Google Keep vs. Evernote – Who Wins?

Ever since the introduction of Google Keep, the tech world has been abuzz, as it usually is when Google introduces a new feature that is expected to compete with a highly popular company, program or app- in this case, it is Evernote.

When I first heard of Evernote, I must admit, I wasn’t impressed. There were already several great note-creating services around. It wasn’t until I tried it that I realized just how much more Evernote actually can do. And it has grown to be one of the most popular cloud services around. But Google has created what some have deemed the “Evernote killer”. It’s always hard to uproot a company that has strong roots in the ground, but Google is somehow always around the top when it comes to new programs and services. But does Google Keep have enough features to compare with Evernote? And can it uproot the foundation that Evernote has with its users?

Google Keep and Evernote features

Both Google Keep and Evernote have features that allow users to create quick notes and documents along with editing and revision features for documents and presentations. The software on each service allows checklists to be made and edited. They can also create and store images and audio files. Both have sync features between computers or mobile devices and the cloud, which enables users to access data and utilize the features of these two apps from anywhere. Evernote has better sync capabilities as it allows users to sync to a variety of devices. Both Google Keep and Evernote have features that allow transcription of audio speech files.

One of the largest advantages Evernote has over Google Keep is the tag feature. The ability to tag notes and images for fast and easy searching is one of Evernote’s most prominent features and the fact that Google Keep is lacking in this area is a huge deal. Google Keep does have a color code system for searching but in its current state, it pales in comparison to Evernote’s superior tag feature.

The Google Keep app is incompatible with some of the most popular phones, another move that is not going to help Google Keep overtake Evernote anytime soon. Evernote is compatible with Android phones and tablets and iOS phones and tablets, while Google Keep is currently not available for iOS or for Android phones or tablets unless they are using Android 4.0 or above.

Evernote currently only allows exportation of files to Evernote format or in HTML format. While Evernote doesn’t have a “save to PDF” feature, notes and documents can be saved to PDF by using the “print to PDF” feature on most Windows computers or by using a prominent cloud backup service such as cloudHQ, which automatically saves all Evernote documents into PDF or Microsoft Word format, whatever choice the user prefers.

Is Google Keep the Evernote killer?

Since the release of Google Keep, an Evernote executive says that the flow of new users has not slowed a bit, that they are still seeing an increase of around 100,000 new users per day, joining the 41 million users they already have. Google Keep currently has around 5 million users although that number has not been increasing at a significant level.

Another disadvantage Google Keep currently has is that while users can archive notes or place them on the home screen, Google Keep does not allow notes to be organized into specific categories or separate work spaces.

I am happy to see Google releasing a competing app for Evernote but in its current state, it simply lacks the features to be a threat to Evernote. Evernote has had the time to add new features, as well as tweaking existing features to create a mature app that appeals to a large fan base.

Will Google implement enough features in the future to overtake Evernote? Only time will tell but it’s something we will definitely keep an eye on. As Evernote has become the ultimate app for taking quick notes, creating documents on the fly, and creating complete presentations with audio and images, it will be a hard task to overcome that success. Google has the means to do, we will just have to wait and see if they do.