Crest vs Droppy: which notch app should you pick?
Droppy packs a lot into the notch for $9.99: a file tray and a floating basket, clipboard history, music on the lock screen, 38 free extensions it calls Droplets, and a free iPhone app that syncs with it. Crest is built around a different job. When Claude Code, Codex or Copilot CLI stops to ask you something, the question lands on the notch and you answer it there, free. Here is where each one is the better buy.
Last updated: 3 October 2026
Full disclosure: this page is published by the makers of Crest. Droppy's prices and limits below are taken from Droppy's own pages, checked on 3 October 2026, and the things it genuinely does better are listed as plainly as our own side.
The short version
Pick Droppy if you want the most features for the least money, you want your clipboard and files on your iPhone too, or you like extensions that other developers build. It is $9.99 once for two Macs, with a 3-day trial of everything.
Pick Crest if you work with coding agents and want to answer them without leaving what you are doing, you want a free tier that never runs out, or you want a screen recorder and a meeting notetaker in the same purchase.
Side by side
| Crest | Droppy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 one-time | $9.99 one-time, lower in 126 countries |
| Free option | A free tier that never expires, plus 7 days of Pro when you sign in | A 3-day trial with everything on, then it is a purchase |
| Macs per licence | Two | Two, and 2 or 5 keys take 15% or 25% off |
| Refunds | 7 days, with a reason | 14 days, full refund |
| Requirements | macOS 14 or later, any Mac; a small pill where there is no notch | macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel, notched or not |
| iPhone app | None | Free, in TestFlight beta, iOS 26 or later: clipboard, files, notes and fifteen Droplets, synced end to end encrypted |
| Extensions | No plugins: 18 built-in widgets, 3 of them free | 38 Droplets included, and DroppyKit, a SwiftUI kit anyone can publish to its store with |
| Files | The Shelf, free | A file tray, a floating Basket, zip and convert where files sit, share links that expire after 3 days |
| See what your coding agents are doing | Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI sessions in the Agents widget (Pro) | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Antigravity and OpenCode, plus plan usage limits |
| Answer an agent from the notch | Allow or Deny, and Claude Code's questions as one-question cards, free | Its docs describe watching a session, not answering it |
| Screen recorder and meeting notes | Take and Minutes come with it: everything is $24.99 once | Screen recording built in, and an on-device Voice Transcribe droplet |
Where Droppy is better
- It costs less. $9.99 once for two Macs, with every Droplet and every future update included, and its site says the price is set lower in 126 countries. Crest Pro is $19.99. If the notch is a nice-to-have for you, that gap matters.
- It comes with an iPhone app. Droppy for iPhone is free, in TestFlight beta for now. It syncs your clipboard, files and notes both ways, end to end encrypted, and puts Live Activities and Droplet widgets on the phone. Crest has nothing on the iPhone.
- Anyone can build for it. DroppyKit is the kit behind every Droplet. Developers write one in SwiftUI, try it in a free Playground app, and publish it to the Droplet Store with a merge request. Crest's widgets are ours only, and there is no plugin system.
- It does more with files. A floating Basket that comes to your cursor when you jiggle a drag, zipping and converting files where they sit, and share links that clean themselves up after three days. Crest's Shelf holds files and stops there.
- It follows more coding agents. Its Agents droplet watches Cursor, Antigravity and OpenCode as well as Claude Code and Codex, and a Usage view fills a ring for every plan limit. Crest follows Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI.
Where Crest is better
- It answers your coding agents, not just shows them. When Claude Code, Codex or Copilot CLI asks for permission, the request pins to the notch with Allow and Deny. Rest the pointer on it and the whole command, or the file and the lines it changes, unfolds under it. Claude Code's questions come as one-question cards. All of that is free.
- The free tier does not run out. Now Playing with synced lyrics, the Shelf, the Clipboard, window snapping and answering your agents keep working with no account and no clock. Droppy gives you three days to decide.
- Widgets you stretch, on pages you swipe between. Now, Home, Work and Code, with 18 widgets in sizes S, M and L: the next meeting with a Join button, to-dos and notes, Claude on your own subscription, saved SSH hosts, batteries for your Bluetooth devices.
- A screen recorder and a meeting notetaker in the same purchase. Everything, Crest Pro with Take and Minutes, is $24.99 once. Take stages every recording with zooms from your clicks and never adds a watermark. Minutes records both sides of a call and summarizes it on the Mac, with nothing uploaded.
The pricing math
Droppy is $9.99 once, for two Macs, with every future update included, a 3-day trial of everything and a full refund within 14 days. Its site says prices are lower in 126 countries, and buying 2 or 5 keys takes 15% or 25% off. The iPhone app is free, and syncing needs the Mac licence. Crest Pro is $19.99 once for two Macs, with updates free for life, a 7-day refund, and a free tier that keeps working if you never pay.
App for app, Droppy costs less, and that is a real difference. Two things change the math. If what you came for is answering Claude Code from the notch, Crest does that on the free tier, so it costs nothing. And if you were also about to pay for a screen recorder or a meeting notetaker, everything, with Take and Minutes, is $24.99 once.
Both show your coding agents. Only one answers them
Droppy's Agents droplet follows Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Antigravity and OpenCode sessions in the notch: the current tool call, the file being edited and the lines changed, with a Usage view for your plan limits. It reads your own session logs on the Mac and sends nothing anywhere. Its documentation describes watching a session. It does not describe allowing, denying or answering one.
Crest is built for the moment the agent stops and waits. A permission request pins to the notch with Allow and Deny, and a question from Claude Code comes as a card: tap an option or type your own answer. That is in the free tier. Crest Pro adds the Agents widget, with every running session and one click to its terminal.
FAQ
How much does Droppy cost?
$9.99, one time, for two Macs, with every future update included. Its site says prices are lower in 126 countries, buying 2 or 5 keys takes 15% or 25% off, and a full refund is available within 14 days. From getdroppy.app and its docs, checked 3 October 2026.
Does Droppy have a free version?
No free tier, but a 3-day trial with every feature and every Droplet on, and no payment details needed. The iPhone app is free, and syncing it needs a Droppy licence on the Mac.
Can Droppy answer Claude Code prompts?
Its Agents droplet follows Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Antigravity and OpenCode sessions and shows what each one is doing. Its documentation describes watching a session and says nothing about allowing, denying or answering one. Crest answers Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI permission prompts and Claude Code's questions from the notch, on the free tier.
Does Crest have an iPhone app or plugins?
No to both. Crest is a Mac app with 18 built-in widgets. If you want your clipboard on your phone or extensions from other developers, Droppy has both.
Can I run Crest and Droppy at the same time?
Not comfortably. Both hang a panel from the notch and both react to your cursor arriving there, so they will fight over the same space. Try one at a time.
Does Crest have a free version?
Yes. Now Playing with lyrics, the Shelf, the Clipboard, window snapping and answering your coding agents are free forever, with no account. Pro is $19.99 once.
Answer your agents from the notch
Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI asking for a yes or no, plus music, the Shelf and your clipboard, free and with no account. The free tier is a real app, not a trial.
Download Crest for macOS Get Crest Pro, $19.99macOS 14 or later · Universal (Apple Silicon & Intel) · 7-day Pro trial, no card up front
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