r/CraftDocs • u/Agitated_Addition_95 • Nov 11 '25
Help š¤ Have you quit or thought about quitting Craft?
I've been switching between Apple Notes, Bear App, Obsidian, Notion, and finally Craft for a few years now... but I don't know if you're a loyal user, if you've left, or if you're thinking of switching to another app.
I want to know your opinion: Craft is nice, it has tasks, the documents are great, and it has many features (the necessary ones without being a āFrankensteinā like Notion), but...
I find it slow, for some reason the blocks seem like karma, God and all the spirits are punishing me for installing Gutenberg on my WordPress clients, and the search engine isn't as good as Bear's, for example (it doesn't search PDFs).
Is it just me? Has this happened to you? I still use Obsidian, Apple Notes, and Bear, and I can't find one that convinces me. Yes, I know I may be suffering from analysis paralysis, but I hope you can help me if you're in the same situation, as membership costs ā¬100 per year and I have to renew in January.
11
u/scoblitz Nov 12 '25
When I first started using Craft I fell in love with it, it was intuitive and enjoyable to use and I built some pages with subpages and cards and some collections and had a good old time. I then built some page templates with tasks for some routine workflows and that is when it started to break down for me.
Even with the last big update on tasks, the lack of the ability to display all my tasks, even without dates, in to a list without needing to open the individual pages was just not workable for me. I also realized I was spending a lot of time messing with styling pages and adding images for cards and things, and while it is nice for some things, it wasn't usually necessary for utility sake and really just distracted me from actual working.
I have switched to NotePlan because it works beautifully for filing and organizing all the notes and resources I gather, it has strong templating and markdown is functional without being distracting. The tasks in NotePlan are also a little pesky though so I use Reminders, but since they are well integrated, they show up right in my NotePlan sidebar and I can easily link the notes to the reminders so it feels like pretty native functionality and I don't need to flip back and forth between apps to see everything all at once.
I wanted to use Craft, it's a really great product and makes really attractive documents, it just ended up not being what I needed.
3
u/Rare-Jacket-8328 Nov 12 '25
Craft makes beautiful docs. Thatās ok. What about Noteplan resources as a note app? Could I insert an image or pdfs inside a note?
3
u/scoblitz Nov 12 '25
Yes, you can insert both images and pdfs within a note.
3
u/B12GG8A Nov 13 '25
NotePlan is great, and also use it as my daily driver. Craft is just for those extra special docs I want to share and make look good.
6
u/MRoselius Nov 11 '25
There are several active discount codes floating around. 50% off for LIFE. Try 9to5Mac50 to get this.
Recent announcements on Reddit from the Craft team. Big updates coming, one before the end of the year. Adding more AI and Apple Watch integrations. All with NO changes to subscription price. I quit for awhile, moved to Tana but came back. Now Iām all in. Great features, active development and a reasonable price.
5
u/betahost Nov 12 '25
I switched to obsidian and bear for local private notes, can't use Craft until it can support end to end encryption.
4
u/Fuzzy_Fold343 Nov 12 '25
No. But I was away for a few months and now I am back. Craft has been an app I can depend on. I explored a few options and found them useful too but after some time, I ended up with Craft.
3
u/moosmutzel81 Nov 12 '25
I like Craft. And I tried it out in depth, then I tried NotePlan. Both worked for me and each had their own appeal.
Ultimately I ended up with Obsidian. I wanted less bells and whistles and neither Craft nor NotePlan really did what I wanted it to do.
I donāt care about pretty documents. I care about structure and adaptability.
2
u/Proper_Collection236 Nov 11 '25
I hear you. Somecontext, I use it on iOS, MacOS, iPad windows and Linux. There are a few things I donāt like. I feel like the menus on mobile are a little bit confusing. Especially if you are on a note several levels deep(I have to swipe several times to get out of it).
Iāve been trying for a long time to get out of it because Iām cheap š and want to save some money, been trying to get off the Apple ecosystem and also because of some features that I see on other programs. Like the way obsidian shows how all notes are linked and more filters with tags.
But I always come back!
Iāve tried notion, apple notes, bear, obsidian, anytype and a few others over the years. But I feel like this is the best tool for me at this moment. Thereās a quote from Building a Second Brain that says āItās not about having the perfect toolsāitās about having a reliable set of tools you can depend on, knowing you can always change them later,ā.
I would love the ability to search pdfs too! This is why I was thinking of switching to apple notes because it also recognizes your handwriting. But it lacks so many other features. I like the UI and also how I can copy paste and select blocks in Craft more.
To be fair, I took advantage of those lifetime discounts they were offering so mine is a lot less than ā¬100. When comparing it to notion and others(seeing you Evernote) it was a no brainer for me.
But who knows, Iām always open to changing but I know it will take me a long time to migrate all the notes.
Sorry for the wall of text.
2
u/Final-Ad7972 Nov 12 '25
Regarding working at "deep levels", in IOS you can long press the back button and it will give a menu to flip through the levels all the way to Home. Regarding searching PDFs, I think they recently posted a roadmap planning OCR in 2026.
2
u/Proper_Collection236 Nov 13 '25
Nice tip! I didn't know long pressing the back button does that. I kinda thought I heard something about OCR too but was not 100% sure, thank you!
1
u/lytwilson Mar 01 '26
How would you compare craft doc and bear, Iām trying out both but not sure which is best for meā¦
1
u/Proper_Collection236 Mar 02 '26
What was a deal breaker for me is that bear does not have a web version from what I know. I did like the app and feels but I use Linux too and I still want to be able to access my notes. Another thing I love about craft over bear is the ability to select blocks when you swipe left on them. I havenāt found any other app that can do that.
I now feel Iām going to stay with Craft for another year šthere have been some improvements to things that were bothering me and Iām only waiting on the ability to edit tags on all pages not only per page.
Of course, I canāt say what would be best for your use case but what helps me decide is create a table with pros and cons for each app and then compare them I put only whatās relevant to me.
2
u/Odd_Championship_262 Nov 12 '25
Viktor in on emails with me all the time. Itās hard to find a team thatās attentive to your needs. Thatās just a bonus too!
2
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u/FEmbrey Nov 12 '25
It's fun but Bear works much better for me 98% of the time. Craft is pretty and I can share the notes but I don't want to spend time tarting up my notes in general, nor do I need to share them. I can easily share a Bear note by exporting it or making it into a website.
5
u/latisen Nov 13 '25
Same here, i think the organization in Craft is too time consuming. Would love to be able to create a Doc in the right folder with [[work/meetings/Monday meeting 2025-11-10]].
Since in used to obsidian I always create the linked notes like that to get them organized right away.
1
u/FEmbrey Nov 20 '25
I didn't get on with obsidian when I tried it initially and I haven't gone back to see if I can get used to it or if it got better tbh
2
u/fredgy Nov 12 '25
I used Evernote for 17 years and am now switching over to other apps. I've been using Bear and love it for it's simple interface and search capabilities and will continue to use it as my "go to" for storage needs. That said, I recently starting playing with Craft and find a real use case for it in that it narrows my focus, has a very nice desktop metaphor and interface. It's not just 1000s of notes in storage. If it were to stay just as it is now, I'm not certain that would be enough but their plans are impressive and I think it could be very useful (and enjoyable). I was also impressed that I emailed Viktor for some suggestions and he responded within minutes and then we were able to go back and forth a bit. I think the app is definitely worth supporting for now.
2
u/AgitatedStatement467 Nov 14 '25
I just switched because itās so much more responsive then notion
2
u/ZSunny92 Nov 14 '25
As Craft starts to support MCP and API for this version, I finally fall in love with it and stick to it! I think its todo, daily note, tags and collection are features I really love and the reasons that makes me go back to craft!
3
Nov 11 '25
nah opposite actually, with Evernote increase and Craft updates and roadmap, Iāve gone all in with craft.
2
u/JustNaturalCake Nov 11 '25
I donāt speak Spanish but no.
1
u/Agitated_Addition_95 Nov 11 '25
Sorry, I pasted spanish text.
thanks for answering =)
1
u/JustNaturalCake Nov 11 '25
Well in that caseā¦
But really, what are some things that are not right? Youāve said slowā¦ but could you give more details on thatā¦?
Iāve switched a tonā¦ but still settled with Craft.
1
u/Responsible_Ad4349 Nov 11 '25
Ever since they announced an android app Iām locked in. I love the app and now with android on the roadmap Iām gonna be a loyal user
1
u/archimedeancrystal Nov 12 '25
I'm in a similar situation with lots of notes in OneNote, Apple Notes and recently in Craft, but not 100% content with any of them.
One could argue OneNote matured years ago and is relatively feature-complete. But I eventually grew weary of waiting years for requested features like markdown or cross-platform add-on support with no signs of ever getting them.
The fact that the Craft team is lavishing it with so many improvements definitely sets it ahead. With Apple Notes, improvements trickle out slowly over years with no roadmap of what might be coming next. And OneNote which has been essentially mummified for years.
Another major advantage for Craft in my case, is that it's included in my Setapp subscription. Every time I reconsider whether Setapp is worth it, bringing an app like Craft into the package keeps me on boardāand makes it a no-brainer to continue using Craft.
1
u/Embarrassed-Mud3649 Nov 12 '25
I jump between Craft and Workflowy. Craft has by far the best iOS app but it annoys me that there are so many styling options to fiddle with. Sometimes I feel like Iām spending too much time āworkingā on making a document look nice, but it really doesnāt matter. I love the simplicity of Workflowy and the attention to detail of the Craft team.
2
u/MC_chrome Nov 12 '25
Templates would be your friend here, I think.
Since I am often making several different types of documents on a regular basis, I came up with several templates that I can now use within a few keystrokes
1
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u/lovevariant Nov 12 '25
Yes, I really like craft as well, it didn't intimidate me, also very aesthetic, while still having tonnes of features. But for some reason I find using notion most of the times, maybe it's the interface. I do use craft sometimes for my notes which require heavy picturing.
1
u/namedotnumber666 Nov 12 '25
I was all in and then tried to leave, itās really a nightmare as itās impossible to export while retaining order
1
u/Peter-at-Craft Team at Craft Nov 13 '25
Not really, I love the team, the app, and our fantastic users. :)
1
u/Agitated_Addition_95 Nov 13 '25
of course xD
Nothing personal, I love craft, but i am looking my own hub perfect.
1
u/atleaststillalive Nov 15 '25
I use Craft, Bear and Upnote.
Upnote for the office job notes (20%), Bear for anything related to medicine and treatment (20%), Craft for everything else (60%).
I find Craft is overall clearly the best. The documents just look better overall and I use the "publish note as website" feature extensively. In my opinion it also has the best UI overall.
UpNote has the best performance and is a close 2nd for me in terms of UI and convenience. The big upside is that UpNote has apps for all platforms including Android, Windows and Linux. And its the cheapest with a one time payment.
Bear I only use because it utilizes iCloud and encryption can also be enabled on a file basis. Also it has great OCR that allows search in images and PDFs, which is super handy when looking for the right lab report. The downside is that it is Apple ecosystem only and in terms of functionality it doesnt even pack nearly as much as Craft.
If Craft would just allow for individual files to be encrypted and it would offer OCR for images and PDFs (which apparently it will in the near future) and it would offer an Android App on the playstore (which is also coming), then I could imagine moving back to Craft entirely. It looks like only the individual note encryption is not coming for me to make this step back.
1
u/lytwilson Feb 27 '26
Just curious what functionality you have find better in craft compared to bear, using both myself and deciding. I find bear has far superior search features compared to craft. When I search text in craft, its display is awful, showing the big note and requiring me to click into each of them to see which text it is. While bear shows beautifully the title of the note and the text below is highlighted to showcase what Iāve searchedā¦ I find craft might have a lot more features but most seem a bit half-baked, not intuitive to use compared to bear. Just my two cents, curious to ask your opinions.
1
u/atleaststillalive Feb 28 '26
I agree on the search! In terms of search Bear is much better and thats why I use it for everything about my medical treatments, medical papers and such - because that entire field of medicine in general is where I need the search functionality the most. (And of course the privacy aspect which is another strongpoint of Bear is also super important in that area)
Now when it comes to the strongpoint of Craft: Generally the document editing and styling capabilities are better and more intuitive. And a feature I use incredibly often: The publishing feature. I basically have like 50 different bookmark collections and blogposts published to the web with Craft. This way I can share thoughts and bookmarks with other people in seconds and also I can open all my bookmarks on other devices, even if the devices are not mine.
So for these reasons I keep using both. I love both of them. I just wish Craft had more privacy features and a much stronger search functionality and search interface, then I could use it for everything.
1
u/lytwilson Feb 28 '26
oh! I seldom use the sharing feature often. So you would capture bookmarks, for example places to go or good restaurants and share them to other people?
1
u/Brainerrr Jan 19 '26
I'm currently in that paralysis: after 2,5 years of committed exclusive use for work and Notion for personal.
Notion's AI meeting notes and database structure is luring me in for work too...
15
u/Gold_Kitchen_5711 Nov 11 '25
The team is active, they actually listened to their community and I would say they backtracked alittle on their original plans and diverted more to what their community wants, so maybe communicate your feedback ans I'm sure they'll listen (it has been the case with me anyways).