Best Note-taking & PKM tools

Notion is the most-adopted Note-taking & PKM tool among creators we track, used by 23 creators (90% of its mentions organic). This ranking counts real, receipt-backed creator usage — no editorial opinion, no paid placement.

1. 1

   Notion

   Connected workspace combining notes, documents, wikis and databases. Pages are built from blocks and can embed tables, boards and calendars; teams and solo creators use it for planning, documentation and content pipelines. Includes the Notion AI add-on.

   23 active creators · 40 mentions · 90% organic · Free plan; paid plans from ~$10/user/month

   “Based on my quarterly goals doc in Notion, tell me what meetings I shouldn't be in” — Dan Martellsource ↗

   try Notion↗receipts →
2. 2

   NotebookLM

   Research notebook that answers only from the documents you upload, and cites the passage behind every answer.

   11 active creators · 20 mentions · 90% organic

   “NotebookLM just added a brand new feature called short video overviews” — Futurepediasource ↗

   try NotebookLM↗receipts →
3. 3

   Obsidian

   Local-first Markdown note app built around bidirectional links and a graph view. Notes are plain files on disk, extended by thousands of community plugins. Optional paid services add end-to-end-encrypted sync and web publishing.

   10 active creators · 11 mentions · 100% organic · Free for personal use; Sync ~$5/month, Publish ~$10/site/month

   “Learn how to use Obsidian step by step in this beginner-friendly tutorial.” — Kevin Stratvertsource ↗

   try Obsidian↗receipts →
4. 4

   Google Sheets

   Browser spreadsheet with shared editing, formulas and links into the rest of Google Workspace.

   7 active creators · 8 mentions · 100% organic

   “I created a functional CRM and business toolkit with Google Sheets called Sheetify CRM that connects to Google Workspace” — Stewart Gauldsource ↗

   try Google Sheets↗receipts →
5. 5

   Granola

   Meeting notepad that listens along, fills in around your own bullet points and summarises afterwards.

   6 active creators · 10 mentions · 70% organic

   “Granola is my go-to tool” — Tool Findersource ↗

   try Granola↗receipts →
6. 6

   Excel

   Microsoft's spreadsheet, with formulas, pivot tables and charts.

   4 active creators · 10 mentions · 100% organic

   try Excel↗receipts →
7. 7

   Microsoft Word

   Microsoft's word processor, with styles, tracked changes and comments.

   3 active creators · 3 mentions · 100% organic

   “In this APA 7th edition tutorial I set up a complete student paper in Microsoft Word from scratch” — Andy Stapletonsource ↗

   try Microsoft Word↗receipts →
8. 8

   Google Docs

   Browser word processor where several people write in the same document at once, with comments and version history.

   3 active creators · 2 mentions · 100% organic

   “We use Gmail, Google Docs, Zoom, Stripe, Calendly, and a basic CRM.” — The AI Advantagesource ↗

   try Google Docs↗receipts →
9. 9

   Shortform

   Book summaries with commentary and cross-references to related titles.

   1 active creators · 3 mentions · 0% organic

   try Shortform↗receipts →
10. 10

    Roam Research

    Outliner-based networked note tool that popularized daily notes and bidirectional block references. Every bullet is an addressable block that can be embedded and linked across pages, aimed at researchers and writers building long-term knowledge graphs.

    0 active creators · 0 mentions · – organic · ~$15/month or ~$165/year; long-term 'Believer' plan available

    try Roam Research↗receipts →