The 8 best Android note-taking apps in 2025

Note-taking apps are more than places to jot down grocery lists. It's where we collect our thoughts, brainstorm ideas, plan vacations, and even draft important emails. Our notes are especially unpredictable on our Android phones on the move, where inspiration can strike any moment. So it's crucial to pick a versatile Android notes app that adapts to you. 

There's no shortage of Android note apps on the Play Store, and they run the gamut. Some stick to the classic plain text-style notes, some have endless input options, from handwriting support to media attachments, and several new-gen services also offer to write the notes for you with AI.

Over the last two decades, I've switched between countless note-taking platforms to fit my evolving needs. For this article, I tried more than 20 of the best Android notes apps to find which ones stand out, and after extensive testing, here are my eight favorites. 

The best Android note-taking apps

• Google Keep for day-to-day use

• Microsoft OneNote for the best overall note-taking app

• Simplenote for text-only notes

• Notion for managing your life

• Notewise for handwritten notes

• Notesnook for privacy

• Post-it for sticky notes

• UpNote for the best value for money

What makes the best note-taking app for Android?

Note-taking apps, at their simplest, are no more than blank canvases. But a good Android note app does much more to help us record and make sense of the overwhelming onslaught of digital information we face. Many apps can now act as your personal knowledge base: you can save anything you come across on the web, document receipts, turn a collection of notes into a website, manage team projects, the list goes on.

At the same time, the fundamentals of a reliable note-taking app remain non-negotiable no matter how different they are. Most people use them to jot down something important as quickly as possible, and some of the apps I tested required too many clicks to create a simple note. So I looked for apps where, at the very least, it was easy to open a new note and get to writing. Similarly, while pro tools are nice to have, they shouldn't clutter up the interface so much that it's complex to navigate.

Beyond that non-negotiable, I favored services that checked a handful of additional boxes: 

• Cross-platform sync. We expect our notes to be where we are. That can be an Android phone, a Windows computer, or inside a web browser. While these are the picks that work best on Android, they can't work only on Android.

• Robust editing and organization. It doesn't take long to lose track of our overflowing notes. A robust set of editing and organization options allows us to personalize the experience and always stay on top of our notes. 

• Extra features. I was looking for anything that made note-taking easier or better. AI is a good example, but it wasn't required.

The best Android note-taking apps at a glance

Best Android note app for day-to-day use

Google Keep

Google Keep pros:

• Plays well with other Google services

• Fast and minimal design

• Fuss-free collaboration

Google Keep cons:

• Lacks advanced organization 

Google Keep comes installed on most new Android phones by default, and it's a solid option for capturing on-the-go notes and actionable to-do lists. It includes a variety of ways to add notes, such as scribbling with your finger and recording a memo, attaching reminders to them, and text formatting. 

If you're familiar with Google's suite of productivity apps, you'll feel at home on Keep. It features the same minimalistic yet practical design of its counterparts like Docs and Sheets. You can categorize your notes with limitless labels, just like on Gmail. And because it's Google, adding collaborators is dead simple.

The main difference between Keep and the other Google apps: it feels a little more whimsical. Color-coded notes appear as soon as you open the app, and you'll see previews of handwritten notes and checklists as well. But even with this scrapbooky appearance, it's surprisingly easy to find the notes you're looking for without using the (unsurprisingly fast and accurate) search function. Plus, you can drag and drop notes into different positions if you want to control where they land. 

And of course, Keep is connected to all the other Workspace apps. When you decide you need to turn your note into a full-fledged document, you can easily send it over to Google Docs, for example. On desktop, you can access Keep in the sidebar of Gmail. So if you're entrenched in the Google ecosystem, it's an easy choice. (Just keep in mind that Keep notes do count against your 15GB of free storage in Google Drive.)

Google Keep is free, and with its familiarity and powerful feature set, I can see it working both for everyday use and larger-scale planning efforts.

Google Keep price: Free

Best overall note-taking app for Android

OneNote

OneNote pros: 

• Extensive editing and organization tools

• Handy Android-specific features

OneNote cons:

• Functional-looking interface

• Requires a Microsoft account 

• Some options can be buggy 

If Google Keep inherits Google Workspace's clean look, OneNote takes on Microsoft's utilitarian approach. It's a note-taking powerhouse loaded with endless utilities to help you craft a note the way you want. 

OneNote works just how Microsoft describes it: as a digital notebook. Its notes have a freeform layout—drop anything on any spot in a note—where you can mix and match numerous kinds of data to fit your style. You can, for example, have a checklist at the top, followed by some plain text or a spreadsheet-like table, and at the bottom, a sketch that illustrates it all. Once you have a few entries in, you can choose to organize them in notebooks. These function like folders, and each can nest its own sections and subsections. You can even have rule lines as the backdrop. It's convenient for those who prefer richer notes and don't want to turn to another service for more layered documents. 

What I like most about OneNote is that its apps are really tailored to each platform. On Android, you can turn individual notes into floating shortcuts so that you can access them instantly wherever you are. You also have the option to create good ol' sticky notes if you don't want the modern bells and whistles. On the web, similarly, a companion extension lets you save all or part of a web page to OneNote for later. 

The only major downside to OneNote is that its design can seem too functional and Word-like and, ultimately, off-putting to first-time users. A handful of options on the Android app were buggy when I tested it (the public link-sharing button, for instance, refused to work altogether), but it's still a really strong overall app.

You can do even more with OneNote when you integrate it with Zapier, so you can connect it to all the other apps you use. Automatically add notes for upcoming events or based on Slack messages, or send your notes wherever you need them. Learn more about how to automate OneNote, or get started with one of these pre-made templates.

OneNote price: Free

Best Android note-taking app for text-only notes

Simplenote

Simplenote pros: 

• Quickest app to take text notes

• Fast cross-platform sync

• Live link publishing

Simplenote cons: 

• No customization

• The only way to edit notes is via Markdown

Simplenote lives up to its name. It's a no-frills notes app with none of the advanced features you'll find on other apps. You can only add text-only notes, and if you'd like to format them, you'll have to do so through the Markdown syntax. Want to write in italics? Add an asterisk before and after the text. 

Despite Simplenote's limited capabilities, I've used it for nearly a decade, and the reason is simple: it's the fastest way to access and write text-based notes. Plus, it offers all the other key features I need, including the ability to restore a note to its previous version, insert checklists, sync it across all major platforms, and share and publish it to a live link. For organizing notes, you'll have to add tags to your entries—you can add multiple to create makeshift sub-folders. 

Simplenote isn't for everyone, and the dire absence of customization will prevent you from personalizing your experience. But for quick thoughts and information, I've found it to be the most reliable. For everything else, you can use a more elaborate solution (like Notion, in my case).

Simplenote price: Free

Best Android note-taking app for managing your life

Notion

Notion pros: 

• Versatile tech for managing information 

• Third-party integrations

• Reliable AI assistant 

Notion cons: 

• Steep learning curve 

• Slower than counterparts

On the surface, Notion seems like a powerful note-taking app, but it's much more than that. Its maker bills it as a "workspace" where you can "write, plan, and collaborate." And it lives up to that.

The way Notion stands out from other apps is that each piece of content you add to it is a "block" rather than merely some text or an image. You can leave it as regular, static content or turn it into a more dynamic element. For example, if you'd like a sentence to have more context without cluttering the rest of your note, you can transform it into a collapsible section that you can toggle on or off anytime. You can also link it to another note in your Notion account like you would on a website. Speaking of which, you can even take a group of notes and build a little website out of them.

There are over 50 kinds of content you can embed in your Notion notes, from charts and spreadsheets to videos. That's not all: you can integrate third-party services, like GitHub and Asana, to build live elements that update on their own and reflect the changes you make somewhere else. Many teams, for example, use Notion to track their project progress across various software platforms and keep tabs on members in real time. 

Though Notion has a steep learning curve, I've found its versatility handy for managing complex research material. It allows me to develop wiki-style docs and easily organize them in a directory of projects and folders. In addition, its built-in AI tab helps with discovery. You can ask it to find particular data, summarize a collection of pages, or draft the note for you. I also like the dedicated tab to skip all the advanced tools and immediately start a new note on the Android app. 

You can make Notion even more powerful by integrating it with Zapier. Automatically add new calendar events to databases in Notion, create pages in Notion for new video call recordings, or save new tasks in Notion databases. Here are some more ways to automate Notion, or you can start with one of these templates.

Notion price: Free plan available; $10/month for unlimited file uploads and page history

Best Android note-taking app for handwritten notes

Notewise

Notewise pros: 

• Precise and forgiving handwriting detection 

• AI-powered sketch assistance

• PDF annotation 

Notewise cons: 

• Limited free version 

• No desktop apps (there is a web app)

For those who still prefer to take their notes long-hand, Notewise is the best way to do so on your Android. Not only does Notewise let you scribble on your screen, but you can also import and annotate documents without leaving the app.

Compared to several other handwriting note apps, Notewise's latency is the lowest, and it's more forgiving. This means even without a stylus, I could comfortably scribble my thoughts with my finger. Plus, the app features a couple of smart tools for a smoother experience. You can, for instance, simply scribble over a drawing to erase it, and when you draw an imprecise shape, Notewise can automatically detect it, and turn it into, say, a perfect circle. In fact, you can choose to boost a setting called stabilization to allow Notewise's algorithms to ensure your handwriting is wobble-free. 

Another highlight of Notewise is how convenient its interface is for blending many content types. You can add text to your sketches, remove backgrounds from images and import them as stickers, and include voice memos. Collaborating on a note with multiple users is fast and lag-free too. 

Notewise price: Free to try for up to 10 notes; for more, you'll have to pay a starting fee of $2.99/month

Best note-taking app for privacy 

Notesnook

Notesnook pros: 

• Robust privacy-friendly tools

• Feature-rich design 

• Transparent and open source

Notesnook cons: 

• Slow to release new features and updates

Lots of folks document sensitive information in note-taking apps, and while most platforms have protections in place, none go as far as Notesnook. Notesnook applies end-to-end encryption to your notes so that no one, including Notesnook's developers, can read your data. And because it's open source, its design is more transparent, preventing it from sneakily, say, adding a code to train AI on your text. 

You'll find several more clever, privacy-friendly options on Notesnook. You can share password-protected live pages to your notes and set them to self-destruct after some time. And the ability to lock individual notes and the app itself is available too. 

Notesnook doesn't skimp on note-taking features either. It can go toe-to-toe with powerhouses like OneNote and houses the majority of editing and organizational tools you'd need, including a web clipper, reminders, and color-coding.

Notesnook price: Free; for more storage, you'll pay $4.49/month. 

Best app for sticky notes

Post-it

Post-it pros: 

• All-in-one package for creating and scanning sticky notes

• Smooth and modern design

• Useful templates

Post-it cons: 

• No Windows 11 or web app 

Nothing beats a pen and a sticky note, especially when you're in a hurry. The fuss-free method, paired with bright color-coded organization, still makes it a winning combination. 3M's Post-it app lets you replicate this seamless experience on your Android. 

The Post-it app centers around workspaces it calls boards. Think of them as empty spaces on your wall—one for each project or aspect of your life. On each board, you can add as many sticky notes as you'd like and align them in a layout like a column for "to-do" and another for "done." You can even pick one of the included templates to get a head start. 

When I began to use Post-it, I was surprised at how thought-out the app was. You can not only scribble and type on digital sticky notes, but it also allows you to capture and import physical notes—you can capture up to 200 individual Post-its at a time with your phone's camera. Once you have a board in place, you can add it as a widget to your home screen or share it in a variety of formats, like PDF and PowerPoint. 

Post-it price: Free 

Best Android note-taking app for value for money

UpNote

UpNote pros: 

• Pro features at a bargain 

• Clean look 

• Unique tools like Spaces

UpNote cons: 

• No AI-enabled assistance

All-in-one note-taking software is often either expensive or significantly limits how much data (like images) you can store. UpNote offers a no-compromise package at a bargain. You can either pay a $1.99 monthly fee or simply buy a $39.99 lifetime license, nearly half of what you'd pay for OneNote or Notion in just a year. 

Apart from the cost upside, UpNote is a clean, expansive platform for collecting your thoughts. It includes close to all the editing and organization tools you'd need, from notebook-style folders to Markdown support, in a modern and easy-to-navigate interface. 

One feature I didn't know I needed until I tried UpNote was the option to build desktop-like workspaces. Unlike folders, this lets you truly separate notes in different workspaces so that there's no overlap and clutter. The computer-only Focus mode was nice to have too and allows you to temporarily hide all distractions such as formatting buttons. 

UpNote price: Free; paid plans from $1.99/month 

Which Android note-taking app should you use?

All of the apps I selected are free to start, which gives you a lot of flexibility in testing them before you pick one—or more than one, as the case may be.

After testing these note-taking apps, I created a folder on my Android home screen specifically for them. Some apps will suit certain situations better than others, like Simplenote for quick shower thoughts and Notion for extensive research, and it can't hurt to have two or three of your favorites available on your phone. 

Related reading:

• Best note taking apps for Windows

• Best to-do list apps for Android

• 5 smart ways to schedule important info on Android

This article was originally published in May 2019 by Richard Moy. The most recent update was in December 2024.