AltCatalog
Catalog Note-taking Google Notebook
Discontinued Google Notebook was discontinued in September 2011. The alternatives below are active products you can switch to. All discontinued →

Alternatives to Google Notebook

Google's early clipping notebook

None of its 12 checklist rows are verified yet.

Google's early clipping notebook. Google Notebook has been discontinued; the active alternatives listed here are maintained products you can switch to.

Most compared with AmplenoteApple NotesBear
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Who it's for

Web researchers and students who wanted to save snippets, images, and links while browsing without switching to a separate note-taking app.

What you get

A browser extension and sidebar for clipping text, images, and URLs directly from web pages into organized notebooks. Users could add their own annotations alongside clipped content, arrange notes into sections, and optionally publish a notebook as a public, shareable web page. Search worked across all saved notes and clippings. Google discontinued the product around 2011-2012 after halting development in 2009.

How it works

After installing the browser extension, users highlighted content on any page and saved it to a notebook via a sidebar or right-click menu, then organized and annotated the clips from the Google Notebook web interface.

Why people leave Google Notebook

Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.

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Ranked alternatives

Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.

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01

Notes with task scoring built in.

WindowsmacOSLinuxiOS +2
02

Apple's built-in notes with handwriting support.

Proprietary macOSiOSWeb
03

Polished markdown notes for Apple platforms.

Proprietary macOSiOSWeb
04

Long-running note app with web clipper and OCR.

Proprietary WindowsmacOSWebiOS +1
05

The digital paper favorite.

Proprietary iOSmacOSWindowsAndroid +1
06

Google's lightweight notes and lists.

Proprietary WebiOSAndroidBrowser extension
07

Open source markdown notes with E2EE sync options.

AGPL-3.0 WindowsmacOSLinuxiOS +1
08

Handwriting notes for iPad.

Proprietary iOSmacOSWeb
09

Zero-knowledge encrypted notes app.

GPL-3.0 WindowsmacOSLinuxiOS +2
10

All-in-one workspace for notes, docs and databases.

Proprietary WindowsmacOSiOSAndroid +2
11

Minimal free plain-text notes with sync.

GPL-2.0 WindowsmacOSLinuxiOS +2
12

E2E encrypted plain notes with paid markdown editors.

AGPL-3.0 WindowsmacOSLinuxiOS +2
13

Fast polished notes with lifetime price.

Proprietary WindowsmacOSLinuxiOS +1
14

Open source academic markdown editor with Zettelkasten.

GPL-3.0 WindowsmacOSLinux

FAQ

Yes. Amplenote, Apple Notes and Bear have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.

Joplin, Notesnook and Simplenote — every license claim links its source.