Craft

What Is Craft?

The dominant note-taking tools of the 2010s were built for the web first. Evernote pioneered cloud sync but always felt like a database with a thin UI over it. Notion arrived with relational databases and templates, but wrapped everything in a generic React application that performs identically whether you are on a Mac, a Windows PC, or a Chromebook. Performance was adequate. The experience was never native.

Craft took a different starting point. Founded in Budapest in 2019 by Balint Orosz and a team of Hungarian engineers, it was designed from the beginning as a native Apple application — SwiftUI on macOS and iOS, not a web wrapper, not Electron. The goal was to build a document and note-taking tool that felt like it belonged on a Mac in the same way that Apple's own apps do: fast, responsive, visually coherent with the operating system, and capable of taking advantage of Apple-specific capabilities.

The result is a block-based document editor that handles everything from quick personal notes to structured team documentation, collaborative documents with inline comments, and shared knowledge bases. Since its 2019 launch, Craft has grown to serve individual users, small teams, and larger organisations across Europe and globally, with an EU-based engineering team and data hosted in EU data centres.

Craft Docs Limited is incorporated and headquartered in Budapest, Hungary — an EU member state — meaning it operates under Hungarian and EU law for all matters of data protection and privacy.

Key Features

Native Apple Performance

The distinction between native and Electron is not academic for daily-use software. Opening a large document in Notion on a Mac involves loading a web runtime, parsing JavaScript, and rendering through a browser engine. Opening the same document in Craft involves launching a native application that the Mac's graphics stack handles directly.

The practical difference is latency. Craft opens instantly. Switching between documents feels immediate. Typing in a Craft editor has no perceptible lag. On Apple Silicon hardware particularly, this is noticeable — Craft pushes the hardware's capabilities in a way that web-based tools cannot.

This matters for users who spend hours daily in a document tool. Accumulated small frictions compound. The energy expenditure of waiting for a web app to respond — even briefly — is not trivial over thousands of interactions per day.

Block-Based Editing

Craft's editor organises content in blocks: text paragraphs, headings, images, code blocks, to-do items, toggles, tables, and embedded links. Blocks can be nested, reordered by drag-and-drop, and converted between types. A bullet list can become a numbered list; a heading can become a callout block.

The block model enables a type of document structure that linear word processors cannot match — hierarchical content where whole subtrees of nested blocks can be collapsed, moved, or shared independently. For project documentation, meeting notes with action items, or structured reference material, this creates documents that are genuinely easier to navigate than equivalent content in a word processor.

Real-Time Collaboration

Craft includes real-time collaborative editing — multiple users editing the same document simultaneously with changes appearing instantly. Inline comments allow discussion attached to specific text or blocks. Shared document links can be configured as view-only or editor access, with optional password protection on Plus plans and above.

Version history allows rolling back to any previous state of a document, with 7 days available on the free tier, 30 days on Plus, and 180 days on the Team plan.

AI Writing Assistant

The Plus tier and above include an AI writing assistant integrated directly into the editor. It can draft, summarise, rephrase, and expand selected content within the document context. Plus accounts receive 500 AI requests per month; Team accounts receive 2,500 per member per month.

The AI features are available on demand within documents — not a persistent sidebar that competes for attention — which fits the editorial writing experience more naturally than the panel-based AI integrations in some competitors.

Export and Sharing

Craft documents can be exported to PDF, Markdown, Microsoft Word, and plain text. The export quality — particularly for PDF — is substantially better than equivalent exports from browser-based tools, because the native rendering engine produces output that accurately reflects how the document looks on screen.

Shared documents have a public URL that renders a clean, branded reading view. Plus users can add password protection and custom branding to shared documents.

Pricing

Craft's pricing is straightforward. The free tier allows up to 10 documents with 1 GB of storage and 7 days of version history — enough to evaluate the product but too limited for sustained professional use. Most users who rely on Craft daily will migrate to Plus.

Plus costs $10 per month billed monthly, or $8 per month billed annually — competitive with Notion's personal Pro plan at $16/month and Obsidian's Sync add-on at $8/month. Plus includes unlimited documents, 30 days of version history, password-protected sharing, and 500 AI requests per month.

The Team plan at $50/month (billed annually) for up to 25 members works out to $2/member/month for a full team — significantly cheaper than Notion's Team plan at $18/member/month. Business at $250/month adds unlimited members and priority support.

Craft bills in USD rather than EUR, which introduces currency risk for EU customers paying annually. Given that the company is Budapest-based, EUR billing would be a natural addition.

EU Compliance & Privacy

Craft Docs Limited is incorporated in Budapest, Hungary. Hungary is an EU member state, and Craft operates under Hungarian and EU data protection law — including GDPR — by default.

Data is hosted in EU data centres. Users are not required to accept data transfer to non-EU jurisdictions. The company does not sell user data or use it for advertising. A full data export is available to all users at any time, satisfying GDPR's data portability requirements.

For European businesses evaluating note-taking tools against procurement requirements, Craft's EU incorporation and EU data hosting simplifies the compliance assessment compared to US-headquartered alternatives like Notion, Obsidian, or Roam Research, which require data transfer impact assessments and Standard Contractual Clauses.

The privacy policy is governed by Hungarian law and references GDPR obligations explicitly.

Who It's Best For

Apple-first individual users who spend significant time in documents and notes and find Electron-based tools frustrating. The performance difference is real and cumulative over daily use.

Small teams on Apple hardware who need real-time collaboration, inline comments, and shared documentation without the overhead of a full enterprise wiki tool. The Team plan's pricing is competitive for teams up to 25.

European businesses with data compliance requirements that want a note-taking tool headquartered in the EU with EU data hosting and a straightforward GDPR posture.

Knowledge workers who value document aesthetics — people who share documents externally and want those documents to look professionally designed without manual formatting effort.

The Verdict

Craft earns its reputation on Apple hardware through genuine engineering investment in native performance — something no Electron-based competitor can replicate. The EU headquarters and data hosting make the compliance story cleaner than most alternatives in the category. The limitations are real: the web and Android experiences are noticeably less polished than the macOS and iOS versions, the integration ecosystem is thin, and the free tier is restrictive. For Apple users who want the best-performing document tool built by a European company, Craft is the clearest recommendation. For cross-platform teams or users who need deep API integrations, Notion remains the more flexible choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Craft GDPR compliant?

Yes. Craft is headquartered in Budapest, Hungary — an EU member state — and operates under GDPR. Data is hosted in EU data centres. Users can export or delete their data at any time. The company does not use user data for advertising.

Does Craft work on Windows or Android?

Craft has a web app and an Android app, but neither matches the quality of the macOS or iOS experience. The product is Apple-first by design. Windows users who require a native desktop experience should evaluate Notion or Obsidian instead.

How does Craft compare to Notion?

Craft is faster, more visually refined, and better optimised for Apple devices. Notion has a larger integration ecosystem, a public API, and stronger database and relational data capabilities. Craft suits individuals and small teams on Apple hardware; Notion is better for cross-platform or automation-heavy workflows.

Is the Craft free tier genuinely usable?

For light personal use — yes. The free tier allows up to 10 documents with 1 GB of storage and 7 days of version history. For ongoing professional use, most users will reach the document limit and need the Plus plan at $8/month billed annually.

Does Craft have an AI assistant?

Yes. Craft includes an AI writing assistant from the Plus plan and above. The free tier does not include AI features. Plus accounts receive 500 AI requests per month; Team accounts receive 2,500 per member per month.