# NotchOwl vs Alcove: Notch Planner or Dynamic Island? > Alcove ($12.99, macOS 15+) makes the notch an iPhone-style Dynamic Island for music, HUDs and calendar. NotchOwl ($9 for 3 Macs) makes it a task planner. By Aditya Jaiswal, founder of NotchOwl. Published 2026-11-09, updated 2026-11-09. Canonical URL: https://www.notchowl.com/blog/notchowl-vs-alcove Alcove and NotchOwl both live in the MacBook notch, but they answer different questions. Alcove asks how the notch can feel like the iPhone’s Dynamic Island: music, live activities, system HUDs, a calendar and lock screen widgets, all with a lot of polish. NotchOwl asks what you should be doing today: tasks, reminders, a focus timer and a daily notepad. I make NotchOwl, so weigh my view with that in mind; I’ve tried to be plain about where Alcove is the better pick. Alcove’s facts come from tryalcove.com, its FAQ and its changelog, and NotchOwl’s from its own documentation. Everything was checked in November 2026, and prices are as of November 2026. ## The short verdict Choose Alcove if you want the notch to show what’s playing, replace the volume and brightness HUDs, show calendar events as live activities and put widgets on your lock screen, and you run macOS 15 Sequoia or later. Choose NotchOwl if you want the notch to hold your plan: tasks for today and the week, reminders that ring in the notch and on your iPhone through Apple Reminders, a focus timer, a notepad and Insights, on macOS 14 or later, for $9 once on up to 3 Macs. Alcove has no to-do list, and NotchOwl has no music controls. If you want both jobs done, you can run both. > Alcove is a $12.99 one-time Dynamic Island app for the Mac notch with media controls, HUDs, calendar live activities and lock screen widgets but no to-do list, while NotchOwl is a $9 one-time notch planner for tasks, focus, notes and Apple Reminders sync. ## NotchOwl vs Alcove at a glance Table: NotchOwl and Alcove compared on price, requirements and features, November 2026 | | NotchOwl | Alcove | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | $9 once (early-bird, normally $29) | $12.99 once | | Devices per license | Up to 3 Macs | Up to 3 devices at a time | | Updates | Lifetime updates | All future updates included | | Trial and refund | No trial; 14-day money-back guarantee | 72-hour trial; full refund within 14 days, no reason required | | Mac requirements | macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon | macOS 15 Sequoia or later; chip support not stated | | Latest version | 2.2.2 (November 5, 2026) | 1.7.9 (June 30, 2026) | | Where to buy | notchowl.com | tryalcove.com | | Tasks and reminders | Full planner; reminders open the notch when due | None listed | | Focus | Focus timer: countdown or stopwatch | Shows macOS Focus modes; no focus timer listed | | Music | No | System-wide media player with Apple Music, Spotify, podcasts and AirPlay support | | Volume and brightness HUD | No | Customizable replacement HUDs | | Calendar | Optional, read-only, today’s events | Calendar with event live activities, time-to-leave notifications and support for third-party calendar apps | | Live activities | Due reminders, timed Calendar events as they start, a running focus timer | Media, calendar events and more, several at once since 1.5 | | Lock screen | No | Widgets for now playing, Focus, weather, battery, connectivity and calendar | | Notes | Autosaving daily notepad | None listed | | Files and clipboard | Clips: screenshots, recordings and copied items | None yet; the changelog says a tray is coming in 1.8 | | iPhone and Apple Watch | Tasks through two-way Apple Reminders sync | Not mentioned; iCloud syncs Alcove’s settings | | External monitors | Draws a notch on each monitor and follows the pointer | Option to show the notch on all displays | | Macs without a notch | Opens at the top center of the screen | A pill shape, or a simulated notch | | AI agents | Local MCP server for Claude Code, the Claude app and Cursor | Not mentioned | | Data | Stays on the Mac unless you turn on Reminders sync; anonymous usage stats you can turn off | FAQ says Alcove collects no data | ## What each app is built around Alcove’s tagline is “Dynamic Island for your Mac”. Its homepage lists fluid transitions, notifications, Live Activities, swipe gestures, customizable HUDs, lock screen widgets and a fast native app. The changelog fills in the rest. Alcove 1.1 added a system-wide media player and Focus mode support, 1.3 lock screen widgets, 1.4 calendar live activities and time-to-leave notifications, 1.5 a redesign in the style of macOS Tahoe with several live activities at once, 1.6 an expanded calendar that works with third-party calendar apps such as Fantastical and Notion Calendar, and 1.7 a pill shape for notchless displays, a live waveform and deeper Spotify, AutoMix and AirPlay support. Alcove is about glanceable status: what’s playing, what’s next, what changed. NotchOwl is a planner that opens from the notch on hover or with Option–N. Its space goes to today’s tasks, the focus timer, the daily notepad and today’s calendar events. NotchOwl has no music controls, no replacement HUDs and no lock screen widgets. Alcove shows status at a glance; NotchOwl is where your work for the day lives. ## The biggest differences ### Tasks: NotchOwl has a planner, Alcove has none Alcove’s site and changelog list no tasks, to-dos or reminders as of version 1.7.9. NotchOwl’s task features are the core of the app: - Plan tasks for today or any future day, and see the days ahead in Week, beside an Inbox for tasks without a day. - Carry unfinished tasks forward instead of losing them, with an Overdue tab and Reschedule. - Type tasks the way you’d say them. “Call mom tomorrow at 5pm !high #family” gets its day, a reminder, a priority and a project. - Dictate tasks, with speech recognized on your Mac. - Use repeating tasks, deadlines, priorities and projects. - See a live activity when a reminder comes due: the notch opens with a chime, and you can snooze it for 5 minutes or mark it done. - Turn on two-way Apple Reminders sync, and a NotchOwl list in Reminders carries your tasks to your iPhone and Apple Watch through iCloud. If you want tasks in the notch, Alcove can’t provide them on its own. ### Music, HUDs and the lock screen This is Alcove’s home ground. Alcove shows what’s playing through a system-wide media player, with playback controls, podcasts and live streams, playback speed, AirPlay, audio format badges for Lossless and Dolby Atmos, and a live waveform. Spotify users get likes, repeat-one and an explicit tag. Alcove replaces the volume and brightness HUDs with its own customizable versions, and since version 1.3 it puts widgets on the lock screen for now playing, Focus, weather, battery, connectivity and calendar. Connecting AirPods brings up a connectivity notification with battery details. NotchOwl has none of this. The closest NotchOwl gets to media is Clips: new screenshots, screen recordings and anything you copy hang on a line in the notch, where you can click a clip to copy it or drag it into any app. If music and system HUDs are why you want a notch app, pick Alcove. ### Calendar and live activities Alcove has the richer calendar. Alcove shows calendar events as live activities, sends time-to-leave notifications, shows weather on empty days and works with third-party calendar apps such as Fantastical and Notion Calendar. NotchOwl’s Calendar access is optional and read-only: NotchOwl shows today’s events from Apple Calendar and never creates, edits or deletes them. NotchOwl’s live activities are about your plan. The notch opens when a reminder comes due, and again just before and as a timed Calendar event starts. A running focus timer stays visible in the notch while you work. ### Focus: a timer vs Focus modes The word “focus” means different things in the two apps. In Alcove, Focus refers to the macOS Focus modes, such as Do Not Disturb, which Alcove shows in the notch and on the lock screen. Alcove’s site and changelog don’t list a focus timer. NotchOwl has a focus timer. Run a countdown or a stopwatch on a task or on its own, with presets of 25, 45 or 60 minutes or a custom length. Pause, resume or add 5 minutes, and the timer pauses when your Mac sleeps. When a countdown ends, choose Keep going or Take a break, which stops the timer. NotchOwl has no break timer or round counting. Insights then shows completed tasks, active focus time, your streak, your last 7 days against the 7 before, and your peak hours. ### macOS version and screens Alcove needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later, and its site doesn’t state whether it runs on Intel. NotchOwl needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later and an Apple silicon Mac. If your Mac is still on Sonoma, NotchOwl will run there and Alcove won’t. Both apps work beyond the built-in notch. Alcove 1.7 added a pill shape for notchless displays, with a simulated notch you can force on instead, and 1.7.3 added an option to show the notch on all displays. Alcove can also hide while you’re gaming. NotchOwl draws a notch at the top of each external monitor, follows your pointer between screens and steps aside when an app goes full screen. You can turn that drawn notch off in Settings › Notch on monitors, and on a Mac without a notch NotchOwl opens at the top center of the screen. More in [how to get a notch on an external monitor](/blog/notch-on-external-monitor). ### Price, trial and updates As of November 2026, Alcove costs $12.99 once. Alcove’s FAQ says the purchase includes all future updates and works on up to 3 devices at a time, which you can manage from the license tab in settings. There is a 72-hour trial, and Alcove offers a full refund within 14 days with no reason required. NotchOwl costs $9 once, shown as an early-bird price (normally $29), for up to 3 Macs, with lifetime updates. There is no trial: the installer is free, but NotchOwl needs a license to run, and a 14-day money-back guarantee covers you if it isn’t right. See [NotchOwl pricing](/#pricing). On release pace, Alcove’s latest listed version is 1.7.9 from June 30, 2026, and the changelog says a tray update is coming in 1.8. NotchOwl 2.2.2 shipped on November 5, 2026. ### Private APIs and data Alcove’s FAQ is upfront that Alcove relies on private APIs that have kept working for years but that Apple could change or remove. For that reason, Alcove is sold “as is”, with no guarantee its features stay available. The same FAQ says Alcove collects no data or personal information. NotchOwl keeps tasks, notes and focus history on your Mac unless you turn on Reminders sync, which shares open tasks with Apple Reminders through iCloud. NotchOwl sends anonymous usage stats, which you can turn off in Settings, and you can export your data as JSON. ## Where Alcove is better - **Music.** A system-wide media player with deep Spotify and Apple Music support, AirPlay and a live waveform. - **System HUDs.** Customizable replacement volume and brightness HUDs. - **Lock screen.** Widgets for now playing, Focus, weather, battery, connectivity and calendar. - **Calendar.** Event live activities, time-to-leave notifications and support for third-party calendar apps. - **Look and feel.** Alcove is built to look like the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. - **Trying it first.** A 72-hour trial before you pay. - **Data.** Alcove’s FAQ says it collects no data at all. ## Where NotchOwl is better - **Tasks.** A full planner for today, future days and the week, with carry-forward, repeats, deadlines, priorities and projects. - **Reminders.** A live activity in the notch when a reminder comes due, with snooze and done. - **iPhone and Apple Watch.** Two-way Apple Reminders sync puts your tasks on both. - **Focus timer.** A countdown or stopwatch on a task, with Insights that count only active focus time. - **Notes.** A daily notepad that saves itself, where Command–Return turns a line into a task. - **Clips.** Recent screenshots, recordings and copied items in the notch. - **AI agents.** A local MCP server, so Claude can add, move and complete tasks. The setup is in [how to connect Claude to your Mac to-do list](/blog/claude-mcp-to-do-list-mac). - **Older macOS.** NotchOwl runs on macOS 14 Sonoma; Alcove needs macOS 15. - **Price.** $9 against $12.99, both covering 3 Macs. ## Can you use both? Yes. Alcove handles music, HUDs and the lock screen, and NotchOwl handles tasks, so they don’t duplicate each other. The catch is space: both open from the same spot at the top of the screen, so on a single notch they compete for the same hover. NotchOwl’s Settings › Show on keeps NotchOwl on your MacBook’s screen or on one monitor, and Option–N opens NotchOwl from the keyboard on any screen. Alcove has display settings of its own, including whether to show its notch on all displays. One arrangement is Alcove on the MacBook’s built-in notch and NotchOwl on the external monitor where you plan. Check how the two behave together on your setup during Alcove’s 72-hour trial and NotchOwl’s 14-day refund window before you rely on the pair. ## How to switch from Alcove to NotchOwl, or add it 1. **Buy and install NotchOwl.** [Download NotchOwl](/download), drag it to Applications and enter the license key from your purchase email. 2. **Decide who gets the notch.** Quit Alcove, or use the display settings above to give each app its own screen. 3. **Connect what you need.** Turn on Calendar access to see today’s events, and turn on Reminders sync if you want tasks on your iPhone and Apple Watch. 4. **Bring your tasks in.** Alcove has no tasks to export, so your list lives somewhere else. Reminders you move into the NotchOwl list in Apple Reminders come across through sync, and a plain list can be pasted into the daily notepad, where Command–Return turns each line into a task. 5. **Free up an Alcove device slot if you’re leaving.** Alcove’s FAQ says you can remove a device from the license tab in its settings, and it refunds within 14 days of purchase. ## Verdict Alcove is the better app for people who want the notch to feel like the iPhone’s Dynamic Island: music, HUDs, calendar live activities and lock screen widgets, polished and private. NotchOwl is the better app when you want the notch to hold your day: tasks, reminders, a focus timer, notes and Insights, synced to your iPhone through Apple Reminders, and it runs on macOS 14. The two apps barely overlap, so if you want both, run both. Download Alcove only from [tryalcove.com](https://tryalcove.com) and NotchOwl only from notchowl.com. A search for “Alcove” on the App Store also finds Alcove: Tasks & Notes, an unrelated to-do app from another developer. Fake installers are a real risk with notch apps: in July 2026 an ad on X impersonated DynamicLake, covered in [NotchOwl vs DynamicLake](/blog/notchowl-vs-dynamiclake). For more options, see [the best notch apps for Mac](/blog/best-notch-apps-for-mac). ## Frequently asked questions ### How much does Alcove cost? Alcove costs $12.99 once as of November 2026, with all future updates included, on up to 3 devices at a time. There is a 72-hour trial, and Alcove’s FAQ promises a full refund within 14 days with no reason required. ### Does Alcove have a to-do list? No. Alcove’s website and changelog list no tasks, to-dos or reminders as of version 1.7.9. Alcove has a calendar with event live activities and time-to-leave notifications, but for tasks in the notch you need an app such as NotchOwl. ### Does Alcove work on macOS 14 Sonoma? No. Alcove requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later, according to its download page. NotchOwl runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon Macs. ### Does Alcove work on a Mac without a notch or on an external monitor? Yes. Alcove 1.7 added a pill shape for notchless displays, with a simulated notch as an option, and Alcove 1.7.3 added a setting to show the notch on all displays. NotchOwl draws its own notch on each external monitor and follows the pointer between screens. ### Is Alcove on the Mac App Store? No. The notch app Alcove is sold through tryalcove.com, with checkout through Stripe. Alcove: Tasks & Notes on the App Store is an unrelated to-do app from a different developer. ### Will Alcove keep working after macOS updates? Alcove doesn’t guarantee it. Alcove’s FAQ says the app relies on private APIs that Apple could change or remove, so it is sold “as is”, with no guarantee that its features stay available.