Craft
Native document editor
Install with Homebrew
brew install --cask craftQuick Take: Craft
Craft remains one of the best-looking native docs apps on Mac in August 2026. Limits are honest, and Plus, Family, and Team map to clear prices. It will not replace Notion for heavy databases, and its AI credits will not replace a separate chat tool. Choose it when you want docs people enjoy opening and sharing.
Best For
- •Writers and consultants
- •Apple-only personal knowledge bases
- •Small family/team doc sharing
What is Craft?
Craft is a native Apple-first notes and documents app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac with a web option. It focuses on block-based writing, quick cross-device sync, and shareable docs. Think of it between Apple Notes simplicity and Notion database complexity. Typography, cards, and pages give structure without forcing a spreadsheet mindset. As of August 2026 Craft is active from Craft Docs with Free, Plus, Family, and Team plans. Help docs list Plus at $10 per month or $96 per year, Family at $18 per month or $180 per year for up to 5 members, and Team at $60 per month or $600 per year for up to 10 members. Free stays usable with a 1,500 block limit, 1 GB storage, 7 day version history, and a small AI credit bundle around 15 credits. Plus lifts the doc ceiling within plan space rules, moves history to about 30 days, and raises storage and AI credits to about 50 per month with Core, Fast, and Max model tiers. Education deals and Setapp access remain for some users. Competition is crowded. Apple Notes with Apple Intelligence, Notion with Agents on higher tiers, Obsidian, Bear, and Roam-style tools all push in. Craft still bets on native feel, strong exports, and focused writing rather than becoming a full work OS. On Apple Silicon and macOS Tahoe 26.x the Mac app is a primary surface. Get it from craft.do, the Mac App Store, or Setapp. If you need relational databases and large wikis, Notion leads. If you want polished personal docs that feel at home on Apple hardware, Craft holds up. For daily work, capture quickly, review weekly, and archive on purpose. On Mac use keyboard navigation with a few templates so new pages start with shape. For teams agree on space names and how long share links live, the way engineering teams agree on branch names. After a macOS upgrade like Tahoe 26.x, check notification permissions, sync health, and any helpers. Apple Silicon handles big doc trees well, but caches and heavy media still deserve cleanup. Before a migration, export a sample and open it in the target app before moving everything. The Free plan is honest about limits. 1,500 blocks and 1 GB go far for light notes and a few client one-pagers, then stop you mid import if you dump a large Markdown vault. Plus at $96 per year is the common individual step because annual pricing undercuts $10 per month and unlocks longer history plus higher AI credits. Family and Team are fixed-price bundles with member caps, not open-ended per-seat scaling, so count people before you commit. A practical Mac setup looks like this: install from one channel, sign in, create a personal space and an archive space, then add a capture hotkey to a daily notes page. Import a sample of real work before you commit a whole library so you see how blocks, media, and history behave on your plan. If Free feels tight in week one, Plus is the honest next step rather than splitting notes across three apps.
Analysis: Craft's position in 2026 knowledge tools
In 2026 notes split into work OS tools like Notion and focused writing tools like Craft, Bear, and Ulysses. Craft leans to writing with just enough tasks, AI, and team spaces to stay viable for freelancers and small teams. Pricing is a clear Plus, Family, and Team ladder. AI is metered, which keeps vendor costs predictable and nudges you to use generation where it helps most. For Mac users on Apple laptops, native speed and offline edits still stand out against browser-only options. The practical decision is often Free versus Plus. Free is fine for a personal notebook with light media. The 1,500 block ceiling and 7 day history start to hurt as soon as you import research or keep client work for more than a week. Plus at $96 per year is the plan most daily writers settle on because it unlocks longer history, higher AI credits, and higher storage without jumping to Team. Family at $180 per year for five people can be cheaper than five separate Plus seats when a household or studio shares spaces. Craft will not replace Notion if your work is relational databases, complex multiplayer ops, or large org wikis. It also will not replace a dedicated chat app if you burn through AI credits rewriting long docs on Max. Where it wins is narrative docs people enjoy opening: proposals, specs, class notes, and clean share links that do not look like database rows. Pricing specifics worth memorizing from the August 2026 help center: Free caps at 1,500 blocks with 1 GB storage, about 25 MB media uploads, 7-day history, and roughly 15 AI credits. Plus is $10 monthly or $96 yearly with higher storage (help docs cite 1TB-class space storage), 30-day history, about 50 AI credits monthly, and advanced sharing. Family is $18 monthly or $180 yearly for up to 5 members. Team is $60 monthly or $600 yearly for up to 10. Larger organizations talk to sales. Education and Setapp routes still exist for some buyers. Regional storefronts can show local currency, so re-check the plans page for your region before you budget. On the Mac, Craft is a first-class surface rather than a thin Electron shell. Offline edits sync when the network returns, which is why consultants still open it on planes. Keyboard navigation and templates keep new pages from starting as blank intimidation. The share link is the product's quiet strength: clients open a clean web page without installing Craft. That is different from dumping them into a dense multiplayer wiki. Limits to respect: AI credits are a boost, not an unlimited chat budget. Free's block ceiling is easy to hit with a bulk import. Team tops out at 10 members on the published ladder, so a growing studio should plan the next step before they are mid-project. Export Markdown or PDF on a schedule if long-term portability matters to you. Proprietary notes are convenient until the day you need to leave.
Key Features
Block-based documents
Write with blocks for paragraphs, headings, lists, images, and embeds. Blocks nest into pages and cards, so long form stays structured while Mac keyboard flow stays quick.
Native Apple platforms + web
Mac, iPhone, and iPad share design language with offline-ready editing and cloud sync. Web fills the gap on other platforms. Apple Silicon performance is where many reviews notice the gap over Electron apps.
Spaces and sharing
Keep work in spaces and share by link with clean web output. Plus and above add branding and broader collaboration control that fits client handouts.
AI assistant (Core / Fast / Max)
Craft's assistant drafts, rewrites, and summarizes inside the page. Free includes a small monthly pool. Plus raises the cap and unlocks broader model tiers. Plan for credits as a metered boost, not an open chat.
Tasks, calendars, and daily notes workflows
Beyond prose you get lightweight task flows with calendar ties and daily notes, enough for a simple life OS without Notion-level databases.
Version history
Free holds about 7 days of versions. Plus stretches that to about 30 days, which matters when a collaborator overwrites a section.
API & MCP-oriented access (plan-gated)
Craft notes API and integration surfaces with rate guidance in pricing materials. Check official docs for current limits before you build anything production facing.
Exports and presentation-quality output
Exports aim for polished PDFs and web pages. Teachers, consultants, and designers often pick Craft because the share stays readable outside the app.
Who Should Use Craft?
1Independent consultant
Keeps client discovery notes, proposals, and meeting follow-ups in separate spaces. Shares a read-only web link after each workshop instead of attaching brittle Word files. Uses Plus AI credits to turn rough notes into structured summaries before sending.
2Student or researcher
Builds literature notes as nested pages, tags key claims, and reviews on iPad. Free tier may suffice early; Plus removes the 1,500-block ceiling when the thesis corpus grows.
3Product designer
Writes spec narratives and critique notes with embedded images, then publishes a clean link for stakeholders who will never install Craft. Prefers Craft's visual clarity over Notion's denser multiplayer UI.
4Small studio lead
Runs a five-person shop on Family. Shared spaces hold brand guidelines and client proposals. Public links go to clients after each review. When the roster approaches ten people they re-read Team pricing before the next hire.
How to Install Craft on Mac
Craft is available from craft.do, the Mac App Store, and sometimes Setapp. Create a Craft account to sync; local-only forever mode is not the product's primary design.
Download the Mac app
Get Craft from https://www.craft.do/download or the Mac App Store. Open the app and sign in or register.
Choose a plan intentionally
Start on Free to test the 1,500-block limit. Upgrade to Plus ($10/mo or $96/yr) when limits block daily writing.
Connect iOS devices
Install iPhone/iPad apps with the same account for continuity. Enable notifications only if you rely on shares and comments.
Pro Tips
- • Prefer annual Plus if you already know Craft is daily-driver material; $96/yr undercuts month-to-month.
- • Map a quick capture shortcut so inbox notes land in a Daily Note style page.
- • Review AI credit usage monthly; Max model calls burn the quota faster.
Configuration Tips
Design space taxonomy early
Set up personal, client, and archive spaces before the library gets messy. Moves later work but they take time.
Templates for recurring docs
Create templates for meetings, PRDs, and class notes so structure is one tap.
Share link hygiene
Review public links each quarter and revoke old client docs after projects close.
Prefer annual billing once committed
If Craft is already your daily notebook, $96/year Plus undercuts $10/month. Family annual at $180 can undercut five separate Plus seats when the math fits.
Separate capture from publish
Use daily notes or an inbox page for messy capture, then promote cleaned prose into a titled page before you generate a client link.
Alternatives to Craft
Craft competes in a crowded notes market. Pick based on databases versus writing, and Apple-native feel versus open ecosystems. If you need a local Markdown vault, start with Obsidian. If you need org-wide databases, start with Notion. If you want free system notes, try Apple Notes first.
Notion
Stronger databases, team wikis, and AI agents on business tiers. Heavier and less like a native Apple writing app than Craft. Pick Notion when the primary artifact is a multiplayer database or wiki, not a polished document.
Obsidian
Local-first Markdown vaults with plugins. Better for plain-text longevity; weaker default multi-device polish unless you configure sync. Pick Obsidian when file ownership and long-term portability outrank share-link polish.
Apple Notes
Free, system-integrated, improving AI features. Loses to Craft on structured long-form publishing and cross-platform web shares.
Bear
Beautiful Markdown notes for Apple devices. Simpler than Craft's multi-page doc model.
Pricing
Verified against Craft help center plans page (2026-08-09): Starter/Free is $0, up to 1,500 content blocks, 1 GB storage, about 25 MB media uploads, 7-day version history, limited AI credits (about 15). Plus is $10/month or $96/year: unlimited docs under plan rules, higher storage (help docs cite 1TB-class space storage), 30-day history, about 50 AI credits/month, advanced sharing. Family is $18/month or $180/year for up to 5 members with shared spaces and Plus-class benefits per member. Team is $60/month or $600/year for up to 10 members and more shared spaces. Larger orgs contact sales. Education and Setapp options may apply. Regional storefronts can show localized currency.
Pros
- ✓Native-feeling Apple apps with strong writing UX
- ✓Clear freemium path; Free is real for light use
- ✓Plus pricing is straightforward at $10/mo or $96/yr
- ✓Share links and exports look client-ready
- ✓AI assistant integrated without turning the app into a chatbot shell
- ✓Family and Team bundles for small groups
Cons
- ✗1,500-block Free limit arrives quickly for daily writers
- ✗AI credits are modest versus unlimited-chat AI tools
- ✗Weaker than Notion for relational databases and large org knowledge bases
- ✗Subscription fatigue if you already pay for Notes + Notion + iCloud storage
Community & Support
Craft runs a help center at support.craft.do plus in-app help and community chatter on Reddit and social. Store reviews often praise design and gripe about subscription limits when Free blocks run out. For a bug, note platform with Mac, iOS, or web, OS build, and whether the doc is heavy with media. Pricing and limit questions dominate public threads because Free is real until the 1,500 block wall appears mid-project. When you ask for help, say whether you are on Free, Plus, Family, or Team, and whether the doc is media-heavy, because storage and history behavior differ by plan.
Frequently Asked Questions about Craft
About the Author
Productivity & Workflow Analyst
Expert Tips for Craft
If you hit Free's block limit mid-project, upgrade before fragmenting work across apps. The switch cost is worse than a month of Plus.
Use Craft for client-facing narrative docs and keep Notion/Linear for issue databases; forcing one tool to do both usually disappoints.
Audit AI credit burn after the first month on Plus. Max-tier rewrites on long docs can exhaust the pool faster than users expect.
Related Technologies & Concepts
Related Topics
Sources & References
Last verified: Aug 9, 2026
Key Verified Facts
- Craft Plus is priced at $96 annually or $10 monthly per official help center documentation.[cite-2]
- Free plan includes up to 1,500 content blocks, 1 GB storage, and 7-day version history.[cite-1, cite-2]
- Family plan is $180 annually or $18 monthly for up to 5 members; Team is $600 annually or $60 monthly for up to 10 members.[cite-2]
- 1
- 2Craft plans and pricing (Help Center)
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Authoritative USD plan amounts and limits."
- 3Craft subscription plans overview
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Plan matrix for individuals, families, teams, education."
- 4
- 5
- 6TechRepublic Craft review (pricing table context)
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Third-party overview of Craft plan feature differences."