Google Keep
Google's free app for quick notes, checklists and reminders that sync across phone, web and watch.
Founded 2013
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Google Keep is Google's app for quick notes, checklists, photos, drawings and voice memos. It runs in a web browser and in apps for Android, iPhone and iPad, and Wear OS watches, and everything you add syncs across your devices. Keep is free with a personal Google Account and is included in Google Workspace plans for businesses. Notes are organized with labels, colors and pins, and reminders can go off at a set time or place. Voice memos are transcribed automatically, and search also finds text in images. You can share a note with people, a Google Group or your family group, and several people can edit it at once. Keep works offline and syncs changes when you reconnect. In the Android app, Gemini can draft lists and note titles with a Google AI Pro or Ultra plan, or on a Pixel device. Google launched Keep in 2013.
Best for
People who want free, quick notes, checklists and reminders that sync between phone and computer and can be shared with family or coworkers, especially if they already use Google's apps.
Pros
- Free with a Google Account, on the web, Android, iPhone and iPad, and Wear OS watches
- Several people can edit the same note in real time, shared by name, email address, Google Group or family group
- Works offline, and changes sync as soon as you are connected again
- Works with Google Docs and Slides: a Keep side panel and "Save to Keep" there, and "Copy to Google Docs" in Keep on the web
- Time- and location-based reminders, automatic voice memo transcription, and search that finds text in images
Cons
- Organization is by labels (up to 50), colors, pins and the archive; Keep's help pages describe no links between notes or database views
- Notes live in your Google Account rather than in files; a full export goes through Google Takeout
- Gemini's list and title help in Keep is documented for the Android app and needs Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) or Ultra, or a Pixel device
- Notes are encrypted at rest and in transit, but Google Workspace client-side encryption covers Drive, the Docs editors, Gmail, Calendar and Meet, not Keep
- The Keep API is built for apps that let enterprise administrators manage notes, such as security tools that restrict or delete them
From our tests
Screenshots of Google Keep from our hands-on tests. Each links to the full-size image; the test name leads to the task, how we judged it and the other tool's result.
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (12-month total) |
|---|---|---|
| FreeWith a personal Google Account; web, Android, iPhone and iPad, and Wear OS apps | Free Free plan | |
| Business StarterPer user/month for all of Google Workspace; $7 with a 1-year commitment ($84/year), $8.40 on the Flexible Plan; 30 GB pooled storage per user; up to 300 users | $8.40/mo | $84/yr ($7/mo) |
| Business StandardPer user/month for all of Google Workspace; $14 with a 1-year commitment ($168/year), $16.80 on the Flexible Plan; 2 TB pooled storage per user; up to 300 users | $16.80/mo | $168/yr ($14/mo) |
| Business PlusPer user/month for all of Google Workspace; $22 with a 1-year commitment ($264/year), $26.40 on the Flexible Plan; 5 TB pooled storage per user, Vault; up to 300 users | $26.40/mo | $264/yr ($22/mo) |
| EnterpriseContact sales; no minimum or maximum number of users; 5 TB pooled storage per user, more on request | Custom | |
Prices checked on .
Features
In Notes and knowledge
| Feature | Google Keep |
|---|---|
| Offline use | Yes · Edit notes offline; changes sync when you reconnect |
| Local-first files | No · Notes stored in your Google Account; export through Google Takeout |
| Databases | No · Notes, lists, photos, drawings and audio; no tables or database views listed |
| Backlinks | No · No note-to-note links listed; notes are organized by labels, colors and pins |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes · Several people can edit the same note in real time |
| API | Partial · REST API for apps that let enterprise admins manage notes (domain-wide delegation) |
| Publish to web | No · Shared with named people, email addresses, Google Groups or a family group; no public link listed |
| Encryption | Partial · Encrypted at rest and in transit; Keep is not covered by Workspace client-side encryption |
| AI features | Partial · Gemini list and title help in the Android app (AI Pro/Ultra or Pixel); Gemini app can create and find notes |