UnfrictionInstant local notes for macOS to capture thoughts in <400ms
Productivity
Notes & docs apps: the tech stack of 19 real products
Note-taking, writing and document apps (without AI as the core).
The typical stack
The leading pick where at least 8 of them show the decision and the leader has at least a quarter of it.
| Decision | Most common pick | Share | At default usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Database |  PostgreSQL | 5 of 14 · 36% | — |
| Frontend Framework |  React | 8 of 12 · 67% | — |
| Hosting |  Cloudflare | 5 of 8 · 63% | $12/mo · Workers Paid |
| Payments |  Stripe | 4 of 8 · 50% | fees on revenue · $410 on $10,000/mo |
What they chose, decision by decision
Among the notes & docs apps that show each choice, from makers' products and open-source code alike.
Small samples, fewer than 8 products: Error Monitoring (Sentry 6, Rollbar 1) · Transactional Email (Resend 5, Nodemailer 2) · Backend Framework (Hono 2, Express 2) · LLM API (Gemini API 5, OpenAI API 4) · Web Analytics (Cloudflare Web Analytics 3, Plausible Analytics 1) · AI SDK & Agent Framework (AI SDK 4, Claude Agent SDK 1) · Database Access & ORMs (Kysely 2, Prisma 1) · Product Analytics (PostHog 3)
Notes & docs apps we track
16 makers' products and 3 open-source projects. Makers' products first.
UnfrictionInstant local notes for macOS to capture thoughts in <400ms
DiaristEmbark on a Journey with Your Personal Digital Diary
kukuObsidian — but a lot has changed
Sans WriterA joyful typing experience for the AI era.
WriteRushThe Writing App That Feels Like a Game
AviquillThe GDD That Takes You From The Vision To The Final Game
EnclosedSend private and secure notes
reconfiguredJournal app for data analysts to record findings and ongoing notes as searchable documentation.
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