Google Keep, OneNote, Notion, Obsidian and Evernote compared — ten-second captures, free-form notebooks, all-in-one workspaces and private Markdown files.
Taking notes on a phone feels trivial until you need to find something you wrote six months ago. That is where these apps diverge: some are built to capture an idea in ten seconds and get out of the way, others to grow a searchable archive over years, and one turns notes into full project databases. The five below span that whole range — a sticky-note substitute, a free digital binder, a team workspace, a personal knowledge graph and the former category leader. The 5 apps in this guide were chosen for distinct ways of working rather than feature lists, since the best note app is the one your future self can actually find things in.
Google Keep wins the daily action: open, type, close. Colour-coded notes, reminders and a widget, completely free, with nothing to set up.
Google Keep is the fastest app here for what notes mostly are: a thought, a list, a thing to remember. It opens instantly, notes are colour-coded, voice notes and images are supported, reminders can trigger by time or place, and a home-screen widget puts capture one tap away — all free, ad-free and synced through the Google account that is probably already on the phone. Its 4.7-star rating reflects that reliability. Its strengths are also its ceiling: there are no folders or sub-notes for structure, text formatting is basic, and anything long or project-shaped quickly outgrows it. Keep is the capture layer; put serious archives in OneNote, Notion or Obsidian and use this for the ephemeral stuff.
OneNote is a free, limitless digital notebook: a free-form canvas where you can type, handwrite or draw anywhere, ideal with a stylus.
OneNote is Microsoft's digital binder and arguably the most complete free option for students: notebooks, sections and pages sit on a free-form canvas where you can type, handwrite, draw, drop images and record audio anywhere on the sheet. It syncs through OneDrive, sets no limit on the number of notes, and stylus support makes it the closest thing to looseleaf paper for class notes with diagrams and margin scribbles. The compromises are mild but real: it requires a Microsoft account and OneDrive space, the notebook-section-page hierarchy can feel rigid when you want flat quick notes, and search is slower than Evernote's. As a structured, unlimited, zero-cost notebook, it remains hard to beat.
Notion folds notes into a workspace: nested pages, databases and boards for anyone who wants notes, tasks and projects in one place.
Notion is the all-in-one end of the spectrum: notes, tasks, databases, wikis and documents live in one flexible workspace built from nested pages, and templates let you construct anything from a reading list to a full project-management system. Notion AI can draft, summarize and organize inside the same pages, and collaboration is immediate, which makes it the default for teams who want one source of truth. The cost is onboarding: the blank-canvas flexibility creates a real learning curve, very large workspaces can slow down, and advanced features plus AI sit on paid plans. Individuals who only want to jot thoughts will find it heavy; people who want notes to become systems will love it.
Obsidian keeps notes as plain Markdown files on your own devices and links them into a private knowledge network owned by no company.
Obsidian is the privacy-and-longevity pick: notes are stored as plain Markdown files on your own devices rather than locked in a company's cloud. Its central idea is linking — typing double brackets connects notes, and over time a graph of related ideas grows, which suits researchers, writers and anyone building a personal knowledge base. Personal use is free with no note limit, and its plugin community is the most active around. The entry fee is effort: the learning curve is steeper than any app here, you need to understand Markdown to get the most from it, and syncing between phone and computer costs money, since local files are the whole point.
Evernote still has the category's best search — it finds words inside scanned images — though its free plan is now extremely tight.
Evernote defined the category for years and its core engine remains excellent: text, audio, photos and web clips coexist in one notebook system, mature tags organize everything, and search even reads words inside scanned images and documents, which still beats most rivals. If you have a decade of archived research inside it, that search is hard to walk away from. The problem is commercial rather than technical: the free plan has been cut to a handful of notes on a single device, the paid tiers look expensive next to OneNote's free binder and Notion's workspace, and the app has grown sluggish on older phones. It earns a place here for existing subscribers, not new starters.
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Questions & answers
Which is the best free note-taking app?
OneNote for a complete notebook: no note limits, handwriting, canvas layout and sync between phone and computer, all free. Google Keep if you want something lighter for quick captures and checklists — faster and also free. Obsidian is free for personal use and stores everything locally, though it takes longest to learn and charges for sync. Between the three, most people want two: Keep for now, OneNote for keeps.
Notion or Obsidian — which fits note-taking better?
Notion if you work with other people or want databases, boards and ready templates, with everything in its cloud and collaboration one click away. Obsidian if privacy and longevity matter: your notes stay as your own Markdown files on the device, linked into a personal knowledge system no company owns. Notion is easier to begin with; Obsidian holds up better over the years.
Is Evernote still worth using in 2026?
Mostly for people who already subscribe and keep years of notes inside it — its image-reading search and web clipping are still strong. Starting from scratch today, no: the free plan was cut to a tiny note count on a single device, the price is high against the alternatives, and its store ratings fell because of those changes. OneNote or Notion give a new user more for less.
Can I take notes without an internet connection?
Yes. Obsidian works fully offline because the files live on your device; OneNote, Google Keep and Evernote let you write with no signal and sync once you are back online. Notion is the most internet-dependent — it has an offline mode, but only for pages you have already opened, so download anything important before a flight or a tunnel.
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