As a writer, I always keep my diary with me without fail. The reason is that I have to note down all the ideas at the moment when they pop up in my mind. Plus, I am a ruffle! I have to pin each and everything – lists, meeting schedules, birthdays, etc. and even set reminders to get notifications. Unfortunately, diaries do not provide this privilege.
So, I stopped being so conservative & old fashioned and started using such cool writing apps like Google Keep or Evernote to keep myself updated. (and trust me, the experience is mind blowing!) These are helping me to increase my productivity on a different level.
Now the confusion is – What is the best writing app amongst them? Here I am giving a list of pros and cons, as well as a fair comparison of both of them.
Google Keep vs Evernote:
Before starting this debate and all the judgments of which is better – Keep vs Evernote, let’s talk about the similarity between them.
- Both are the writing apps.
- They are popular and have their set of users.
- Both apps can be used even without data card (i.e.) Internet.
- Both can sync across all the connected devices so that there are the least chances to not getting a note when it is needed.
- The apps can be used in any device like cell phone, tablets, or laptops and PC.
- They are fast and easy to use.
- Both have the feature of ‘search’ to access old notes.
- Both allows adding reminders easily, which provide alerts on time.
- The apps have the feature of ‘collaboration’ – (‘Collaboration’ in Google Keep and ‘Shared’ in Evernote) so that you can easily get connected with your friends, family and concerned persons are easy. You can add one or more email addresses to the particular note so that they can also edit.
Google Keep:
I am a huge fan of Google apps and Google Keep is one on of my favorites. I am glad that I am showing off the cool features of Keep. But as I am loyal to my readers, I will list out some negative points too.
First thing first; PROS:
- You can make notes, checklists, handwritten text as well as drawings, and can insert images.
- There is a quick way to create a new checklist, and you can check the things without even opening the note.
- After adding, you can see the entire image without opening, and you can insert the quotes or captions easily.
- You also can add recordings in Keep. Even make the voice-to-text notes.
- It is the best home screen widget for keeping the records with automatic saving and easy edit.
- Keep has the locations and time-based reminders. The plus point is that all those reminders are synchronized with Google calendar. A cool feature it is!
- In Google Keep, labeling is there for notes. Notes can be grouped via labels. One easy and cool way to tag the note is Hashtag! You also can use #, and the note will separate automatically. You can also differentiate all the notes with the feature of ‘color code.’
- The search bar is up front, you just have to enter a word, or label or color code and you can find your note quickly.
- Note space is upfront in Keep. So no need to select + sign to add something.
Now it’s time; CONS:
- There is no such thing as a notebook in Google Keep. Bookmarking and pinning are there, but not this useful feature.
- You cannot make any folders for managing the notes. Drag and drop facility is there to keep the notes upfront so that you can see them, but you just can’t categorize them in folders.
- Google Keep is best for short notes or short-term notes. But if you have a long list of notes, it might be unmanageable. You can archive the notes so that you can easily find the saved note and read or edit it, but if not achieved, you have to keep scrolling to find the needed one.
- It never notifies when some new notes are added to the shared list.
- You cannot share your notes directly to the Facebook or Twitter.
- If you want to find something within the notes, there is not any facility to do that.
Evernote:
Evernote’s tagline is ‘Stay Organized.’ Just like its name and slogan, this green symbol app is a masterpiece – it is ‘forever’ and organized. This is a considerable app ecosystem. I’ve used it once when I was in the corporate culture (Btw, you must use Evernote if you are in the corporate!) and so I can easily write the review about it.
Why is Evernote preferable? PROS:
- Evernote can consolidate all your information from a lot of different sources in one place.
- It has very powerful features for organizing notes because it is designed like that. The feature of putting notes into a single notebook makes it easy to organize such information.
- If you have plenty of notes to manage, you can organize notes extensively with all such notebooks and tags.
- One brilliant feature of Evernote is the OCR functionality which can automatically scan images for text.
- Another cool feature is Easy to clip web content. Evernote can include pictures, snippets, texts, or even links at the same time.
- Get the premium version of Evernote which also allows through PDF files and MS Office documents.
CONS:
- Evernote’s interface is slow and irritating as there are many steps to follow.
- Its free version is only limited to any 2 devices.
- Few users believe that it is very complicated and bloated.
- It is also not so easy to use as it’s features and functions change as per devices.
- It constantly irritates you to upgrade your current account.
Final Verdict
Basically, it is up to you and your field/situations/need, which can decide what is the best and suitable for you. I am recommending Google Keep for small notes and short term commitments. (keep completing and keep deleting!) and Evernote for the corporate purpose.
Don’t think about Evernote vs Google Keep. Try both, and decide as per your convenience. The ultimate goal is – To Write and To Remember!!! So keep doing that and always be happy & organized.
