Pages that look good
Markdown with headings, tables, task lists and images, rendered in a clean live preview.
Notion alternative
The free, open-source Notion alternative for Mac.
Notion is an online workspace for teams. For your own notes and writing, kayet is offline, private and fast: plain files on your Mac, no account and no cloud.
kayet vs Notion at a glance
| kayet | Notion | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no paid tiers | Free plan, paid plans |
| Source code | Open source (Apache 2.0) | Closed source |
| Where your text lives | Plain files in any folder you pick | Notion's cloud |
| Platforms | macOS on Apple Silicon | Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Works offline | Always | Limited |
| Collaboration | — | Real-time, with comments and sharing |
| Databases | — | Tables, boards, calendars |
What will feel familiar
Slash-free speed
Every command is in the ⌘K palette, with fuzzy search.
Share as a page
Export a document to a self-contained HTML page or a PDF with the preview's typography.
Where kayet is different
Your notes stay on your MacNo account, no telemetry, no analytics. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Instantkayet starts immediately and never waits for a network.
Plain text foreverMarkdown files open in any editor, today and in twenty years.
Free and open sourceNo plans, no seats, no limits. Apache License 2.0.
When Notion is the better choice
kayet does less on purpose. Stay with Notion if:
- You collaborate with a team on shared pages in real time.
- You need databases, boards, calendars or project tracking.
- You work from a browser or on Windows and mobile devices.
Questions
Is kayet an offline alternative to Notion?
For personal notes and writing, yes. kayet works entirely offline and stores notes as Markdown files on your Mac.
Can I import my Notion pages into kayet?
Export your Notion workspace as Markdown, unzip it into a folder and open the folder as kayet's workspace.
Does kayet collect any data?
No. The app has no accounts, telemetry, analytics or crash reporting. See the privacy policy.
Start writing.
Free and open source. Requires macOS on Apple Silicon.
Download for Mac
Signed and notarized. Release notes & previous versions.
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Notion is a trademark of its respective owner. kayet is an independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Notion. The comparison reflects publicly available information as of October 2026 and may change.