Google Keep vs. OneNote

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Keep
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Google Keep is a note-taking app launched by Google in 2013 and available free, providing a tool to capture text, images, video, etc.N/A
OneNote
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft's OneNote is a digital note-taking app, supporting photos, annotating, web page clipping, emailing, and synchronizing notes across devices.N/A
Pricing
Google KeepOneNote
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Microsoft OneNote
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google KeepOneNote
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google KeepOneNote
Considered Both Products
Google Keep
Chose Google Keep
As I've mentioned earlier, Google Keep is less feature-rich then the above two alternatives. OneNote is a paid app and Evernote, my biggest reason for leaving that program is the syncing between devices didn't work well at times and somehow I created two logins and didn't know …
Chose Google Keep
I used to use Evernote before Google Keep, it is an excellent product too but I found it too heavy. At the time (not sure about now) it always wanted to download all your notes onto your device before you can start using it. Google Keep is more a cloud product, so it's lighter …
Chose Google Keep
The main differential of Google Keep is its simplicity and efficiency for quick notes. I can draw on the card, put a photo, record audio if I can't write at the moment, in short, for everyday tasks, simple things, it is superior.
Chose Google Keep
I prefer Google Keep over every other simple note-taking app. I prefer the interface and ease of use. Live tiles make for a much neater and easier to use interface than anything else. Easier to see precisely what's there when I open the app, lists are easy to make and keep …
OneNote
Chose OneNote
Evernote worked really well for this - Better than OneNote, but no Pabbly integration which I was switching to. Google Keep is ok, but more for doing sticky-note type notes (even if big ones) rather than sorting a large number of notes. I've also used Nimbus Note - This …
Chose OneNote
Mostly chose OneNote because it comes for free with the Microsoft suite. Google Keep is easier but I use it for personal, not a business.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Google KeepOneNote
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Keep
8.2
11 Ratings
4% above category average
OneNote
-
Ratings
Task Management9.37 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling5.15 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access10.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Search10.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual planning tools8.87 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Google Keep
8.6
11 Ratings
7% above category average
OneNote
-
Ratings
Notifications7.87 Ratings00 Ratings
Discussions8.63 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase8.15 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts9.97 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Keep
6.9
10 Ratings
16% below category average
OneNote
-
Ratings
Versioning1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files8.42 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.96 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control7.66 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced security features2.73 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive10.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync9.97 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google KeepOneNote
Small Businesses
Avaza
Avaza
Score 9.6 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.8 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Enterprises
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10

No answers on this topic

All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google KeepOneNote
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(11 ratings)
7.9
(70 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(13 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.5
(10 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
7.9
(10 ratings)
8.7
(10 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google KeepOneNote
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
It is the perfect companion for storing all those little bits of information you need to do your job well, the best thing is getting it all out of your head and in to Google Keep. You can trust it to hold that information for you, and you know you can go back and use its excellent search functionality to find that information at a later date. It can also work really well for your personal life as well. I have two accounts, my work account and my personal account - I use them both in different contexts but I have always found Google Keep is great for both.
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Microsoft
In my opinion OneNote is a must for anyone who does business. It’s versatile, stable and sustainable. It can keep private information private - like passwords. It can be used for collaborative work - like standard operating procedures. It is fairly easy to use and far superior to pen and paper. When used for meeting notes, it can be flagged with icons that are searchable - like ideas or important items. You can even create Outlook tasks on the fly
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Pros
Google
  • It's incredibly quick to load, it doesn't take long to pull up any note you have no matter how much information is in the note.
  • The ability to collaborate on a Google Keep note is also great! It allows for two or more of you to work on a project in one space.
  • I also love that I can color coordinate. I can make all my meeting notes one color, my personal notes another color and so on.
  • Enjoying the pinning feature that allows me to keep my important notes right at the top so I don't have to go searching for them when needed.
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Microsoft
  • Because of its flexibility and ability to hold different types of content (text, images, tables), it is a great tool for collecting content from different resources and organizing it in one place.
  • Technical support analysts are using sections for their support case analysis; they paste pieces of logs, screen-shots, document their steps in troubleshooting etc., all in one section, to get the full picture yet stay organized.
  • The logic of content structure; Notebook>Section>Page>Paragraph, allows you to manage and collect all needed information by the areas of the user's responsibility. For example; each of my projects has its own section, in which each page is a task.
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Cons
Google
  • The iOS app sometimes gets into a state and doesn't update your notes (won't show new notes from other devices / computer), needs to be re-installed to resolve
  • Your notes take up space in your Google account's quota, though this is not very apparent at first - you have to keep an eye on what you are storing - huge pictures better not go in there
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Microsoft
  • The table editing tools are too simplistic and lack the features found in other Office products.
  • Some content loses its rich text formatting when being pasted into OneNote. A workaround is to paste the content first into Outlook or Word and then copy/pasting that into OneNote.
  • Microsoft is moving away from a local install of OneNote, which means notebooks have to be in the cloud in Office 2019. This will actually reduce the usefulness of OneNote in some environments and opens the door to competitor products.
  • Update: Microsoft has now announced that it will continue to support OneNote 2016 through 2023. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Office-365-Blog/Your-OneNote/ba-p/954922
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Likelihood to Renew
Google
It does everything I need it to do. It is easy to organize and categorize what I need and what I want to see.
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Microsoft
As this is not a compulsory tool in our organization, I would say all depends on the decision makers, however since this is a part of MS Office, I am sure we will have it for as long as we will possibly need it. However, I would not be so sure, if it was a separate product
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Usability
Google
Google Keep is very easy to use. Currently, the company I work for has employees from different age brackets, and this is one of the easiest apps on G-Suite to explain. Not a lot of people use it, but it is due to personal choice since a lot of people still prefer pen and paper to keep their notes.
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Microsoft
I find OneNote incredibly usable. I'm fairly middle of the road when it comes to tech savvy-ness. The platform was very easy to learn and explore. I like that OneNote is no clunky and offers a clean interface. This is important when it comes to deciding if a tool is usable for multiple people.
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Performance
Google
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Overall, I rate OneNote's performance highly. In general, notebooks, sections and pages load quickly. OneNote integrates with other apps and info ca easily be shared/copied to and from the tool to other tools. Moreover, Notebooks tend to sync quickly meaning shared notebooks are up to date almost immediately provided there are no syncing issues.
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Support Rating
Google
I gave this rating based on the ease of use, the simple functionality and how well it does at keeping my attention and helping me continue to use it and stay on track. The functionality mentioned before alongside the reminder functions and how it utilizes Google's powerful machine learning tech to better its software is remarkable.
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Microsoft
Since it is part of Microsoft Office and used across the globe there are a lot of support options available. It's quickest to just do a google search which will have plenty of articles to help you since there are so many OneNote users but as an Office customer you also have access to Microsoft support and I have had good experiences with their support (probably because I'm with a large company who is a large customer to them).
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Alternatives Considered
Google
The main differential of Google Keep is its simplicity and efficiency for quick notes. I can draw on the card, put a photo, record audio if I can't write at the moment, in short, for everyday tasks, simple things, it is superior.
Read full review
Microsoft
I tried using Evernote and it is an equally usable tool, however, I prefer the interface and capabilities of OneNote. OneNote seems much easier to use and understand. I think that may primarily be because OneNote is a Microsoft application and I am very used to using Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, etc. I also use OneNote to keep my grocery list. It does as good of a job as the grocery list applications out there, only I like the flexibility I have with OneNote and how I specifically do my shopping.
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Return on Investment
Google
  • Google Keep is free, and for what I need it for I don't need to purchase another tool.
  • It's handy when it comes to taking quick notes, but so is a piece of paper. This tool won't magically improve your life.
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Microsoft
  • OneNote has become our organizational standard method of taking electronic notes (though some still prefer pen and paper.) It has been a zero cost outlay due to its freely available nature.
  • Its integration with other Microsoft Office products makes it easy to share notes and content between products, allowing for easy collaboration where needed.
  • OneNote's integration with OneDrive ensures that individual's notes are always safe and secure, taking away the tedious responsibility of backup from the user, and makes it happen seamlessly in the background.
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ScreenShots