Drafts

Drafts opens instantly to an empty page. You write first and decide what the text is later — a message, a note, a task, a journal entry — then run an action to send it where it belongs. Every draft is captured and searchable in the meantime.

Why it makes the list

Drafts has a devoted following on iOS, and the Mac version is a first-class citizen rather than a port. The core idea — separate capturing text from filing it — genuinely speeds up getting a thought out of your head, and the action and scripting system is deep enough to run whole workflows.

Standout features

• Instant capture with a global shortcut and a menu-bar quick-entry field

• Action library — append to a note, send a message, create a task, post to a blog

• JavaScript scripting with a full API for custom automation

• Markdown and TaskPaper syntax with live preview

• Workspaces and tags to organise a large draft list

• iCloud sync with iPhone and iPad

Pricing

Free for capture, editing, and core actions. Drafts Pro ($2.99/month or $19.99/year) unlocks themes, versions, and the full action and scripting features.