Google Keep is free, fast and simple, and for many people that is enough. People look elsewhere when they want folders instead of labels, end-to-end encryption, Markdown, a way out of Google, or a better home for the links and screenshots that pile up between their notes. Here are seven options, what each is good at, and which can read your Keep export.
We make Trezio, one of the options below. It is a library for links, notes, screenshots and voice notes rather than a full note-taking app, and it cannot import a Keep export, so for many Keep users another app on this list will suit better, and we say so. Every other app's details come from its own website, help center or app store listing, checked on 12 October 2026.
The short version
What you would give up
Keep is free, with apps for Android, iPhone and iPad, a web app at keep.google.com, and Wear OS tiles. It handles text notes with basic formatting, checklists, photos, drawings and voice memos that it transcribes. It can pull the text out of an image so you can search for it, and it can remind you about a note at a set time or when you reach a place. You can share a note and edit it with other people in real time.
On storage, Google's help page says the 15 GB that comes with a Google Account is shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos, and that its over-quota policy does not apply to Keep.
The limits are mostly about organization. Keep sorts notes with labels, colours and pins, up to 50 labels, and has no folders or nested labels. Formatting is bold, italic, underline and headings rather than Markdown. Google's Play listing says Keep data is encrypted in transit; Keep is not described as end-to-end encrypted.
Your notes
Go to Google Takeout, deselect everything, select Keep, and create the export. Google says the download includes note text and list items, attachments (voice recordings, drawings and images), note colours, pinned and archived state, collaborators and your list of labels. Work and school accounts may not get everything.
The export arrives as a zip file. According to Standard Notes' import guide, the Keep folder inside holds an HTML file and a JSON file for each note. Obsidian's import guide notes that Keep does not export checklist indentation, so nested checklist items come out flat, and reminders are not carried over. Keep the original zip somewhere safe whichever app you move to.
At a glance
| App | Best for | Free plan | Paid plan | Organize with | Reads a Keep export |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Keep | Quick notes, lists, reminders | Free | None needed | Labels (up to 50), colours, pins | – |
| Microsoft OneNote | Long, structured notes | Free with a Microsoft account | Optional in-app purchases | Notebooks, sections, pages | None listed |
| Standard Notes | End-to-end encrypted notes | Unlimited notes, encrypted, tags | $90/year (adds folders, Markdown); $120/year | Tags; folders on paid plans | Yes (HTML files) |
| Simplenote | Keep-like simplicity, Markdown | Everything is free | None | Tags | No |
| Obsidian | Markdown files you own | Free app | Sync $4/month billed yearly, or $5 monthly | Folders | Yes (the zip) |
| Joplin | Open source with encryption | Free app, sync with your own Dropbox or OneDrive | Joplin Cloud from €2.40/month billed yearly | Nested notebooks, tags | No direct importer |
| Notion | Pages, databases, planning | Free for individuals, 5 MB per upload | Plus from $10 per member/month | Pages inside pages | No Keep importer listed |
| Trezio | Links, screenshots and voice notes beside notes | 100 items, 5 folders | $3.70/month, or $2.95/month billed yearly | Nested folders, tags | No |
Every app here has an Android app. Apple Notes appears on many lists too, but Apple makes it for its own devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac), so it is not an option if you are on Android.
If you want folders and structure
A digital ring binder: notebooks hold sections, and sections hold pages and subpages. It handles typing, handwriting, scanning, voice dictation and web clips. On Android, iPhone, iPad and the web.
Pages, databases and planning in one workspace. There are no folders: you nest pages inside pages. It does far more than a notes app, which can be more than you need for a quick note.
Notes are plain Markdown files in folders, stored on your device. Free with no sign-up, on Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac and Linux. Paid Sync is end-to-end encrypted.
If you want privacy
Every note is encrypted on your device on every plan, including free, and the apps are open source. On Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac, Linux and the web.
Free, open-source Markdown notes in nested notebooks, with end-to-end encryption and a web clipper. Sync through Joplin Cloud or your own Dropbox or OneDrive. On Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac and Linux.
If you want it simple, or if Keep holds your links
The closest to Keep's speed: plain-text notes with Markdown, tags, checklists and sharing, all free, on Android, iPhone, Mac, Windows, Linux and the web. It holds text only, no images or attachments, and its help page says notes are not encrypted at rest.
For the Keep user whose notes are really saved links, screenshots and voice memos. Links save with their title, description and thumbnail; text notes, images and voice notes sit beside them in nested folders, with tags, AI summaries on request and an encrypted vault for logins. On Android, the web and Chrome. It has no checklists, no shared editing and no iPhone or iPad version, and it cannot import a Keep export.
How to choose
Open Keep and look at your last fifty notes. Mostly lists and reminders: stay, or try Simplenote. Long notes: OneNote, Obsidian or Joplin. Mostly links, screenshots and voice memos: a library like Trezio.
With hundreds of notes, pick an app that imports Keep directly: Standard Notes or Obsidian. With a few dozen, copying the ones you still need is a chance to start clean.
If no one but you, choose end-to-end encryption: Standard Notes, Joplin, or Obsidian with its paid Sync. If you share lists with family, Keep's real-time sharing is hard to beat.
If you are considering Trezio
Trezio cannot read a Google Keep export. Its importer takes bookmark files from browsers and other bookmark managers (HTML or CSV) and Trezio's own backups, so your Keep notes would not come across automatically.
It works best as a fresh start for the part of Keep that was never really notes: save links again from the Chrome extension or the Android app, add screenshots and voice notes as you need them, and copy in the few text notes you still use. The free plan holds 100 items and 5 folders; Pro removes those limits and adds HTML export and Google Drive backup. If you need checklists, location reminders or lists shared with family, keep using Keep for those.
FAQ
It depends on why you are leaving. Microsoft OneNote is free and adds notebooks and sections. Standard Notes and Joplin add end-to-end encryption. Simplenote is the closest to Keep's simplicity. Obsidian suits Markdown and folders. If Keep is mostly where your links and screenshots pile up, Trezio is built for that. All of them have Android apps.
Yes. Standard Notes encrypts every note end to end on its free plan and can import a Keep export. Joplin is open source with end-to-end encryption. Obsidian keeps notes on your device, and its paid Sync service is end-to-end encrypted. Google's Play listing for Keep says data is encrypted in transit.
Yes. Use Google Takeout and select only Keep. Google says the download includes note text and list items, attachments such as voice recordings, drawings and images, colours, pinned and archived state, collaborators and your labels. Standard Notes and Obsidian can import it.
Keep is quicker for short notes, lists and reminders, and organizes with labels and colours. OneNote is better for longer, structured notes: notebooks hold sections, and sections hold pages and subpages. Both are free, need an account with their maker, and have Android and iPhone apps.
No. Google's help center describes organizing Keep notes with labels, colours and pins, with up to 50 labels. A note can carry several labels, and Google does not describe folders or nested labels.
Google's storage help page says the 15 GB that comes with a Google Account is shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos, and that its over-quota policy does not apply to Google Keep. Keep is free to use.
No. Trezio imports bookmark files (HTML and CSV) and its own backups, not a Google Keep Takeout export. To move from Keep you would save links again and copy notes in by hand, which suits a fresh start more than a migration of thousands of notes.
Keep reading
Note apps for people leaving Evernote, compared by price, apps and import.
If your notes are mostly links, the apps built to keep them.
Paste messy notes and get to-dos, decisions, links and tags pulled out, in your browser.
Get Trezio on your Android phone and save from other apps with the share sheet.
All pages checked on 12 October 2026.