Best Free Notes Apps for Students (Tested on the Free Version)
If you are a student, your notes have a few clear jobs: keep up with lectures, revise for exams, and keep track of assignments. You do not need to pay for that. The five apps below all have a free version you can really use.
“Tested on the free version” means this: we judged each app only by what you get without paying. Free tiers change often, so check the app’s pricing page before you build a whole semester’s work in it. Prices and limits below were checked in October 2026.
1. Google NotebookLM (now called Gemini Notebook)
What it is in one line: Google’s AI study tool. You upload your own notes, slides, and PDFs, and it answers questions using only those files.
AI means computer programs that can read text and answer questions about it. NotebookLM can also turn your files into study guides, quizzes, flashcards, and spoken audio summaries of your material.
What the free version actually gives you: Free with a Google account. You can make up to 100 notebooks, with up to 50 sources in each notebook. Each source can be up to 500,000 words. You get chat answers with citations back to your files, plus the study tools: summaries, flashcards, quizzes, and audio overviews.
The real limits: Daily AI use has a budget that refills over hours, plus a weekly cap. Big audio and video outputs use it fastest. Google changes the exact counts, so check the plans page. You need internet to use it. Your files are processed on Google’s servers, not only on your device.
Who it suits best: Students revising from their own course material. If your problem is “I have 200 pages to learn and one week,” this is the strongest pick.
2. Notion
What it is in one line: One app for notes, to-do lists, planners, and simple tables you can sort and filter.
Think of a notebook that can also be your calendar and assignment tracker, with a page per subject and a list of deadlines.
What the free version actually gives you: Free, with unlimited pages and blocks for one person. A block is just one piece of content: a line of text, a checklist, an image, or a table. You also get a calendar and mail view. Students and teachers with a school email can get the Plus plan free for one member, which removes the upload and history limits below.
The real limits: Files you upload must be under 5 MB each. Page history only goes back 7 days, so you cannot recover an edit older than that. You can invite up to 10 outside guests. If a second person becomes an owner of your workspace, the workspace gets a lifetime cap of 1,000 blocks. AI features are only a limited trial on the free plan. Full AI features need the paid Business plan.
Who it suits best: Students who want to organize a whole semester in one place: subjects, deadlines, and assignments together.
3. Obsidian
What it is in one line: A notes app that stores your notes as simple text files on your own device.
It works without internet, and you do not need an account for personal use.
What the free version actually gives you: The full app, free for personal use, with unlimited notes and all core features. You can link notes to each other and add community plugins. A plugin is a small extra tool made by other users, for example a calendar or a flashcard tool.
The real limits: Syncing between devices is not included. Sync means keeping the same notes on all your devices. Official Sync costs from $4 per month billed yearly ($5 month to month). You can also sync yourself with a cloud folder such as Dropbox or iCloud. The cloud means your files are stored on a company’s computers online, not only on your device. Publishing notes as a website costs extra. Setup also takes more time than the other apps here. It is easy to spend hours customizing instead of studying.
Who it suits best: Students who want private, offline notes they fully own, and who do not mind a little setup.
4. Google Keep
What it is in one line: Google’s simple sticky-note app, built for fast capture.
What the free version actually gives you: Completely free with a Google account. Unlimited notes, synced to all your devices. You can add labels, colors, pins, reminders, voice memos, and photos.
The real limits: There are no folders and no deep structure, and formatting is basic. Treat it as a capture tool, not a study system.
Who it suits best: Students who want to capture a thought in seconds and find it later on any device.
5. Microsoft OneNote
What it is in one line: Microsoft’s free digital notebook, organized like a real binder.
You get notebooks, sections (like tabs in a binder), and pages. You can type anywhere on a page, draw with a pen, and paste images.
What the free version actually gives you: Free with a free Microsoft account. There are apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, and the web. Notes sync through OneDrive, Microsoft’s online storage, and the apps work offline and sync when you reconnect.
The real limits: The AI helper Copilot and some advanced features need a paid Microsoft 365 plan. Your notes live in OneDrive, so your free OneDrive storage applies.
Who it suits best: Students who already use Microsoft tools, or who like a binder-style notebook, including handwritten notes with a pen.
Which one should you pick?
Pick by the job, not by the brand:
- Studying from your own notes and revising for exams: NotebookLM.
- Organizing a whole semester: Notion.
- Private, offline notes you fully own: Obsidian.
- Quick capture on the go: Google Keep.
- A free Microsoft-style notebook, including handwriting: OneNote.
What to avoid
- Paying before trying the free version. Use the free plan for at least two full weeks of real classes first. If you never hit a limit, you never needed to pay.
- Apps with no usable free tier. Some apps call themselves free but cap you at a handful of notes, or end after a short trial. If the free plan cannot hold a semester of work, it is not free in any useful sense.
- Building everything in an app you cannot leave. Before you commit, check that you can export your notes and take them with you.
- Trusting AI answers without checking. AI study tools can get things wrong. For exam answers, always check the answer against your own source material.
FAQs
Do I need to pay for a good notes app?
No. All five apps above work without paying. Pay only when you hit a specific limit again and again, such as file size or syncing.
Which free notes app is best for exam revision?
NotebookLM, because it works from your own course files and answers with citations back to them. Upload your slides and notes, then ask it questions and make quizzes from the same material.
Can I use these apps without internet?
Obsidian works fully offline. OneNote and Notion’s phone and computer apps work offline and sync later. NotebookLM needs internet. Keep needs internet to sync.
Will the free version stay free?
Free tiers change. Limits, prices, and features move. Check the app’s pricing page before you rely on a limit, and keep an export of your notes.
Free tiers checked October 2026. If a limit here no longer matches the app’s pricing page, the pricing page is right.