Two of the best-ever note-taking apps are free

Although there are shedloads of powerful note-taking apps out there, only two satisfy my criteria for recommending them to just about anyone:

• Cross-platform

• Free to use

• Support for unlimited notes.

For most people, Simplenote and Google Keep really can't be beat. Take notes, format text, organize with labels or tags, search your content, and access your notes across every device. They’re also both completely free, unlimited, and devoid of ads.

Features galore

You also get version history, which means you can see what your note looked like over multiple edits.

Simplenote is great for writing, and goes wherever you do

Both apps also support publishing your notes to the web, each with their own methods and strengths. Keep publishes to Google Docs, which is great if you want to collaborate on your notes. Simplenote simply creates a web page you can share with anyone to read instantly.

Keep does drawing and lets you add images. Voice recordings and transcription too (although the resulting recording is of poor quality as it's compressed).

Google Keep is great for to-dos and organising ideas

Simplenote does Markdown, so you can quickly format your text as you type, and see your handiwork on your published pages.

Both apps support collaboration as well.

Which one should you use?

Honestly, I use both (and more, actually - I also spend a lot of time in Notion).

Keep is for short notes, ideas that strike me at random, and mostly mobile use.

Simplenote is for writing (I wrote the brief and outline for this piece in Simplenote).

Literally the only drawback with Google Keep is that it’s made by Google. Google kills off its own products often, which means it might pull the plug on Keep at any moment (even when it’s working just fine for most people) and force you to find a new home for your notes.

“These aren’t right for me”

Well, maybe you’re not most people. That’s okay. I’m not either. I use multiple apps for taking notes, and I can’t really recommend my odd method to anyone. But if you need to get started with notes, these two do the most crucial things well and don’t cost you any money whatsoever.

Maybe I’m writing this because I have an agenda - I want more people to use Keep so Google doesn’t kill it off citing a lack of users. Will I succeed?