Choosing the right android notepad apps out of thousands is definitely a cumbersome job, isn’t it? Our well trained editors have chosen and tested the best notepad apps for Android. These notepad apps, at this time of writing are the best available apps which would solve all of your note taking needs. Note: We used Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to test these applications. These note taking applications work well in any android smartphone. Just make sure that your handset fulfils the minimum software requirements.
1. ColorNote Notepad Notes
ColorNote Notepad Notes is a simple yet fast notepad apps. The user interface is quite easy to use but lacks some features as well. You can make text notes or checklists but can’t add images, videos, sketches, or voice notes. Adding notes for a particular day is possible on the Calendar tab. You can sort the notes according to your choice of preferences which makes it very easy to set your priorities. The ‘Master Password’ option under the settings gives you the privilege to secure your notes by a password. We don’t know why this option is almost hidden and we had to dig really deep into the options menu just to find that this feature is there. ColorNote Notepad Notes also offers home screen widgets for quick note taking and also works as a reminder. The application can automatically (or manually) backup all your notes on the SD card, or you can save it to the cloud by signing in with Facebook, Google, or any other email. Take a quick look at the features:
Organize notes by time, alphabet, or color Different home screen Widgets Checklists Make a note in calendar for a particular day Password Lock Secured backup notes to SD card or cloud Reminder notes on status bar Various Reminder settings: Time Alarm, All day, Repetition Share notes via SMS, email, twitter etc
Downloads: 50,000,000+ Android Version: Varies with device (we have tested this application on a Android 2.3 device and it worked very well) Size: Varies with device Price: Free
2. Flava
Flava is a really good looking notepad app. The interface is quite interesting. You can add images, videos, voice notes, location, and even website URLs to your notes. You can sort your notes by adding weather condition, mood, and themes (which looks like icons or smiles) to your notes. The sketch note function is quite useful and it is S-pen compatible on Samsung Galaxy note devices. The biggest disadvantage of Flava is you can’t make checklists. Flava offers home screen widgets too, which looks beautiful on the home screen. Flava offers password lock to protect your notes from intruders. Take a quick glance at the features:
Add Text, photo, voice, video, location data, book/music/movie libraries, URLs in a note Add weather condition, mood, and themes Fast move between month/year by pinch to zoom function Auto replay showing pictures from past moments with nice background music In-app PIN lock S-pen and multi-window compatible on Samsung Galaxy Note devices
Downloads: 100,000+ Android Version: Varies with device Size: Varies with device Price: Free
3. Google Keep
Since, you are using a smartphone which runs an operating system made by Google. A note taking application from the same developer is definitely worth a try. Google Keep is a feature rich notepad app that is very easy to use. You can make text notes, checklists, voice notes (voice notes transcribed automatically into texts), or picture notes. You can also set reminders which will be visible through ‘Google Now’. All of your notes get synchronised automatically to Gmail (if you turn on the sync). You can also check all of your notes on your desktop through the Google Keep website. Look at the features it offers:
Make notes, checklists, voice notes, and picture notes Add reminders and be reminded through Google Now Home screen widgets Different colours for different notes Swipe to archive things you no longer need Turn a note into a checklist by adding checkboxes Cloud sync
This could have been the stock notepad apps for android. Downloads: 10,000,000+ Android Version: 4.0 and up Size: 2.9M Price: Free
4. MobisleNotes-Notepad-Free and Paid
4.a Free Version
MobisleNotes-Notepad is somewhat like ‘ColorNote Notepad Notes’ and you can’t add any image, video, or voice to your note. You can only make either plain text notes or checklists. You can also seamlessly switch to checklist mode from text mode while writing down a note. You can create folders and organize your notes under different folders. The reminder feature is also present here.
4.b Paid Version [$9.99/Year]
The application is free but you can unlock additional features by paying a yearly subscription fee ($9.99/YEAR) which is available through an in app purchase. The developers are also offering premium features up to 6 months period if you can invite your friends. You can also win 3 years of premium features for free by sending a ‘funny picture’ at the email address provided on the welcome screen. Some Notable features: For free users
Checklists and plain text notes which are interchangeable Backup notes on SD card or in the cloud Folders for better organisation of the notes Reminders for your important tasks Password lock-for application and individual notes (quite useful) Global search to easily find any particular note Multi-window enabled for Samsung Galaxy Note devices
For paid users
Edit notes collaboratively Totally ad-free (although you can make it ad free by just inviting your friends) Share note on web either publicly or privately Ad-free web UI
Downloads: 1,000,000+ Android Version: Android 2.1 and up Size: 3.8M Price: Free/in app subscription ($9.99/year)
5. Note Everything
Note Everything is available for free. You can download it for free. However, it doesn’t offer much for free users. Free users can only make text notes, voice notes, and sketch notes. You can also create folders to organise your notes even if you are a free user. The application offers many necessary features for Pro users only, which are available for free in many other notepad apps. The number of free users is quite high (over 5 million). The paid users can create checklists, gallery notes, photo notes etc. The password lock is also available for the paid users. You can also set reminders if you are using the pro version. Take a quick look at the features: For free users
Make text notes, voice notes Express yourself through Painting Create folders and organise notes in a better way Search notes
For paid users
Photo notes Checklists Reminder password protection locking Stick notes to status bar Automatic backup to SD card
Downloads: 5,000,000+ (Free)/ 50,000 – 100,000 (Paid) Android Version: Android 2.1 and up Size: 1.6M Price: Free/one time in app purchase ($3.99)
6. Papyrus-Free and In App Purchase [optional]
6.a Free Version
Papyrus is specifically made for handwritten notes and sketches. It doesn’t offer checklists or typed notes. You can only add notes by writing with your finger or an S-pen (for Galaxy Note devices). Images can be added in a note but videos are not supported. The notebooks acts like folders that contain the notes. The sorting feature is quite useful.
6.b Paid Version [Optional]
This application also needs an in app purchase to unlock all the features. The additional tool pack for drawing costs $2.99. You can get the cloud synching feature by paying another $2.99. Papyrus doesn’t offer reminders. Take a quick look at the features: For free users
Hand written notes Sketches Different page settings Sorting the notes by name or time Widget/shortcut support S-pen compatible and multi-window enabled (only for Samsung Galaxy Note devices)
For Paid users
Cloud synching Extra tool pack for more precise drawing experience
Downloads: 500,000+ Android Version: Android 3.0 and up Size: 5.2M Price: Free/ in app purchase-1.Tool Pack-$2.99 2. Cloud service-$2.99
7. Secure Notes+
Secure Notes+ is basically the opposite of ‘Papyrus’. It only supports plain text notes. Also, as the name suggests, it’s specifically made for users who prioritize security over anything else. On opening the application, it asks you to enter a password of your choice. Once the password is set, you are good to go. Now, every time you open the application, it will ask you for the same password. The application isn’t very feature rich but if you want a basic, yet secure note taking application, Secure Notes+ will serve the purpose well. Features you should consider:
Easy to use and simple UI Password Protection Encrypt/Decrypt Note Sorting notes All notes stored in memory card not phone memory Share selected notes with friends
Downloads: 5,000+ Android Version: Android 2.2 and up Size: 641kb Price: Free
8. SomNote-Free and Paid [$3.99/month or $39.99/Year]
8.a Free Version
After testing so many applications, we thought SomNote was the perfect note taking application. However, after a while, we found out that it lacks two important features:-checklists and reminders. The developers have made a separate application for that where you can create checklists/to-do lists. Anyway, it offers all the basic notepad features for free like-creating folders (with different colours), adding sketches, adding pictures (from gallery or SD card), setting reminders, password locking, and synchronizing. You can back up the notes in your SD card or you can save it on the cloud. The storage space for free users is limited to 100 MB. So, you can either increase it 100MB further by recommending your friends or you can buy the premium subscription.
8.b Paid Version
You can buy more storage space for synchronizing your notes on the cloud. This will give you some additional features. For free users
Scribble, attach and share Shortcut for new notes List and stack type widgets Import, export, to and from to other Apps Clickable links: web/email address/phone number Sorting of notes Send links via SMS text message Password lock Cloud storage up to 100 MB
For paid users
Cloud storage up to 10 GB Folder lock More pen options and background Attached file size up to 100 MB
Downloads: 500,000+ Android Version: Android 2.2 and up Size: 13M Price: Free/in app purchase (storage space)
9. Springpad
Springpad is a good-looking notepad apps for android. It offers all the common features that a note taking application needs. It has a unique feature that no other note taking application provides. If you save a restaurant name, it will automatically give you a map and reviews of that restaurant. If you save a movie name, it will give you the show times nearby. You can also add recipes, web URLs, product names and Springpad will automatically add additional information (somewhat like Google Now?). Notable features you should definitely consider:
Create notebooks Share notebooks with friends, family and co-workers Save hotel, restaurants, activities, subway maps, pictures etc Bookmark videos and articles you want to check out later. Get reminder alerts Automatically synchronize all notes Connect to Facebook Pin lock Collaborate with co-workers on a project with notes, videos, links and tasks
Downloads: 500,000+ Android Version: Varies with device Size: Varies with device Price: Free Download from AppsApk
10. Ultimate Notes Taker
Ultimate Notes Taker is a pure note taking application having almost every feature you need while taking a note. You can create text notes, checklists, photo notes, video notes, audio notes, and drawing notes (full version of the drawing app can be downloaded separately for free). Although it has almost everything, the user interface is quite confusing. When we first opened the application and added a “title”, we thought it was the “title” of the note we were about to create. Then we realised that it’s actually the title of a category under which one can create different kinds of notes (text, checklist, photo, video, audio, or drawings).The “title” option should be renamed as folders or notebooks. Astonishingly, you can’t add reminders and the backup feature is also missing. So, it’s not the perfect application that we were looking for. However, if anyone searching for a basic note taking app with some basic note taking features, this is a good option for you. Take a quick look at the features:
Optimized for all screen sizes. Supports 7-inch tablets, 10-inch tablets and more Create text notes, checklists, photo notes, video notes, audio notes, and drawing notes Very small in size (only 1019 kb)
Downloads: 10,000+ Android Version: Varies with device Size: 1019 kb Price: Free
Conclusion
Today we talked about the top 10 note taking apps for your Android smartphone. We analyzed advantages and disadvantages of all the applications. Based on the data we came up with these points:
If you want an easy and quick note taking application which is free, you can go for- ColorNote, Flava, Google Keep, Springpad, or Note Everything. Although, Somnote and MobisleNotes-Notepad are not entirely free applications, all the basic features are available for free. So, free users can try those applications too. If you want only hand written notes, you should download Papyrus. We didn’t like Ultimate Note Taker (for the clumsy UI) and Secure Notes+ (not many features). Our top 3 choices would be ColorNote, Google Keep, and Springpad (in random order)
Although, preferences vary from person to person, we tried our best to give you the top 10 (and ultimately top 3) note taking applications. So, did you like our list of top 10 notepad apps? Did we miss any application that you think should have been on the list? You can let us know in the comments section below.
