public under GPL-3.0, so anyone can read what it does. The build is not notarized, because the team has no Apple Developer account, which means Apple has not scanned that build and macOS warns you on first launch. Download it only from the project's own GitHub releases or theboring.name. **Is Droppy free?** Droppy costs $9.99 once for 2 Macs, with a 3-day trial of every feature and a 14-day refund. You can also get a lifetime license for free: post a public video on X, Instagram or TikTok that shows Droppy in use, send the link, and a person reviews it. There is no follower minimum. **Is NotchNook free?** No. NotchNook has a 48-hour trial and no free tier. Pro costs $19 once or $3 a month, and the Classic edition $15 once or $2 a month. **Do free notch apps work on Macs without a notch?** Vorssaint draws a simulated island on Macs without a notch, on Apple Silicon. The stable release of Atoll asks for a MacBook with a notch, and The Boring Notch does not say. Among paid apps, Droppy, NotchNook and Notchy all work without a notch. **What is the difference between free and open source here?** Free means you pay nothing. Open source means the code is published under a license such as GPL-3.0, so anyone can inspect, build and change it. Vorssaint, The Boring Notch and Atoll are both free and open source; NotchNest on the Mac App Store is free to download with in-app purchases.