What Every Notch Teleprompter Does
The notch is the cutout at the top of the screen that holds the camera. Every 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro since 2021 has one, and so does every MacBook Air from the M2 on. A notch teleprompter draws your script in it and just below it.
That spot matters because people only read your gaze as eye contact when you look within about 5° of the lens, which is about 5 cm at arm's length from a laptop. Text in the middle of the screen sits well outside that, and the people watching notice. (More on eye contact on camera.)
Three things are now standard, so none of them is a reason to pick one app over another:
- The notch itself. All eight put the text right under the camera.
- Staying out of screen shares. macOS lets an app keep its window out of screen capture, so Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and OBS leave it out even when you share the whole screen. Seven of the eight say they do this. Mootch's listing doesn't mention it.
- Voice scrolling. All eight move the text when you talk. How well they follow you is another matter, and it's the first real difference below.
Where They Differ
How closely it follows your voice
The simplest voice scrolling listens for sound and starts or stops a steady scroll, which is what Mootch's Simple Mode does. Mootch's Smart Mode and Textream go further and highlight the word you're on.
Avocado follows the words to keep your place, and Adaptive Speed learns your natural pace, so the text glides with you instead of jumping line to line. For English scripts, Voice Labs follows you word by word, lights up the next word you're about to say, and waits while you go off script for a story, then picks up when you're back. It all runs on your Mac and works offline. The free version includes three voice sessions a week, enough to read the same script in Avocado and in any other app here and see which one keeps up.
What you get without paying
- Avocado has a free version with no time or length limit: the full prompter at a speed you set, notch and floating modes, screen-share invisibility, Script Markers, tags and search, PowerPoint import and a receipt after every run, plus three voice sessions a week.
- CueNotch allows 3 activations a day on scripts of up to 100 words.
- Notchie and Moody have no free version on the Mac.
- NotchPrompter, Mootch, Textream and Snotch are free outright. None of them lists rehearsal history or access for AI assistants.
Which Mac it runs on
Avocado, CueNotch and Mootch run on macOS 14 Sonoma. Notchie needs 14.6, and Moody and Textream need macOS 15, which rules out a Mac that an employer keeps a version behind. No notch at all? Avocado's floating prompter goes under any webcam, on an older MacBook, an iMac or an external display.
What happens around the read
Most notch apps start when you press play and stop at the last line. Avocado covers the rest of the job:
- Writing. Avocado runs an MCP server, so Claude, Cursor or Codex can write and edit scripts directly in your library, sized to the pace you actually speak at. CueNotch and Snotch build AI writing into the app instead.
- Recording. Avocado's Recording Studio (Pro) films the take while the prompter runs, stops when you reach the last line and cuts the pauses out in a click.
- Other people and other screens. Director Mode lets a producer play, pause and jump through your script from their phone, and the Viewer mirrors it to up to five devices. Avocado also has its own iPhone and iPad app. Textream has a director mode and a browser remote, and Moody's iPhone app can act as a remote.
- Rehearsal. Avocado gives you a receipt after every run with your pace and how much of the script you got through, keeps a history for each script, and on macOS 26 counts filler words and long pauses on the device. CueNotch has a rehearsal coach in its paid version.
The Apps, One by One
Avocado (free, Pro $7.99/mo or $79.99/yr, macOS 14+). A native Mac app, redesigned in version 4.0 to look like part of macOS, that puts your script in the notch or a floating window, follows your voice word by word and stays out of screen shares. Around the prompter it has a script library with tags and Script Markers, PowerPoint import, AI assistant access, Director Mode and the Viewer, Recording Studio and rehearsal history. It's on the Mac App Store and available as a direct download, and one subscription covers the iPhone and iPad app too. Unlimited voice scrolling, Director Mode, Recording Studio and AI assistant access are part of Pro.
CueNotch ($29.99 once, or $7.99 a week, macOS 14+). Voice scrolling, a "Ghost Mode" that hides it from screen shares, folders, Word, PDF and PowerPoint import, live captions, a memorise mode, built-in AI rewriting and a rehearsal coach. No remote, second screen or recording. Avocado vs CueNotch →
NotchPrompter (free, open source). Voice activation, screen-share invisibility and support for several monitors. No script library, rehearsal history or AI access. Avocado vs NotchPrompter →
Mootch (free, macOS 14+). On-device Whisper tracking that highlights the word you're on, a volume-based mode that pauses when you stop, and plain auto-scroll, all from the menu bar. Its listing doesn't mention screen-share invisibility.
Notchie ($29.99 once, macOS 14.6+, also in Setapp). Voice scrolling plus size, font, speed and opacity settings. No free version, and on 1 October its App Store listing showed no update since January. Avocado vs Notchie →
Moody ($39 once, macOS 15+). The core notch features, sold as a direct download. Its iPhone app is a separate subscription from $9.99 a month. Avocado vs Moody →
Textream (free, open source, macOS 15+). Word-by-word highlighting, an overlay styled like the Dynamic Island, a director mode that sends scripts from any browser, and Sidecar to an iPad. Avocado vs Textream →
Snotch (free, open source). New in 2026, with voice scrolling, screen-share invisibility, and a script you can generate and edit from the overlay itself.
Which One Should You Get?
Avocado. Download it free, put a real script in the notch and read it on your next call or take. The free version has no time limit, so you only pay if you want voice following in every session, the recording studio, a producer on the remote, or an AI assistant writing into your library.
On price: a month of Pro is $7.99, less than any one-time notch app, which suits a single launch video or conference talk. A year is $79.99 and covers the Mac, iPhone and iPad apps together. CueNotch, Notchie and Moody cost $29.99 to $39 once, and none of them comes with a free version you can keep using, AI assistant access, a remote and an iPhone app in the same purchase.
Looking at desktop and browser teleprompters too? See the best teleprompter apps for Mac, all twenty of them.
