Cupola vs NotchNook: which MacBook notch app fits you?

Both Cupola and NotchNook turn your MacBook's notch into something you'd actually hover over on purpose, but they're built for different jobs. NotchNook is a general utility tray: music controls, a camera mirror, Bluetooth status, Shortcuts and a file shelf, with its own lightweight calendar, notes and to-do list bolted on. Cupola is narrower and deeper: it's built entirely around the Calendar, Reminders and Notes you already use on your Mac and iPhone, plus a clipboard history, so nothing you add in the notch needs importing or re-entering anywhere else.

If you want one place to glance at Spotify, your webcam, your Bluetooth devices and drag a file onto before AirDropping it, NotchNook is doing a lot in one panel. If you live in Apple's Calendar, Reminders and Notes and just want them (and your clipboard) a hover away without a second database to keep in sync, Cupola is the more direct fit.

What NotchNook is for

NotchNook's own site describes it as turning the notch (or, on Macs without one, a slim handle at the top of the screen) into a panel called the "Nook." According to its FAQ, the Nook holds music controls for Spotify, Apple Music and anything else macOS shows as Now Playing; a calendar with one-tap join buttons for Google Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex; notes; a to-do list; timers; a camera mirror; Shortcuts; Bluetooth device status; and a "Tray" for holding files temporarily and sending them by AirDrop. It supports multiple displays, each with its own Nook.

What Cupola is for

Cupola puts five things in the notch: your real Apple Calendar, Apple Reminders, Apple Notes, a clipboard history, and a Focus timer, each in its own tab. It reads and writes straight to Calendar, Reminders and Notes through macOS and Apple's own apps, so anything you add or change goes right back into the same Calendar, Reminders and Notes you already use everywhere else, with no separate account, no import step and no second copy of your data to keep straight. Hovering the notch opens the quick panel; there's also a full app window for when you want more room, and a Focus mode for timed sessions.

Feature comparison

Pricing, as of October 2026

Cupola is $20 once, with a 7-day free trial that needs no card. After the trial your existing entries stay viewable, you just can't edit until you unlock, and there's a 14-day no-questions refund.

NotchNook currently lists two options on its official site: a lifetime license at $15 one-time (shown as a discounted price from $25), or a $2/month subscription you can cancel anytime, both unlocking the same feature set. Every feature is free to try for 48 hours with no card required. A NotchNook license covers 2 Macs. NotchNook's site states refund requests are handled within 7 days of purchase for a full refund, with later requests reviewed case by case.

Requirements and install

Cupola needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer) and macOS 26 or later; Intel Macs aren't supported. It installs with one line in Terminal: curl -fsSL https://trycupola.com/app/install.sh | bash.

NotchNook's site states it runs on macOS 14.6 or later, on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs, and doesn't require a physical notch at all; Macs without one get a slim handle instead. NotchNook's site doesn't show its install method in the pages reviewed here, beyond a download link.

Privacy and data handling, as each states it

Cupola's privacy policy states that your events, reminders, notes and clipboard history never leave your Mac and are never sent to Venzpire (Cupola's maker). Crash reports are on by default (and can be switched off) and contain no content; usage statistics are off unless you turn them on. Cupola asks macOS permission for Calendars and Reminders, Full Disk Access (to read the Notes and Reminders databases for things like checklists and tags), and Automation (to make the changes you request and to control Music/Spotify in Focus mode).

NotchNook's FAQ states it asks for Calendar access for its calendar widget, Camera for the Mirror, Bluetooth to show connected devices, and Automation to control music; Accessibility is used only for the volume/brightness display and to detect full-screen apps. NotchNook's site does not state, in the pages reviewed here, whether its notes, to-dos, or Tray file data ever leaves the Mac, so that's not listed above; check NotchNook's own privacy policy directly if that matters to you.

Where NotchNook is the better pick

NotchNook does more in one panel if what you want is a general command center: it controls your music, shows your webcam, tracks Bluetooth devices, holds files for AirDrop and gives you Shortcuts access, none of which Cupola does. It also works on Intel Macs and on any Mac without a notch, going back to macOS 14.6, which is a much wider compatibility range than Cupola's Apple-silicon-and-macOS-26 requirement. If you want to try before deciding with the lowest commitment, its $2/month plan is cheaper to start than Cupola's one-time $20, even though it costs more over time.

Where Cupola is the better pick

If your Calendar, Reminders and Notes already live in Apple's own apps on your Mac and iPhone, Cupola doesn't ask you to keep a second set of them in the notch. There's no separate notes app or to-do list to re-enter things into: what you add in Cupola is the same event, reminder or note you'll see in Apple's apps and across your other devices through iCloud. Cupola also adds a full clipboard history, which isn't part of NotchNook's listed feature set, and a full app window for when the notch panel is too small. And it's a single $20 payment with no subscription, versus a recurring monthly option on NotchNook's side.

Verdict

Pick NotchNook if you want a do-everything utility tray, music, camera, Bluetooth, files, Shortcuts, and you're on an Intel Mac, an older macOS, or a Mac without a notch. Pick Cupola if your real to-do list and calendar are already in Apple's apps and you want the notch to be a direct window onto them, plus a clipboard history, without keeping a parallel set of notes and tasks in sync by hand.

If you're still deciding whether any notch app is worth it at all, see what to do with the MacBook notch. For another open-source alternative, see Cupola vs Boring Notch.

Sources

• https://getnotchnook.com/ (pricing, trial, features, FAQ, requirements, permissions)