Crest vs Alcove: which notch app do you actually want?
By the makers of Crest · updated 6 October 2026 · full disclosure
macOS 14 or later. Open Crest for 7 free days, no account or card.
| Crest | Alcove | |
|---|---|---|
| What it puts in the notch | Music on the closed notch, then pages of widgets you stretch: lyrics, the next meeting with Join, notes, to-dos, weather, batteries, CPU and memory, clipboard history, pull requests, Passwords with Touch ID, the Authenticator (your two-factor codes, typed in for you), Drop for encrypted files, and your coding agents’ questions | Notifications, Live Activities, customizable HUDs, Lock Screen widgets, swipe gestures |
| Developer tools | GitHub pull requests and CI, live Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI sessions | |
| Agent approvals | Allow or Deny a Claude Code prompt from the notch | |
| Macs with no notch | It shows a floating pill instead | Not stated on its site |
Why Crest is better
- A week to try all of it. Every Crest feature is yours for 7 days from first open, no account or card. Alcove gives you 72 hours.
- It covers the working day. Your next meeting with one-tap join, todos, CPU, battery and clipboard history all live in the notch.
- It answers your coding agents. When Claude Code asks for permission, you press Allow or Deny right on the notch.
- It works without a notch. On an external display or an older Mac, Crest sits in a small pill in the same place.
Full comparison and details
Most of us bought a notched MacBook and then spent a year looking at a black bar that does nothing. Alcove answers that by copying the iPhone's Dynamic Island, with fluid transitions, notifications sliding out of the notch, Live Activities, swipe gestures and Lock Screen widgets. Crest answers it by giving the notch a job: a panel that holds the things you keep opening windows for. Both can be bought once and both live in the same strip of screen, but they solve different problems.
Last updated: 6 October 2026
Crest 6, 30 September 2026: Crest was redesigned from the ground up: one shape that grows out of the notch, music on the closed notch, pages of widgets you stretch, and one card for every coding agent’s question. This page is updated for it. What’s new in Crest 6.
Full disclosure: this page is published by the makers of Crest. Alcove's prices and limits below are taken from Alcove's own pages, checked again on 6 October 2026.
The short version
Pick Crest if you are tired of opening windows to check what is playing, the meeting you are two minutes from missing, your todos, CPU and battery, your clipboard history, and Claude Code waiting on a yes or no. Crest puts all of that in the notch as a native Mac app that stays light on battery, for the same $14.99 once.
Where Alcove stops. Alcove is a Dynamic Island look with no developer tools, agent approvals, password manager or two-factor codes. It gives you a 72-hour trial and needs macOS 15 or later.
Side by side
The comparison table is at the top of this page.
Where Crest is better
- Seven days of everything, no card. Now Playing with lyrics and the queue, the file shelf, the Clipboard and window snapping, all in the trial. Alcove gives you 72 hours to decide.
- It covers the working day, not the animation. The meeting you are about to be late for with a one-tap join and a camera check, your todos and notes, CPU, memory, disk, network and battery, and your clipboard history. That is several windows you stop opening.
- It answers your coding agents. When Claude Code asks permission, the prompt pins to the notch until you allow or deny it, on whichever display you are looking at, even over a fullscreen app. Nothing else in this category does that.
- Pages of widgets you arrange, and swipe between. Home, Work and Code. A meeting coming up flips it to Work, your editor in front flips it to Code, and a manual pick always wins.
- It still works on a Mac without a notch. External display or an older Mac, you get a tidy floating pill in the same place.
The pricing math
Crest Pro is $14.99 once, and you get a 7-day trial of everything with no card before you pay anything. Alcove gives you 72 hours.
Alcove makes the notch look like an iPhone. Crest makes it work: Passwords with Touch ID, your two-factor codes typed in for you, Claude Code approvals, Drop for encrypted files and 22 widgets, all for one price. Crest never requires a subscription.
FAQ
How much does Alcove cost?
$13.99, once. So yes, it costs money: there is no free tier, only a 72 hour trial. The price includes all future updates and up to three devices at once, and its FAQ offers a full refund within 14 days with no reason required. It needs macOS 15 or later. From tryalcove.com and its FAQ page (updated June 2026), checked 27 October 2026.
What happens after Alcove's 72 hour trial?
Its FAQ calls it a limited 72h trial and says nothing more about the end of it, so plan on paying $13.99 if you want to keep it, with a 14 day refund on top. Crest gives you 7 days of everything with no card, which is enough time to see whether the notch earns its place in a real work week, and then its Pro features pause until you buy it.
Can I run Crest and Alcove at the same time?
Not comfortably. Both hang something from the notch and both react when your cursor arrives there, so they end up fighting over the same space. Try them one at a time.
Does Crest have a free version?
Partly. Crest is free to download, Now Playing, the file shelf, the clipboard and receiving files with Drop stay free, and there is a 7-day trial of everything with no card. After that the Pro features pause until you buy Crest. Crest is $14.99 once, on 2 Macs.
Put the notch to work
Music, the next meeting, todos, system stats, your clipboard and Claude Code approvals, one glance up. Try all of it free for 7 days, no card.
Download Crest for macOS Buy Crest, $14.99macOS 14 or later · Universal (Apple Silicon & Intel) · 7-day Pro trial, no card up front
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