Google Keep
Hacker ApprovedRanked 7 of 18 note-taking apps by recommenders
People recommend Google Keep for simple notes and reusable checklists that work on phone and desktop. The most common complaint is its weak text input.
13 people recommended Google Keep in Hacker News comments, 3 had mixed feelings and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 18 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 17 of those comments still count.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- mixed feelings
- 3
- warn against or regret it
- 4
The record
Recommended in 7 of 12 months
In 12 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 12 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 15% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 16 of the 20 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Reusable checklists and default lists
“Those are great because you can reset the checklist each day for reuse”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “I put my whole life into a single database” “solved it for me by creating a default packing list in google keep”
Comment from 11 Aug 2026 in “Why Can't You Pack a Bag?” “The checkbox system just works.”
Comment from 2 Nov 2025 in “Why does grocery list making even need a separate app?” Works on mobile and desktop
“It's extremely useful, since the phone takes up much less room on the counter than the laptop does.”
Comment from 14 Nov 2025 in “The Useful Personal Computer” “Sometimes the mobile app experience is better than the mobile browser for me, though.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “I Won't Download Your App. The Web Version Is A-OK” “Easy to use on desktop or mobile, can "share" anything with it.”
Comment from 11 Dec 2025 in “My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file (2020)” Useful for everyday memory
“Google Keep does this well and it's a life saver sometimes”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain” “Keep is one of the most important apps in my life.”
Comment from 11 Dec 2025 in “My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file (2020)” “helpful for longer things”
Comment from 25 Feb 2026 in “Claude Code Remote Control” Simple and easy to use
“It's pretty bad input method, but its simplicity kept me using it for years.”
Comment from 11 Dec 2025 in “My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file (2020)” “I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use.”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “I ran an LLM on iOS to build another privacy focused notes app”
Other note-taking apps people recommend
The four most recommended other note-taking apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | 306 | 104 | 114 | 73% | 12 | 1 yr13 people | Approved |
| Org mode | 133 | 30 | 29 | 82% | 12 | 7 yrs12 people | Approved |
| Notion | 43 | 37 | 96 | 31% | 11 | — | — |
| Logseq | 30 | 19 | 23 | 57% | 10 | — | — |
| Google KeepThis page | 13 | 3 | 4 | 76% | 7 | — | Approved |
Also compared with Apple Notes, Joplin, Microsoft OneNote and Trilium Notes.
What people said
16 of the 20 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“solved it for me by creating a default packing list in google keep”
“Note-taking works fine, in Google Keep, Apple Notes, or some other cloud equivalent.”
“not only an insanely distracting UI but made the whole interface laggy as hell”
“Sometimes the mobile app experience is better than the mobile browser for me, though.”
“Those are great because you can reset the checklist each day for reuse”
“helpful for longer things”
“I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use.”
“more useful and better designed than Google Keep”
“Google apps have always been superior on Android than iOS”
“It's pretty bad input method, but its simplicity kept me using it for years.”
“Keep is one of the most important apps in my life.”
“Easy to use on desktop or mobile, can "share" anything with it.”
“Google Keep does this well and it's a life saver sometimes”
“seems to be an abandoned project these days”
“It's extremely useful, since the phone takes up much less room on the counter than the laptop does.”
“The checkbox system just works.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.