A free notes app on Android is only useful if the free part matches the way you actually take notes. A fast grocery-list app can be terrible for lecture notes. A beautiful desktop workspace can become annoying on a phone with weak offline access. A local Markdown vault can be perfect for a long-term archive and too much work for reminders.
Pricing last verified: June 2026. Free-tier limits change often, so the recommendations below treat storage caps, offline access, sync, export, and device restrictions as part of the product, not footnotes.
| Use case | Best free Android pick | Why it wins | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safest full notebook | OneNote | Full notebook structure, offline support, handwriting, cross-platform sync, and 5GB of OneDrive storage on the free tier.[1][2] | Storage is shared through Microsoft’s cloud, so very large archives eventually meet the OneDrive ceiling. |
| Fast capture | Google Keep | Quick notes, checklists, reminders, labels, image notes, and Google account sync using Google’s broader 15GB shared storage pool.[3][4] | It is not a real long-form notebook: no folder hierarchy and weak structure for large projects. |
| Long-term Markdown knowledge base | Obsidian | Free for personal use, stores notes as local Markdown files, and has a strong plugin and graph ecosystem.[1][5] | Built-in sync is paid, and setup takes more thought than a conventional notes app. |
| Privacy-first offline notes | Joplin | Open-source, offline-first, no feature gates, optional end-to-end encryption, and optional paid Joplin Cloud rather than required cloud sync.[5][6] | Less polished than mainstream apps, and syncing choices require a little configuration. |
| Galaxy S Pen handwriting | Samsung Notes | Free on Galaxy devices, strong stylus support, and especially natural on Galaxy phones and tablets.[2][3][4] | This is not a general Android recommendation; it is tied to Samsung hardware. |
| Plain text on every device | Simplenote | Completely free, unlimited notes, unlimited devices, and no paid tier.[1][2] | Text-only. No images, attachments, handwriting, or rich notebook system. |
| Mobile-first free workspace | Notion | Not the best pick here. The free personal plan is generous for pages, but Android offline access is too limited for a primary mobile notes app.[1][4] | Also has a 5MB file upload limit on the free plan.[4] |
What Counts as Genuinely Free
For this comparison, “free” does not mean “you can open an account before the app starts negotiating with you.” A free Android notes app has to be usable as a real daily tool without an immediate subscription. That means enough room to store ordinary notes, real Android support, usable offline behavior, and no obvious trap around syncing or export.
That filter removes some famous names from serious contention. Evernote’s free plan is now limited to 50 notes, 1 device, and a 250MB monthly upload limit, which makes it hard to recommend as a new free Android notes app for anyone building more than a tiny archive.[1][2] Notion is more complicated: the free personal plan can be generous on desktop, but Android offline access remains a poor fit for someone who expects notes to work reliably without a connection.[1][4]
This is also why AI features are not doing much work in the rankings. AI tools in note apps move quickly, and some sit behind paid plans. Unless an AI feature is clearly included in the free Android experience, it should not decide which app you trust with your notes.
If You Want One Safe Default, Install OneNote
OneNote is the least exciting answer and probably the right answer for the largest number of Android users. Its free tier includes the parts people usually discover too late are missing elsewhere: notebooks and sections, offline access, handwriting, sync across devices, and 5GB of OneDrive storage.[1][2]
That combination matters more than interface taste. A student can keep class notes in separate sections, annotate with a stylus, and still open the notebook later on a laptop. A worker can keep meeting notes and project notes without deciding whether each page belongs in a tag system, a database, or a Markdown vault. The app is not minimal, but it is complete enough that the free tier does not feel like a demo.
The 5GB limit is real. It is generous for text-heavy notebooks, ordinary screenshots, and modest handwriting use, but it is not infinite. If you plan to store many PDFs, audio files, image-heavy research dumps, or scanned documents, OneDrive storage becomes the long-term constraint rather than OneNote itself.[1][2] Still, a clear storage ceiling is easier to plan around than a vague free plan that works until your workflow becomes dependent on it.
OneNote is the pick when you do not want to maintain a system. It is also the best first install for someone who wants one free Android notes app that can handle quick notes, longer notes, web research, handwriting, and cross-device use without turning setup into a weekend project.
Google Keep Is Fast Capture, Not a Notebook
Google Keep is excellent when the job is capture: a parking spot, a shopping list, a thought before a meeting, a photo note, a reminder tied to a Google account. It syncs cleanly, starts quickly, and uses Google’s broader 15GB shared storage pool.[3][4]
The mistake is treating Keep as a full notebook. It does not have a folder hierarchy, and it is not built for long-form organization.[3][4][7] Labels help, colors help, search helps, but those are recovery tools. They do not replace a notebook structure when you have a semester of readings, months of meeting notes, or a research project that needs sections and subtopics.
Keep is still worth installing because it is honest about its shape. It is a sticky-note board that happens to live in your pocket and sync well. The cleanest setup for many people is Keep for capture and OneNote, Obsidian, or Joplin for anything that needs to survive as an organized archive.
Obsidian and Joplin: Similar Values, Different Burdens
Obsidian and Joplin attract people who are tired of notes being trapped inside someone else’s format. Both are local-first in spirit, both work with Markdown, and both can be used without paying for the core app. The right choice depends on whether you want a knowledge system or a private notebook.
| Question | Choose Obsidian if... | Choose Joplin if... |
|---|---|---|
| What are you building? | A long-term knowledge base with links, backlinks, plugins, and graph-style thinking. | A conventional notes archive that stays offline-first and private. |
| How much setup will you tolerate? | You are willing to shape folders, templates, plugins, and sync choices yourself. | You want a more straightforward app with notebooks, notes, and built-in privacy tools. |
| What matters most? | Local Markdown files, extensibility, and a strong personal knowledge management ecosystem.[1][5] | Open-source notes, optional end-to-end encryption, and no feature gates.[5][6] |
| Where does payment enter? | Personal use is free, but Obsidian Sync costs extra, listed around $5 per month in the cited 2026 coverage.[1] | The app is free; Joplin Cloud is optional rather than required.[6] |
Obsidian is the better fit when your notes are supposed to become a long-term map: reading notes linked to concepts, technical snippets connected across projects, or a personal knowledge base that benefits from backlinks and plugins. Android support is real, but the mobile app inherits the responsibility of the system. You need to understand where your vault lives and how it syncs.
That sync point is the part to notice before you commit. Obsidian stores notes locally as Markdown files and is free for personal use, but its official sync service is paid.[1][5] You can use other syncing methods, but then you are responsible for making them reliable across Android and your other devices. For some readers, that is exactly the appeal. For others, it is the first sign they should use OneNote instead.
Joplin is less fashionable and easier to explain. It is open-source, offline-first, and does not gate core note-taking features behind a paid plan.[5][6] It also supports optional end-to-end encryption, which makes it the cleaner recommendation for someone whose first concern is private notes rather than a graph of ideas.[6]
Developer readers who care about Markdown, local files, and code snippets may also want the narrower comparison in Note-Taking Apps for Developers. For a general free Android choice, though, the split is simple: Obsidian for a self-directed knowledge system, Joplin for a private offline notebook.
Samsung Notes Is Excellent, but Only for the Right Android
Samsung Notes deserves a strong recommendation and a hard boundary. If you use a Galaxy phone or tablet, especially with an S Pen, it is one of the best free note-taking experiences on Android. It is already there, it handles handwriting well, and it fits the hardware instead of pretending every Android device is the same.[2][3][4]
The boundary is availability. Samsung Notes is not the free Android notes app for everyone; it is the free Galaxy notes app. Non-Samsung Android users should not choose a note system around an app their device cannot properly use.[3][4] Galaxy Tab users comparing handwriting-heavy workflows can go deeper with The Best Stylus Note-Taking App for Your Device.
Simplenote Wins When Text Is Enough
Simplenote is the rare free app where the limit is not a pricing trap. It is completely free, supports unlimited notes and unlimited devices, and has no paid tier.[1][2] That makes it unusually clean for people who want plain text everywhere and do not want to evaluate subscription menus.
The trade-off is the product. Simplenote is text-only: no images, no attachments, no handwriting, no rich notebook system.[2] For daily logs, drafts, simple lists, and searchable plain notes, that constraint can be a relief. For class notes with diagrams, project files, or stylus writing, it becomes the wrong tool quickly.
Where Notion and Evernote Fit
Notion and Evernote are not irrelevant. They are just poor answers to the specific question “What free notes app should I install on Android and trust as my main note system?”
Notion’s free personal plan offers unlimited pages, but the free plan’s 5MB file upload limit and limited Android offline access make it shaky for mobile-first note-taking.[1][4] It can still be useful as a workspace, database, or planning system when you mostly work online. It is not the app to pick if your notes must be dependable on a commute, in a classroom with poor Wi-Fi, or anywhere else your phone is the primary device.
Evernote is easier to judge. Its current free limits are too restricted to compete with OneNote, Keep, Joplin, Obsidian, or Simplenote as a genuinely free Android recommendation.[1][2]
Readers willing to pay, or at least compare paid tiers against free ones, should use a broader Android roundup such as Best Note-Taking Apps for Android in 2026 or the wider Android note-taking comparison. Free-only comparisons are stricter because a bad limit does not merely reduce value; it changes whether the app can be trusted.
The Matching Rule
Choose OneNote if you want the safest free Android notebook. Choose Google Keep if you mainly need fast capture. Choose Obsidian if you want local Markdown files and a long-term knowledge system. Choose Joplin if privacy, offline access, and open-source software matter more than polish. Choose Samsung Notes if you are on Galaxy hardware and use the S Pen. Choose Simplenote if plain text is enough.
That is the useful way to rank free Android note apps: by the workflow they can keep supporting after the first week.
References
- The 7 best note taking apps in 2026, Zapier
- The Best Note-Taking Apps We've Tested for 2026, PCMag
- I found the best notes app for every device, Android Police
- Best Android Note Taking App in 2026: 7 Top Picks, NoteLyn AI
- I tested every open-source notes app on mobile, XDA Developers
- Best Open Source Note Taking Apps in 2026, Tool Finder
- Best note-taking app for Android of 2025, TechRadar