A teleprompter in your MacBook notch, for video calls and recordings

On a video call or a recording, the hardest part of reading from notes is your eyes. Look down at a second window and everyone can tell. The fix is old: put the words right next to the lens. On a MacBook the lens sits in the notch, so a teleprompter that scrolls just under the notch keeps your eyes almost on the camera. There are now a lot of Mac apps that do exactly this. Here is how a notch teleprompter works, what to look for, and how the main ones compare, including the one built into OneNotch 2.1.0.

Quick disclosure: we make OneNotch. Everything about OneNotch below describes version 2.1.0 (October 2026), where Presenter is new. Facts about the other apps come from their own App Store listings and websites, checked on October 21, 2026.

Why put a teleprompter under the camera?

People notice when your eyes drop by even a small angle. A script in a window at the bottom of the screen gives you the "reading" look, and one on a second display makes you turn your head. A strip of text directly under the lens keeps the angle small enough that most people read it as eye contact. A tip that comes up often in Zoom's own community: keep the line you are reading as close to the lens as you can, and keep the strip short, so your eyes do not travel.

A good notch teleprompter needs four things:

1. It sits right under the camera and stays small, a few lines at a time.
2. You control it without looking, with shortcuts for start, pause, faster and slower.
3. Your audience does not see it when you share your screen or record.
4. It does not fight the rest of your Mac: no notifications sliding over your script, no Mac falling asleep mid-sentence.

How to use a teleprompter in the MacBook notch with OneNotch

Presenter is one of the tools in the orbs beside the open notch (by default on the right, next to Translate and Eye Break).

1. Write or paste your script. Open Presenter and click Edit script. The editor is a plain window like Notes, and it can open a Markdown file. Markdown symbols such as ** and # are hidden on the card, so a script written in Markdown reads cleanly.
2. Start it. Press ⌥⇧T or click Start. A three-second countdown appears, then the script scrolls in a card right under the notch.
3. Steer it while you talk. While the card runs, ⌥⇧↑ and ⌥⇧↓ speed it up and slow it down, ⌥⇧← jumps back three lines, and ⌥⇧T pauses and resumes. Move the pointer over the card for its buttons: speed, play, edit, draw and close. A small ring shows how far through the script you are.
4. Fix a line without stopping. Open the editor while the card is running and the card updates as you type, keeping your place.
5. Finish. At the end, a replay button starts it over; left alone, the card goes away after a few seconds. Locking the Mac or putting it to sleep stops it.

You can choose how many lines the card shows (3, 4 or 5) and how wide it is. Headings that start with # mark sections: they are shown in color, and the current section's name is in the card's header.

What your audience sees

While Presenter is on, OneNotch keeps the notch, the card and the script editor out of screenshots and out of most meeting apps when you share a window. Be careful with a whole-screen share, QuickTime or OBS: those may still show it, and OneNotch says so in the editor. If you need to share your whole screen, test it once with a colleague or a recording first. We would rather tell you that than call it "invisible".

Draw on the screen

Press ⌥⇧D to draw over whatever you are presenting: a pen, a highlighter, arrows and boxes in six colors, with Esc to stop. Unlike the teleprompter, the ink is meant to be seen, so it shows up in your share.

Presenting mode

Turn on Presenting before you share or record and OneNotch goes quiet: no music or AI agent pop-ups under the notch, no "Copied" toasts or copy sound, and Eye Break waits until you are done. Your Mac also stays awake for as long as you present, so the screen does not dim during a long answer. A talk clock on the closed notch shows how long you have been speaking. Starting the teleprompter turns Presenting on for you.

All of that is free. OneNotch Pro adds running a talk on time: set a planned length (5 to 60 minutes) and the clock counts down, turns amber with two minutes left and red when you run over, and tells you whether you are on pace with the script. Pro also adds a section rail on the card and ⌥⇧. / ⌥⇧, to jump to the next or previous # section, for when your audience says "we know this part, skip ahead".

What OneNotch's teleprompter does not do (yet)

• No voice following. The script scrolls at the speed you set; it does not listen and wait for you.
• No mirror mode for a beam-splitter teleprompter rig.
• One script at a time, and no phone remote.

If voice following matters most to you, one of the apps below is the better pick today.

Mac teleprompter apps compared

	Where the text sits	Follows your voice	Hidden from screen share	Price	macOS
OneNotch Presenter	Card under the notch	No	Screenshots and most window shares; a whole-screen share may show it	Free; talk length, pacing and section jumps with Pro	15+, Apple silicon
Notchie	In the notch	Yes	"In supported apps"	$29.99 once	14.6+
CueNotch	In the notch; floats on Macs without one	Yes, or set by words per minute	Ghost Mode, Pro only	Free with limits; Pro $29.99 lifetime or $7.99 a week	14+
Moody	Below the camera in the notch, or a floating window	Yes	"During screen sharing and in screenshots"	$39 once	15+
GlassCue	Floats just under the webcam	Yes, on-device	Screenshots, recordings and sharing	$9.99 once	15+
Teleprompter.com	Floating window you place yourself	Yes	Not listed	Free with a watermark; from $7.50 a month	Not listed

A few details from each vendor's own page:

• Notchie scrolls as you speak and pauses when you pause, and you change speed with shortcuts. It can queue scripts and loop or move to the next at the end. Its App Store page had too few ratings to show an average when we checked.
• CueNotch's free tier allows 3 starts a day and scripts up to 100 words. Pro adds hiding from screen share (Zoom, Teams and Meet are named), a presentation timer with a pace indicator, and a rehearsal coach.
• Moody is sold through a Payhip store rather than the App Store. It works on iMacs and external displays too.
• GlassCue has the most complete rig features of the group: mirror mode (⇧⌘M), keyboard control for speed and sections, elapsed and remaining time with an overrun warning, and a countdown.
• Teleprompter.com is a general teleprompter for recording, with voice scrolling on every plan, a mirror on Pro and a visual timer. It is a subscription.
• NotchPrompter is another notch teleprompter, open source on GitHub, with voice activation; its page says it is not visible to screen recording apps.

Which one should you choose?

• You want the script to wait for you when you pause: Notchie, CueNotch, Moody or GlassCue, which all follow your voice.
• You record with a mirror rig: GlassCue, or Teleprompter.com.
• You present on calls more than you record, and want the rest handled too (drawing on the screen, a Mac that stays awake, no pop-ups, a talk clock): OneNotch Presenter. The teleprompter, drawing and presenting mode are free, and Pro is a one-time $9.99 lifetime, or $6.99 with code LAUNCH30 for timing your talk.
• You need it on Windows or a phone too: Teleprompter.com.

If your talks run long, the same notch also has Keep Awake for when you are not presenting, and an eye break reminder that waits until your call is over. For everything else OneNotch does on the notch, see the best Mac notch apps.

OneNotch is free to download, with no account, for macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon. Pro covers 2 Macs; a $24.99 Supporter plan covers 5 with the same features.

Frequently asked questions

Can people see my teleprompter when I share my screen?

It depends on the app and on how you share. OneNotch keeps its teleprompter card and script editor out of screenshots and out of most meeting apps when you share a window, but a whole-screen share, QuickTime or OBS may still show it. Other notch teleprompters make similar claims for supported apps. Test with a colleague or a short recording before an important call.

How do I use a teleprompter on a Zoom call on a Mac?

Put the script as close to the camera as possible, share a window rather than your whole screen, and control it with shortcuts so you do not reach for the mouse. In OneNotch, write the script in Presenter, press Option-Shift-T to start it under the notch, and use Option-Shift with the up and down arrows to change speed.

Is OneNotch's teleprompter free?

Yes. The teleprompter card, its speed controls and shortcuts, editing while it runs, drawing on the screen and presenting mode are free in OneNotch 2.1.0. OneNotch Pro adds a planned talk length with a countdown and pacing, and jumping between the sections of your script.

Does OneNotch's teleprompter follow my voice?

Not yet. The script scrolls at the speed you set, and you change it with Option-Shift and the arrow keys or pause it with Option-Shift-T. Notchie, CueNotch, Moody and GlassCue list voice-following scrolling.

Does a notch teleprompter work on a Mac without a notch?

Some do. CueNotch floats under the camera on Macs without a notch, Moody works on iMacs and external displays, and GlassCue floats anywhere you place it. OneNotch draws a notch-shaped bar at the top of displays without one and shows the teleprompter card under it.

Will my Mac fall asleep while I present?

Not with OneNotch's presenting mode on: it keeps the Mac awake for as long as you present and quiets OneNotch's own pop-ups. Starting the teleprompter turns presenting mode on.