Pick Notchy if you want a free, notarized notch app with a strong set of features — Now Playing, clipboard, Pomodoro, system monitor, screenshot tools and an AI usage tracker for Claude and ChatGPT — and are fine with the daily anonymised telemetry ping its privacy policy describes. Pick Ledge if you want switchable pages of widgets, a stated no-analytics stance, and are fine paying $25 once.
What Notchy does well
Notchy at notchy.dev is the best-executed free option in this category. It's free and donation-supported through Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee, notarized by Apple, and distributed as a direct DMG plus a Homebrew cask (brew install --cask vishvavariya/notchy/notchy) with Sparkle auto-updates. The feature list covers a lot of ground: Now Playing with artwork and scrubbing, clipboard history, a system monitor for CPU, GPU, memory and network, a Pomodoro timer, screenshot tools with markup, Focus-mode switching, calendar and reminders, and an AI usage tracker for Claude and ChatGPT.
The site itself is the most SEO-built in the niche — per-competitor alternatives pages, a public changelog, a hall-of-fame donor page — which means Notchy comes up in almost every search for a rival's name. It's the app the rest of the category compares itself against.
Notarization is a real practical win. First launch is a normal double-click, no Open Anyway. The current release shown on the site is version 1.0.134, updated August 27, 2026.
Where Ledge is different
Ledge is a paid widget panel with two things Notchy doesn't have.
The first is switchable pages. Users build their own named layouts — one for work, one for home, one for the weekend — and switch between them in a click. First run offers "Everyday" and an optional "Developer" page. Notchy's site offers notch shape, size, corner and behaviour customisation, but no saved multi-layout profiles.
The second is a stated no-analytics stance. Notchy's homepage says "No account, no telemetry, no subscription," but its privacy policy describes a real, anonymised daily "still active" ping (app version, macOS version, region, update status), update-check outcomes, star ratings and support-prompt interactions, all keyed to a random per-install ID. The privacy page is explicit that clipboard, file, media and calendar content are excluded from the ping — but it is telemetry, contrary to the homepage line. Ledge's stance is no account, no analytics, no server, nothing sent off the Mac.
The widget set is broad in a different direction: Calendar, Reminders and to-dos, Mail unread count and latest message, world clock, timer and Pomodoro, weather with hourly and 7-day forecast, Now Playing with controls, quick toggles for dark mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and sound, a running-apps dock, clipboard history, system stats, a search and command bar, screenshot shortcuts, a scratchpad, and a Downloads folder watcher. Developer widgets — git status, terminal shortcuts, ports — live in the same product.
Ledge is $25 for 1 Mac, $35 for 2 Macs, or $45 for 3 Macs, paid once, with a 7-day refund. Notchy is free and donation-supported.
Comparison
| Ledge | Notchy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $25 (1 Mac), $35 (2), $45 (3) | Free, donation-supported (Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee) |
| Pricing model | One-time, 7-day refund | Free |
| Open source | No | No — proprietary (site's own comparison copy names Boring Notch and Atoll as the open-source options) |
| Notarized | Not yet (no Apple Developer membership) | Yes, stated as notarized by Apple |
| Widget breadth | 15+ general widgets plus git, ports, terminal | Now Playing, clipboard history, system monitor, Pomodoro, screenshot tools with markup, Focus-mode switching, calendar and reminders, AI usage tracker for Claude and ChatGPT |
| Pages / profiles | Multiple named pages, switch in a click | Not stated as switchable layouts; notch shape/size/corner customisation only |
| Account required | No | No |
| Telemetry | None | Homepage says "no telemetry"; privacy policy describes a daily anonymised "still active" ping (app version, macOS version, region, update status) keyed to a random per-install ID |
| Distribution | Direct download | DMG, Homebrew (brew install --cask vishvavariya/notchy/notchy), Sparkle auto-updates |
| Minimum macOS | Apple Silicon, macOS 14 Sonoma or later | macOS 13 Ventura or later |
| Architecture | Apple Silicon only | Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Latest version | 1.0.0 (September 2026) | 1.0.134, updated August 27, 2026 |
Notchy facts from notchy.dev and notchy.dev/privacy, fetched on 2026-09-08.
Who should pick which
Pick Notchy if the AI usage tracker is something you'd actually use, if the Now Playing and system-monitor polish matters, if free-and-notarized beats paid-and-not-notarized for you today, and if the anonymised daily telemetry ping isn't a problem.
Pick Ledge if you want more than one layout — a work page separate from a weekend page — if you'd rather nothing leaves the Mac, and if the broader widget set (mail, reminders, quick toggles, scratchpad, developer widgets in the same product) is closer to what you check every day. Ledge is not notarized yet; first launch needs Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security. The download page walks through the two prompts, and notarization is planned.
FAQ
Is Notchy open source?
No. Notchy is proprietary, per its own comparison copy on notchy.dev which names Boring Notch and Atoll as the open-source options. It is free and donation-supported (Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee), but that's different from open source.
Does Notchy collect any data?
Yes, some. Notchy's homepage says "no telemetry," but its privacy policy describes a daily anonymised "still active" ping that includes app version, macOS version, region and update status, keyed to a random per-install ID. Clipboard, file, media and calendar content are explicitly excluded. Ledge sends nothing off the Mac.
Is there a paid alternative to Notchy with switchable pages?
Yes — Ledge. $25 one-time for 1 Mac with a 7-day refund; tiers on the pricing section. The differentiators are switchable widget pages and a broader widget set (mail, reminders, developer widgets) in one panel.