5 causes I swapped Google Maintain for this open-source app

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As a journalist and avid fanatic of productiveness apps, I’ve used extra note-taking apps than I care to confess. Google Maintain, OneNote, SimpleNote, and a fairly broad assortment of open-source instruments have all been part of my note-taking arsenal at one level or one other. To make sure, a few of these had been wonderful, some much less so, whereas others like Google Maintain and OneNote begrudgingly turned a key a part of my workflow.

Google Maintain, specifically, has been a continuing companion for its simplicity, fast note-taking, and broad web-based availability. Regardless of its comparatively restricted characteristic set, the colourful sticky be aware format looks like an extension of the dozen or extra sticky notes plastered on my work desk. However as my note-taking wants have grown extra advanced, Maintain’s limitations simply can’t, ahem, sustain.

I've used extra note-taking apps than I care to confess, however just one has actually changed all of them.

Maintain isn’t the one note-taking app that I frequently use. I used to be an early adopter of Microsoft OneNote and clung to it after the downfall of Evernote. In principle, it packs each characteristic I would like, together with wealthy formatting and simple interlinking with different notes. Nevertheless, the app is heavy, clunky, and, usually sufficient, method an excessive amount of for on a regular basis use. I’ve been searching for one thing that may deal with each critical work and fast note-taking with out drowning me in choices or locking my notes right into a proprietary format. Feels like a tall order.

That’s what I assumed till I found Define. It’s an open-source app that sits on the cross part of note-taking and private data administration, and it has utterly changed each Google Maintain and OneNote for my use. Right here’s why.

Is Google Maintain your main note-taking app? 3929 votes

Sure, I take advantage of it on a regular basis.

76%

I take advantage of the default notes app on my cellphone (for eg. Samsung Notes).

7%

I desire a full-fledged suite like Notion or Obsidian.

8%

I haven't got a most well-liked note-taking app.

10%

An interface that works for you, not in opposition to you

<img class="e_sg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="outline vs google keep showing interlinking" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-1920w-1080h.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="outline vs google keep showing interlinking" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-showing-interlinking-scaled.jpg"/> Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

One in all my largest gripes with OneNote is its extremely cluttered interface. In typical Microsoft vogue, it’s a productiveness device with a surprisingly obtuse person expertise that hampers productiveness as a substitute of aiding it. Google Maintain is the alternative of that. It’s too barebones. Define strikes a uncommon stability by providing a clear interface that lets your notes shine whereas nonetheless offering all of the instruments you want only a click on away. The app takes a variety of inspiration from Notion however improves on it with a way more fluid presentation. There are not any pointless menu bars or floating toolbars, and there may be successfully no lag in any respect, even when embedding giant pages inside an current be aware. That lightning-quick efficiency was an enormous upsell after I initially began testing out Define, and it stays simply as quick at this time. While you open a web page, it’s prepared so that you can sort and begin taking notes. While you write for a dwelling, that fast entry makes an enormous distinction.

Define strikes the uncommon stability between velocity, simplicity, and the ability to deal with critical work.

The opposite characteristic that offered me on Define was markdown assist. For individuals who aren’t clued in on markdown, it's successfully a technique to tag wealthy formatting in your notes and have it present up precisely the identical throughout platforms and apps. I adore it.

Whereas Google Maintain helps all the standard formatting choices like daring, italics, and bullet factors, it isn’t strong sufficient. OneNote, then again, goes off the deep finish. Strive exporting a doc and see the proprietary mess you get. In actual fact, when drafting an article in OneNote, I couldn’t even copy and paste the doc into our personal CMS as a result of sheer quantity of cruft it provides.

Define is constructed with markdown in thoughts. Every thing you write is successfully plain textual content with tags added for formatting. These paperwork will be opened in every other markdown editor, making it a dream if doc portability is as necessary to you as it's to me. There’s no danger of shedding formatting or spending an entire lot of time cleansing up your copy. Furthermore, this markdown assist has made it straightforward for me to import years’ price of notes from different markdown editors I’ve used.

A self-hosted data hub that's fully in your management

<img class="e_sg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="outline vs google keep docker based install" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-1920w-1080h.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="outline vs google keep docker based install" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-vs-google-keep-docker-based-install-scaled.jpg"/> Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

One other frustration I’ve had with Google Maintain has been its lack of construction. Whereas labels are a superb first step and useful to an extent, there isn't any actual technique to simply interlink notes. OneNote tries to unravel that with sections and notebooks, but it surely’s not notably free-form the best way trendy instruments are.

Not like Google Maintain, Define allows you to create a dwelling community of notes, paperwork and media.

Define takes a web page out of Wikipedia and allows you to create an interconnected data system. You may create hyperlinks between pages, similar to a wiki. This helps keep away from replication of data, and when you’re engaged on an enormous undertaking, you'll be able to seamlessly hyperlink notes, paperwork, and extra immediately again to your main doc. It’s an enormous enchancment over nested pages. As somebody deep into the self-hosting and productiveness recreation, I hold notes on fascinating apps that I’m making an attempt out, and all of those are linked to a grasp doc that particulars my present stack.

Interlinking pages is only one benefit that Define provides. The app additionally works seamlessly with a variety of integrations that make managing and accessing exterior info a cinch. For instance, you'll be able to toss in a Google Sheets hyperlink and Define will provide to embed the doc, full with a preview and the flexibility to work together with the sheet. Equally, you'll be able to embed shows, Figma artboards, Airtable paperwork, and extra. That deep integration extends past inbound connections.

If you happen to’re deploying Define for a small enterprise, you'll be able to combine it with a work-focused messenger like Slack. This integration means that you can seek for and share Define paperwork straight from a chat window. It’s extremely helpful and one thing that's merely not doable with Google Maintain or OneNote. If you happen to’re seeking to push the app even additional, you'll be able to join it with Zapier for limitless automation. You catch my drift.

There’s no proprietary lock-in right here, simply plain textual content information you management utterly.

Whereas all these options are wonderful to have, there are a number of extra points of Define that offered it to me. You see, self-hosting and knowledge possession are extraordinarily necessary to me. Whereas I’m not averse to utilizing cloud providers, I all the time attempt to keep an offline, self-hosted copy of each file, doc, or {photograph}. Nevertheless, each Google Maintain and OneNote retailer your knowledge on their respective firm servers. Handy as that's, there are vital tradeoffs. It's a must to belief that your knowledge will all the time be protected, the service will all the time be round — I’m you, Google — and that privateness insurance policies gained’t change. Within the age of AI-everything, I simply don’t belief any firm sufficient.

Define is open-source and provides a simple self-hosted different. You may run it by yourself server, maybe a Synology NAS, and even host it on a VPS to have straightforward on-line entry. Whereas that shifts the onus of upkeep, backups, and safety on you, it’s a compromise I’m comfy with. After all, the corporate does provide a cloud-hosted different for a worth, and if the remainder of the characteristic set is all that you just’re searching for, Define remains to be a terrific selection. However for me, knowledge possession is the most important upsell.

<img class="e_sg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="outline markdown export" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-markdown-export.jpg 2082w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-markdown-export-64w-40h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-markdown-export-1000w-627h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-markdown-export-1722w-1080h.jpg 1722w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-markdown-export-1377w-864h.jpg 1377w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-markdown-export-606w-380h.jpg 606w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-markdown-export-675w-423h.jpg 675w" alt="outline markdown export" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/outline-markdown-export.jpg"/> Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

On that be aware, Define has another characteristic that appeals to me. Knowledge possession is nothing with out ease of knowledge transfers. Open-source apps can stop improvement too. If you happen to’ve tried exporting paperwork from Google Maintain or OneNote, you’d understand how cumbersome that may be. Export choices are restricted, and the doc construction is cumbersome by design, making it arduous to switch these paperwork to a different app.

Define’s markdown-based method ensures that your notes are simply information in a folder. Again them up, copy them, sync them, or import them right into a brand-new app that you just’re having fun with greater than Define. There’s no proprietary lock-in right here.

Why Define has change into my go-to for critical note-taking A lot as I like making an attempt out the newest and best productiveness apps, my swap from Google Maintain and OneNote to Define wasn’t nearly chasing the brand new shiny. I wanted to unravel a really actual downside I confronted in my workflow. And regardless of switching over to Define, I haven’t fully discarded Maintain simply but. As an alternative, I take advantage of it like a scratch pad or sticky be aware for ephemeral lists like grocery purchasing or when making a fast be aware.

Define has earned a everlasting spot in my self-hosting stack and I do not see myself going again.

However for notes that I make for analysis, long-form writing, journaling, or, for that matter, something that I would like to stay round, Define is what I flip to. The app has the depth and have set of a industrial providing, all some great benefits of self-hosting which can be necessary to me, and an interface that simply will get out of the best way to facilitate productiveness. All of this has made it my go-to app of selection for note-taking and private data administration. I simply don’t see myself going again to Google Maintain or OneNote for these duties once more.