The cheapest Mac notch app for music controls
For music controls alone, the cheapest choices are free: Boring Notch, MewNotch, NotchPop and SuperIsland each list music or Now Playing controls and cost nothing. If you want to pay once, NotchStar is $4 and has music as one of ten tools, and Tuneful is $4.99 and does only music. MediaMate costs 6.99 euros. Prices as of 4 November 2026.
This page lists only apps whose own pages state music or Now Playing controls. If a page does not mention them, the app is left out.
Free apps
| App | Price | Needs | Music as stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boring Notch | Free, voluntary support on Ko fi | macOS 14 | Now playing with controls and a music visualizer; GPL 3.0 |
| MewNotch | Free, open source | macOS 14 | Now Playing controls |
| NotchPop | Free, no login | macOS 14 | Apple Music and Spotify; MIT license |
| SuperIsland | Free and open source | macOS 14 | Apple Music, Spotify and others |
| Atoll | No price stated, open source | macOS 14 | Apple Music, Spotify, Cider and others |
| Dynamic Notch | No price stated, treated as free open source | macOS 14.6 | Media control with an audio visualizer |
| NotchBar | Price not stated, AGPL 3.0 | macOS 14.5 | A Media Playback widget with artwork, artist, track and controls |
Atoll, Dynamic Notch and NotchBar state no price on the pages read. Atoll and Dynamic Notch link only donation or sponsor pages, and Dynamic Notch notes that a paid Gumroad listing with a similar name appears in search results, so check you are downloading the right one.
Free to start, paid to go further
| App | Price | Needs | Music as stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| NotchBox | Free with NotchBox Pro at $4.99 | macOS 13 | Apple Music and Spotify, plus Safari playback |
| NotchNest | Free; $14.99 once or $2.99 a month | macOS 14 | Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music |
| NotchThings | Free; $6.99 lifetime in app purchase, 7 day trial | macOS 15.6 | Apple Music and Spotify through Apple Events, plus a per app Volume Mixer |
| OneNotch | Free; Pro $6.99 once | macOS 15 | Music controls and lyrics |
| Sapphire | Free tier; plans from $15.99 a month | macOS 14.6 | A music widget with waveforms, lyrics and scrubbing |
None of these pages says whether music stays in the free tier, with one exception worth knowing: NotchBox’s listing does not say which features need Pro, so music may be free there.
Pay once, in price order
| App | Price | Needs | Music as stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| NotchStar | $4, up to 3 Macs, 7 day trial, 7 day refund | macOS 14 | Artwork, previous, play or pause, next, and a progress bar when the player gives one |
| Tuneful | $4.99, Mac App Store, no in app purchases listed | macOS 15 | Spotify and Apple Music in the notch, the menu bar and a mini player |
| Notch Buddy | $5.99 for the first 100 customers (89 of 100 sold when read), then $19.99 | macOS 14 | In its Home tool |
| OmniNotch | $5 flash sale, then $19.99 | macOS 14 | Now Playing |
| MediaMate | 6.99 euros, 5 devices, tryout mode, 14 day money back | macOS 13 | In the notch or a separate bubble, with play, pause and scrubbing |
| Droppy | $9.99, 2 Macs, 3 day trial | macOS 14 | A floating player in three sizes, with a queue and synced lyrics |
| Gojo | $9.99 lifetime, one Mac, 3 day trial | macOS 14 | Media controls |
| Korinotch | $11.50 lifetime, 14 day trial | macOS 14 | A media HUD |
| DynamicHorizon | $11.99 lifetime | macOS 14.6 | Spotify and Apple Music controls, with lock screen lyrics |
| Alcove | $12.99, up to 3 devices, 72 hour trial | macOS 15 | Now playing |
| DynamicLake | $13.99, up to 3 devices | macOS 14 | DynaMusic, with Apple Music and Spotify |
| Crest | $14.99, 2 Macs, 7 day trial | macOS 14 | Synced lyrics, a queue pane and an Apple Music favorite heart |
| NotchNook | Classic $15 or Pro $19 lifetime | macOS 14.6 | Spotify, Apple Music and any app macOS lists as Now Playing |
| Seam | $19.90, 2 Macs, 48 hour trial | macOS 14, Apple silicon only | Spotify, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Tidal and Amazon Music, plus media keys for browser streaming |
MediaMate is priced in euros, and this page keeps it that way: its Gumroad page lists 6.99 euros for one license on 5 devices. Notch Buddy’s $5.99 and OmniNotch’s $5 are limited offers, so they may be higher by the time you read this.
There is one subscription route. MacNotch is listed on Setapp from $4.99 a month for the MacNotch app only, or $14.99 a month for the whole Setapp catalog. It shows album art, animated bars and scrubbing for Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and other browser players. A month at $4.99 is more than NotchStar’s whole price.
Where Tuneful and NotchStar differ
Tuneful and NotchStar are the two closest in price. Tuneful is $4.99 for one job done in three places: the notch, the menu bar and a floating mini player. It also offers Last.fm scrobbling and saving Spotify liked songs, which need a Last.fm account and a Spotify Developer account. It needs macOS 15.
NotchStar is $4 and needs macOS 14. Its Home tab shows the current track with real artwork from macOS, three buttons that go to whichever app is playing, and a progress bar when the player publishes a duration. It has no menu bar player, no mini player and no Last.fm. The Tuneful comparison has the full detail.
What NotchStar music controls do and do not do
- Some players do not publish a duration, for example radio style Apple Music items, so there is no progress bar for them.
- NotchStar reads an interface macOS does not document and has restricted before. If it stops working after an update, it falls back to AppleScript for Music and Spotify only.
- Which apps appear depends on whether the app reports to the system Now Playing service.
- It has no live activity in the closed notch. Boring Notch and Atoll both list one.
If music in the notch is all you want, read how notch apps read now playing so you know what any of these apps depends on. The NotchStar Now Playing page lists the controls.
How to choose
- Lowest price: a free app. Boring Notch is the one that states controls with a visualizer and works on macOS 14.
- One paid app that also has a shelf, clipboard and timers: NotchStar at $4.
- Only music, with Last.fm or a menu bar player, on macOS 15: Tuneful at $4.99.
- An older Mac on macOS 13: MediaMate at 6.99 euros, or NotchBox, which is free with a $4.99 Pro purchase.
- Lyrics: Droppy, Crest, DynamicHorizon, OneNotch and Sapphire state lyrics. NotchStar’s page lists no lyrics.
For the whole price range, see Mac notch apps under $5 and the free options.
How this was checked
Each price, requirement and music description comes from the app’s own website, Mac App Store listing or GitHub page, read on 4 November 2026. “Not stated” means the page does not say. Confirm prices on the app’s page before you buy.
Sources
- NotchStar pricing for the $4 price, the trial, the refund and the 3 Mac license.
- Tuneful on the Mac App Store and Tuneful.
- MediaMate and MediaMate on Gumroad.
- Boring Notch, MewNotch, NotchPop, SuperIsland, Atoll, Dynamic Notch and NotchBar.
- NotchBox on the Mac App Store, NotchNest on the Mac App Store, NotchThings pricing, OneNotch and Sapphire.
- Notch Buddy, OmniNotch, Droppy, Gojo, Korinotch, DynamicHorizon, Alcove and DynamicLake.
- Crest, NotchNook, Seam and MacNotch on Setapp.
