Keep It vs Notebooks
We give Keep It a 2.8 GPA and Notebooks a 3.2, out of 4.0. Notebooks grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Keep It
Notebook and document organizer for Mac, iPhone and iPad
Notebooks
Writing, documents and tasks organized in nested books
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAKeep ItGood | 3.2GPANotebooksVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe Mac subscription is $2.99 or $29.99 and the iPhone and iPad one is $1.99 or $19.99, monthly or yearly by the look of it, though the listings don't label which. Cheap alone, about typical once you pay for both. The one-time Mac licence only shows its price at checkout. | AOne-time prices: $17.99 for iPhone and iPad, $19 for Windows, $43.99 for Mac. Each is under a year of the $5.99 a month that's typical here, and nothing recurs. Just add them up first if you need more than one, because each platform is its own purchase. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. There's a 15-day trial of the direct Mac download and a two-week trial with the App Store subscriptions. The listing doesn't say whether a card is needed for the direct one. On iPhone and iPad a subscription is required after the trial. | CNo free plan. There are free trial versions for Mac and Windows, and the Windows one expires after 30 days. The iPhone and iPad app is a straight $17.99 purchase. |
| Features | ANotes with checklists and attachments, Markdown and rich text files, web pages saved as PDFs, document scanning, PDF editing, nested folders, overlapping bundles, tags, and search that reads text inside scanned PDFs and images. For a personal library, that's the whole job. | APlain text, Markdown and formatted documents with tables, images and attachments. Books nest inside books, and any book can become a task list with due dates and repeats. Wiki-style links, backlinks, search inside PDFs, and export to PDF or eBook round it off. |
| Ease of use | BYour items are plain files in the Finder and the Files app, so there's no new system to trust or learn. Sync goes through iCloud. No App Store rating is on record to go by, so a B is as high as we go. | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is our ceiling. It installs like any app. Sync is the part to think about, since WebDAV has no automatic mode and has to be set off by hand. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac, iPhone and iPad, with hooks into Apple Mail, Safari, Shortcuts, AppleScript and Siri. All Apple, though. Sync is through iCloud only, so it can't be used with Dropbox or OneDrive, and there's no Windows, Android or web version. | BiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and Windows, with files synced through iCloud Drive, Dropbox or WebDAV, or straight between devices over Wi-Fi. No Android, Linux or web version, which keeps it off the A. |
| Best for | notes and documents that stay visible in the Finder | notes, long documents and tasks kept as plain files |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Keep It and Notebooks. How we grade
Where they differ
- Keep It starts at $2.99 in-app subscription on the Mac App Store (billing period not labelled). Notebooks starts at $17.99 one-time for iPhone and iPad; $43.99 one-time for Mac.
- Only Keep It lists a browser extension.
- Only Notebooks lists a Windows app.
- Keep It also covers web clipper, templates and bookmarks.
- Notebooks also covers tasks and long-form writing.
At a glance
| Keep It | Notebooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $2.99 in-app subscription on the Mac App Store (billing period not labelled) | $17.99 one-time for iPhone and iPad; $43.99 one-time for Mac |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Two-week free trial with App Store subscriptions; 15-day trial of the direct Mac download | Free trial versions for Mac and Windows; the Windows trial expires after 30 days |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Reinvented Software | Alfons Schmid |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Keep It
- Mac users who want notes and reference documents in one library
- People who want their files to stay visible in the Finder and Files app
- Archiving web pages, PDFs and emails for offline reading and search
Notebooks
- Writers who want notes, long documents and tasks in one app
- People who prefer one-time purchases to subscriptions
- Users who want their documents kept as regular files they can reach from other apps
Worth knowing
Keep It
- It runs on Apple platforms only, and the iPhone and iPad app is always a separate purchase from the Mac app.
- The iPhone and iPad app requires a subscription; the one-time license exists only for the Mac version bought from the vendor.
- Sync is through iCloud only: it cannot be used with Dropbox, OneDrive or iCloud Drive, and it has a single library.
- The one-time license covers the current major version (2.x), and its price is not shown until the store checkout.
Notebooks
- Each platform is a separate purchase: $17.99 for iPhone and iPad, $19 for Windows and $43.99 for Mac.
- The site offers no Android, Linux or web version.
- On iPhone and iPad, Custom Storage Locations is a $2.99 in-app purchase on top of the app price.
- WebDAV sync has no automatic mode and has to be triggered manually.
Key features
Keep It
- Notes and text files
- Notes with styles, checklists, lists, links, images and attachments, plus rich text, plain text and Markdown files with an HTML preview.
- Web links, PDFs and scans
- Save web links as PDFs or web archives for offline reading, scan documents, and edit PDFs by reordering or removing pages and highlighting text.
- Finder and Files integration
- Everything is stored as files, folders and tags that can be managed in the Finder and in Open and Save panels on the Mac, and in the Files app on iPhone and iPad.
- Folders, bundles, tags and labels
- Organize items in nested folders, gather them into bundles that can overlap, and add tags and color labels. A Tag Filter narrows any list by tag.
- Search and saved searches
- Searches file contents, text recognized in scanned PDFs and images, and metadata, with suggestions as you type. Any search can be saved to the sidebar.
- iCloud sync and sharing
- The library can live in iCloud and be reached from all your Macs, iPhones and iPads, and top-level folders or single items can be shared with other Keep It users.
Notebooks
- Text, Markdown and formatted documents
- Write in plain text, Markdown or formatted text with styles, tables, checklists, images and attachments, and convert between the formats at any time.
- Nested books
- Documents and imported files live in books that nest into hierarchies and can be reordered freely. Smart Books collect recent items, favorites and tasks.
- Task lists inside books
- Any book can become a task list and nested books become nested projects, with due dates, alerts and recurring tasks. Tasks can be extracted from documents.
- Links, backlinks and search
- Wiki-style links connect documents, backlinks show where a document is referenced, and full-text search covers documents, PDFs and attachments.
- PDF and eBook export
- Compile one or more documents into a PDF or an eBook at any time; the developer's own handbooks are produced this way.
- Regular files and flexible sync
- Documents are regular files in standard formats, synced through iCloud Drive, Dropbox or WebDAV, or directly between devices over a local Wi-Fi network.
Plans
Keep It
Keep It for iPad and iPhone$1.99 or $19.99
monthly or yearly subscription; the listing does not label which
A separate App Store app that requires a subscription, with a two-week free trial for new subscribers.
Keep It for Mac (Mac App Store)$2.99 or $29.99
monthly or yearly subscription; the listing does not label which
Subscription to the Mac app from the Mac App Store, with a two-week free trial and Family Sharing.
Keep It for Mac (one-time license)Not published
Bought from Reinvented Software and covers every 2.x release on all the Macs in a household. The price is shown only in the store checkout.
Notebooks
Notebooks for iPhone and iPad$17.99
one-time purchase (US App Store)
The iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch app. Custom Storage Locations is a $2.99 in-app purchase, and optional tips are offered.
Notebooks for Windows$19
one-time license
A license file for the Windows app, which shares its files with the iPhone and iPad app through iCloud Drive, Dropbox or WebDAV.
Notebooks for Mac$43.99
one-time purchase
Sold directly, with activation on up to five Macs, or through the Mac App Store at the same price. There are no recurring fees.
Ways to pay less
Keep It
- Other savings
Free or half-price upgrade from Keep It 1
Buyers of Keep It 1.x on or after May 4, 2021 qualify for a free upgrade to version 2, and earlier buyers for a half-price upgrade license.
Notebooks
No public discounts listed.
