Comparison

Macaw vs Anytype

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Macaw

This app helps you plan your day with intention, breaking down tasks into manageable steps. It offers gentle reminders and encourages daily reflection to foster a sense of progress and reduce stress.

Highlights
  • Daily planning ritual
  • Task breakdown
  • Gentle reminders
  • End-of-day reflection
  • Sense of progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Feeling lost in tasks? Let Macaw gently guide you to plan each day with intention. Macaw is more than a to-do list. It’s your personal planner that helps you stay on track, feel in control, and enjoy your day with less stress. Why Macaw? • Start your day with a simple planning ritual • Break down your tasks into what’s doable today • Gentle reminders to stay on track • End your day with reflection and a sense of progress Organize your day. Master your life.

About

Anytype

This app unifies conversations, documents, notes, files, and databases into a single, private application. It offers powerful, local-first collaboration with end-to-end encryption, offline access, and secure cross-device syncing, ensuring your data always remains yours.

Highlights
  • Unified workspace for conversations, docs, notes, files, and databases
  • End-to-end encrypted and offline accessible
  • Local-first collaboration
  • Create and edit pages with blocks
  • Define custom content types
  • Publish content to the web
  • Manage lists and tasks with properties
Features
Read full description

Anytype is a private, offline-first workspace for notes, docs, tasks, and team collaboration — end-to-end encrypted, with your data stored on your device. No accounts mining your thoughts, no cloud lock-in. A safe haven for your digital life. Flexible Knowledge Anytype adapts to the way your brain works, allowing you to link anything to everything. Create a living map of your ideas. • Capture & Reflect: Rich-media notes, long-form docs, and daily journals. • Plan & Execute: Tasks and projects in Kanban boards, calendars, galleries, and filtered lists. • Organize & Archive: Build personal wikis, research databases, or curated bookmark libraries. Secure Collaboration Collaborate in real-time without surrendering your privacy. You can work offline, sync peer-to-peer, or run entirely on your own network. • Private Collaboration: Shared spaces for teams and family to work together. • Integrated Chat: Chat with friends or have discussions directly on documents. • Share Online: Web publish content so others can access it directly in the browser. Uncompromising Security & Privacy • End-to-End Encrypted: Only you and those you share with can access your data. No exceptions. • Works Offline: No internet? No problem. Access everything offline, use peer-to-peer sync, or run on your own network. • Open Source: Keep your software forever or take your data with you. Zero lock-in. Also available on desktop at anytype.io Anytype — a safe haven for your thoughts, your work, and the people you collaborate with.

Screenshots

Macaw4 screens
Anytype4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Macaw at 100% against Anytype's 64%. Macaw also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (5.0 vs 4.5). Anytype's advantage is ratings volume (252 vs 3) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Anytype sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Macaw asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Macaw holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anytype has 252 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Macaw's written reviews are positive against 64% of Anytype's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Macaw ships an update monthly, Anytype fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Macaw versus Anytype: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMacawAnytype
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better4.5 (252 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better63.8% of reviews
Number of ratings3252 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB274 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMacaw Work Lab LLCAny Association

Customer experience

Macaw

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Anytype

All ratings245 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews138 reviews
Positive63.8%
Neutral13.8%
Negative22.5%

Bugs and requests

Macaw

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Anytype

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices
  • Sync issues leading to data loss or duplication
  • Inconsistent behavior when working with nested lists
  • Page jumps and cursor positioning problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add calendar and scheduling features
  • Improve mobile app performance and stability
  • Implement formulas and automation capabilities
  • Allow more customization options for fonts and UI
  • Add widgets for quick access to notes and data

In-app purchases

None

Macaw

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Anytype

Subscriptions2
  • Pro$9.991 Month
  • Builder$119.001 Year

Questions

Is Macaw free?
Macaw is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Anytype free?
Anytype is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Macaw or Anytype?
Macaw is rated higher. Macaw averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Anytype averages 4.5 from 252 ratings.
Do Macaw or Anytype have ads?
Neither Macaw nor Anytype shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Macaw or Anytype?
Macaw ships an update monthly, and Anytype fortnightly. Most recently, Macaw was updated on October 29, 2026 and Anytype on October 30, 2026.

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