Notch apps for Windows, compared.
There are a number of apps that put a notch or a Dynamic Island at the top of a Windows
screen, most of them released in 2026. This page presents the main ones side by side, and how to decide which to
use.
The details about the other apps are from their own
Microsoft
Store listings, websites and READMEs, checked on 27 October 2026, with UK prices from that day. Please reach out
if anything needs updated.
The main ones
Each of these is still being updated, does more than one thing, and installs from the Microsoft Store or its
maker's site.
AWNA Ours
Free · £8 unlocks it all
Tools you'll use all day, rather than widgets.
- Your day
- Calendar with Join, tasks, notes, timers and alarms
- Files
- A shelf for files, files to and from your phone, the last 50 things you copied
- Also
- Music, screenshots (scrolling ones too), voice typing anywhere, Claude Code and Codex
Over a full-size window it slims to a thin line, so your browser's tabs stay in sight.
Today, Tasks, Music and the Shelf are free for good. £8 once unlocks the rest, on up to three PCs.
Windows 10 and 11 · awna.app or the Microsoft Store · Download for Windows
Notchify
£2.89 once · free trial
A long list of widgets, for little money.
- Your day
- Calendar, tasks, timers, a world clock
- Media
- Media controls with synced lyrics, Discord voice controls
- Also
- Weather, PC stats, clipboard history, Windows notifications, screen recording, files from your phone
Windows Central has written about it twice.
Windows 10 and 11 · Microsoft Store
NotchPixel
£8.39 once · 7-day trial
Takes over Windows' own volume, brightness and battery pop-ups.
- Media
- Now playing, Twitch and YouTube chat
- Files
- A file shelf, clipboard history, files from your phone
- Also
- Notifications, screenshots and recording
In a fullscreen game it steps aside, or turns into a strip of FPS and CPU figures.
Windows 10 and 11 · Microsoft Store
Isle Notch
Free · £2.49 Premium
Free, with a mixer for each app's volume.
- Your day
- Your next meeting, notes and to-dos, a timer
- Files
- Clipboard history, a place to park files
- Also
- Now playing, battery, weather
The free version keeps one note and three files. Premium raises the limits, and adds colours and a bigger island.
Windows 10 and 11 · Microsoft Store
BuildNotch
$3 once
Made for people working on projects and code.
- Your day
- Tasks and notes by project, a focus timer with seven looks
- Code
- GitHub activity, what's left of your AI tools' allowance, a code playground, JSON formatting
- Also
- Music, clipboard history with filters, a file tray, app and AI shortcuts on Alt 1–6
You choose which cards show, and which full-screen apps hide it.
Its installer isn't signed yet, so Windows may warn you about it.
Windows 10 and 11 · its own site · lifetime updates
Dynamic Edge
Free · £4.19 Plus
Sits on the left or right edge, as well as the top.
- Media
- Media with a seek bar, lyrics, a volume pop-up
- Also
- A clipboard shelf, three quick-launch slots, timers
Windows 10 and 11 · Microsoft Store
Smart Notch
Free · £2.49 Pro
Free basics, and a Pro for AI coding agents.
- Free
- Music, PC stats, Bluetooth battery, a basic clipboard, a focus timer
- Pro adds
- A file shelf, a fuller clipboard, alerts from AI coding agents, a mixer for each app, a downloads monitor
Windows 10 and 11 · Microsoft Store
Side by side
| Feature |
AWNA |
Notchify |
NotchPixel |
Isle Notch |
BuildNotch |
Dynamic Edge |
Smart Notch |
| Price |
Free, £8 for all |
£2.89 |
£8.39 |
Free, £2.49 for more |
$3 |
Free, £4.19 for more |
Free, £2.49 for more |
| What's playing |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
| Volume and brightness pop-ups |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
✓ |
– |
| Your calendar |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
– |
– |
| Tasks |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
– |
| Timers |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
| Clipboard history |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
| A shelf for files |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
✓ |
| Files from your phone |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| Screenshots or recording |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| Other apps' notifications |
No |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| Weather |
No |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
– |
– |
| Lyrics |
No |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
– |
✓ |
– |
| AI coding agents |
✓ |
– |
✓ |
– |
✓ |
– |
✓ |
| On more than one screen |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
– |
– |
– |
A tick means the app's own listing or website says it does that. A dash means only that it doesn't
say so: it may still. For AWNA, which we know, No means no. Some ticks are in the paid version only.
Which to pick
AWNA, if you want tools rather than widgets
Things you'll use all day: your day's meetings and tasks, a shelf for files and your phone, what you copied,
screenshots of whole scrolling pages, and typing by voice. Four tabs are free for good. It hasn't got weather,
lyrics or other apps' notifications.
Notchify, for lots of widgets for little money
If you want lyrics, weather, notifications and a world clock in the notch, it has all four, for £2.89.
NotchPixel, if you game or stream
Its FPS strip in fullscreen games and its Twitch and YouTube chat are made for that, and it replaces Windows'
volume pop-ups outright. A week's trial lets you see.
Isle Notch, if you'd rather not pay
Free, with a mixer for each app's volume, notes and a timer. Premium is £2.49 if you outgrow its limits.
BuildNotch, if your day is projects and code
GitHub activity, what's left of your AI tools' allowance, a code playground and JSON formatting, in the notch,
for $3.
Dynamic Edge, if you'd like it on the side
As well as the top, it can sit on the left or right edge of the screen as a blade, and it's free.
Free and open source
If you'd rather have the source, these are on GitHub and still being updated:
- WinIsland: lyrics, its own volume and brightness pop-ups, widgets and a plugin marketplace.
Not the Store app of the same name.
- Bloom: music, quick settings, weather and your calendar, and it replaces the Windows taskbar
with a dock of its own.
- NabyScape: lyrics, a mixer for each app, notes, tasks, a file shelf, clipboard and calendar.
Its installers aren't signed, its README says.
- Ripple: media, weather, clipboard history and tasks, on Mac and Linux as well as Windows.
- WinIslands: over 30 widgets, lyrics, clipboard history and file transfer. Free on GitHub, and
99 cents in the US Store.
DynamicWin, once the best known, hasn't had a release since October 2025, and its repository now holds only its
downloads, not its source.
And the rest
Notchio and ZenithBar sell from their own sites, and DockBar is on Steam. The Microsoft Store has a dozen more,
some with a single release so far. If you're trying one, check when it was last updated: in a field this new, that
tells you a lot.
Try AWNA alongside the rest. Free to download, Windows 10 and 11, no admin rights, nothing
uploaded.
Checked 27 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at hello@afterimage-dev.com and we'll put it right.
