We offer an overview of the most popular and frequently used apps for gathering ideas, taking notes, making plans, and to-do lists.
There are plenty of note-taking services available in 2021, some of them are simple, while others have great functionality. Evaluate the tasks your online notebook should perform by reviewing our selection and choosing the best one for you.
Evernote
An electronic notebook that stores many different notes in text, audio, and photo, as well as in handwritten form. Entries can be created with a geolocation option. A few years ago, Evernote was the absolute leader among online notebooks, but today its free functionality loses out to other competing services.
This application has a wide variety of functions: searching for necessary information in records, attaching labels, and sharing notes with other users. In addition, it is convenient to scan and find information on business cards and view previous versions of notes.
Advantages:
- Wide functionality
- Huge user base
- Free version
- Good document organization
Disadvantages:
- Frequently changing rates
- Slow technical support
- Lack of development of the project
- Overloaded interface
- High energy consumption when using the system
Google keep
This is a system notes service from Google, familiar to many users. In addition to standard notes, you can make shopping lists, use photos and voice messages.
Notes in the application can be turned into reminders. It is convenient to share the shopping list with friends and family, search by category, sort notes by color, content, availability of sharing.
Advantages:
- Simple and memorable interface
- Combining all notes in different media in one app
- Notes are easy to rearrange using the drag and drop feature
- Google’s online notepad is free to install.
Disadvantages:
- Graphic files added to the notes are displayed only in the headers
- The product is good, but it is not very useful
- A rudimentary notepad on the principle of paper stickers
- No way to undo changes made
Microsoft OneNote
A great app for taking notes. It has mobile versions and is compatible with all platforms. You can create an unlimited number of notes, there are many tools for formatting them. For example, the function of handwritten notes with subsequent modification into printed text is implemented.
Authorization is done with a standard Microsoft account. The program integrates well with other Microsoft software. You can make notes in any part of the screen similar to a real notepad.
Advantages:
- Allows you to store a lot of information, including multimedia files
- Notes are clearly structured in sections and notepads
- Many tags for notes
Disadvantages:
- The mobile version of the app is not as user friendly as the PC version
- The interface is a bit cluttered
- Notes import is possible only under Windows
- Audio recording of notes is only for PC
Wunderlist
A cross-platform service that looks more like an organizer than an ordinary online notepad. You can use it to organize personal and work tasks, alone or together with other users. There is the synchronization of information between different devices. The app is very handy for studying, one could say a must for a good student’s studies, along with the essay writing service and other useful apps.
The service allows you to set many tasks, subtasks, plan large projects at the same time. It is possible to set reminders, lists, create comments for them. E-mails are easily transformed into tasks. You can print out lists directly from the application.
Advantages:
- Arranging labels by context or place of execution
- Making endless lists
- Sharing for multiple users
Disadvantages:
- No free trial period
- Small feature set
Workflowy
A service for keeping lists. Synchronizes notes on all connected devices. The free version has several limitations on the number of tasks created. The paid version has more opportunities.
Notes can be formatted, marked as completed, and new tasks can be added to existing ones. There are filters, search for necessary information within the notes.
Advantages:
- Making endless lists
- Exporting information
- Access to records with a link
- Hotkeys
- Good support
- Increasing the number of lists by attracting users through referral links
Disadvantages:
- Free version has a limit of 100 lists
- All lists on one sheet
Quip
This is not just another online notepad. It’s a full-fledged collaboration system with note-taking functionality. Quip has
a wide range of features, including support for graphic elements, the use of different types of text formatting. Sorting records according to the desktop principle are implemented.
The service is suitable for teamwork. After purchasing the paid version, there is shared access to creating documents and tables, corporate and personal chats.
Advantages
- It is convenient for the long-term storage of any information
- You can create folders with thematic notes
- Saves the history of editing notes
- Confirm that you read a document
- Offline mode
- Built-in chat
Disadvantages
- There is no free plan
Simplenote
You can use the app to create the most elementary notes online. This is minimalism in its purest form. No text formatting can be used inside the notes, no images can be inserted. It is possible to share notes. There is synchronization when working from different devices.
Notes are stored on the server with version control. This means the user can get back a previous version of the notes. Notes are filtered using tags. A local copy of the notes can be downloaded in archived form and stored in text format.
Advantages
- Nothing superfluous, simple, and easy to use
- Cross-platform operation
- Totally free
Disadvantages
- Limited functionality
