Bike
fast native outliner, perpetual only if you buy it direct
Paid upgrades
Buy direct if you want to own it - the developer states plainly that the Mac App Store licence is a subscription and that Bike stops working when it expires. On the direct licence, updates past the first year need a paid renewal at about half the current price, though the version you already have stays unlocked forever either way. It is Mac only: no iPhone or iPad app, and no sync service of its own, so you supply iCloud Drive or Dropbox. It is an outliner, not a notes database - no backlinks, no library, no tags.
Cost over five years
$30 once = 4 months of Dynalist Pro. Over five years that is $480 rented against $30 owned — $450 kept, and you still have the app.
Dynalist Pro priced at $96 a year — $7.99 a month billed annually. Checked 2026-09-22.
Bike is an outliner and nothing else: rows, indentation, folding, and a plain file at the end of it. Jesse Grosjean has been making small Mac text apps since WriteRoom and TaskPaper, and the same priorities show. It launches immediately, stays smooth in documents with thousands of rows, and writes readable HTML or plain text that any other editor can open. Everything is reachable from the keyboard, and the whole app is scriptable.
The pricing needs attention, because there are two completely different deals wearing the same icon. Buying direct from Hog Bay is $30 once and that licence does not expire. It includes a year of updates, after which renewing costs roughly half the current price — and the copy you already have keeps working whether you renew or not. The Mac App Store listing is a $19.99-a-year subscription, and the developer says outright that Bike stops working when it lapses. Same app, opposite ownership. It is also bundled with Setapp if you already pay for that.
Do not buy it expecting a notes system. There are no backlinks, no tags, no library view, no iPhone app, and no sync of its own. If your outlines already live inside a tool you pay for and sync across devices, this will feel like a step sideways. If you want structure that opens in a tenth of a second and a file you can still read in ten years, it is hard to beat for $30.
What it looks like
What it does
- Opens and edits instantly, even in large outlines
- Saves as readable HTML or plain text you can open anywhere
- Deep keyboard control plus AppleScript and JXA automation
- Direct licence does not expire
- From the developer of TaskPaper and WriteRoom
Cancel instead
Also bought outright in writing
The facts
- Price
- $30
- What you get
- One payment, and the developer charges for major versions on a stated cadence.
- Details
- Direct from Hog Bay Software: $30 (written $29.99 in places) as a one-time purchase that does not expire, including one year of free updates. Renewing updates afterwards costs about half the current price, roughly $15. The Mac App Store route is instead $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year, and Bike stops working when that subscription ends. Also included with a Setapp subscription. Free trial download available direct.
- Free trial
- Yes
- On Setapp
- Yes
- Minimum macOS
- not stated
- Developer
- Hog Bay Software
- Price checked
- 2026-09-22
Check it yourself - Price band
- $30 to $60