I abandoned Google Keep for Simplenote and will never go back

I’ve been on a mission to simplify my digital footprint lately. Vehicles like idea And all types It’s come in handy for optimizing my life on the whole, I think simplicity is key when it comes to writing or taking notes. In some of them, I tried to document my work, my life and more. best diary and diary apps Like Notion but for the longest time I went back to Google Keep. It was easy enough to use, available everywhere, and backed everything up neatly; Sounds perfect, right?

It worked well, but my needs have evolved since then. As I tinkered with new features, Google Keep became a little too bloated for my needs, and I started to get annoyed by the interface’s lack of focus on long-form writing. So I looked for a perfect alternative. That’s when I came across SimpleNote.

Some of you might suggest that I should look at Google Docs as an obvious upgrade from Google Keep. But each time I entertained the idea, I arrived at six key features that make Simplenote an unquestionable upgrade for me.

While I am drafting this article, I am sitting in a cafe and working from my own study. MacBook Air with a connection that practically does not exist. Previously, Google Keep did not have offline support on computers, which meant no action at all.

Simplenote solves this problem. The app was designed from the ground up for authoring with world-class offline support. Once you’re back online, everything will sync to the cloud. It’s that simple. Post-COVID, I realized that I was traveling much more frequently for business or pleasure and needed a vehicle that would work just as seamlessly in the air or in my office. Solving this problem was one of the main reasons why I looked for an alternative.

While there’s no shortage of note-taking apps, most of my preferred options were web-first and lacked offline support on desktops. This isn’t an issue with Simplenote, as it has native apps for every platform it targets. This includes all popular platforms including Mac, PC, Android, iOS and web.

Moreover, Simplenote is simple to implement, but this is not a flaw. The interface is clean and has easy tag-based organization to sort your notes and that’s it.

There are a number of tools and utilities, which I’ll get to in a moment, but overall it offers a large blank canvas for users to write on, and it does it well. Editing is done using tags, similar to the tags feature in Google Keep. While I appreciate folder-based organization similar to iA Writer, it’s not a huge detriment to my workflow.

Basics like word counter, character counter, rendering data, and more are just a tap away, making it easier for me to keep track of word counts as I write drafts. You can even link documents together using internal links, like a mock wiki.

Simplenote’s mobile apps are also excellent. The interface is nearly identical on desktop and mobile platforms, both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. I edit my notes and drafts frequently. OnePlus Onand with the screen wide open the experience is the same as on my Mac or iPad.

I also like how quickly Simplenote syncs files. All changes are reflected in near real-time, and if you have the app open on your phone while working on the computer, you can see words open immediately after you type. This gives me greater peace of mind that my notes are safely backed up.

Markdown support

If you don’t know about the discount, you are in for a treat. A markup language makes it easy to write fully formatted text in a plain text editor. Consider using an asterisk for italics and a double asterisk for bold. It even makes it easier to define header sizes. This text can be easily moved between applications and tools, preserving its formatting.

Since Simplenote supports Markdown, I can write my draft copy to my liking, copy and paste it into a CMS, or copy it into an app like Obsidian for archiving purposes. It’s great and necessary for a user like me who switches between multiple content management systems and tools every day.

A surprisingly robust feature set is hidden behind this barebones interface. Just like in Google Keep, you can add collaborators to your notes. It’s as easy as tagging users by their email address and they’ll be invited to the note. From now on, both users will be able to work on the document. It’s almost like Google Docs, but much simpler and cleaner, so to speak.

There is also another feature that I find very useful. Just like Notion, Simplenote allows you to publish your notes on the web. So, for example, if you want to share a shopping list or something you wrote without giving readers the ability to edit it, Simplenote will let you publish it as a web page. I keep a list of interesting quotes I come across while reading and post them online for everyone to read. you can check Here.

I’ve mentioned this many times, but the ability to move my data over every time I log into an app is critical to me. In fact, I seriously considered spending heavily on iA Writer for native discount files support. Although Simplenote doesn’t let you access individual note files on your computer, exporting all your notes and files is a two-step process.

These separate markup files can then be conveniently imported into any note-taking or productivity application, where they will retain all formatting and tags.

Free

Within reason, I’m not against subscription services or apps with one-time fees. I spent a lot of time testing iA Writer before deciding on Simplenote. As good as the app is, I couldn’t afford to pay $50 per platform on top of the Android subscription. Simply put, a hundred dollars and the subscription fee is a lot of money to pay for a note-taking app.

So for me, there is a clear winner in the battle between Google Keep and Simplenote. I’ve been using Simplenote as my primary note-taking platform for over a year now, and it has never let me down. The app is clean, keeps my notes constantly in sync, and I can easily move unformatted text into any app I choose. Sure, it misses features like background colors or the ability to add images, but I don’t miss those at all. Simplicity and a pure writing experience are why I switched to a dedicated note-taking app, and Simplenote delivers in spades.