Google offers two brilliant yet underrated productivity apps: Google Keep and Google Tasks. These are two gems that are part of the Google ecosystem.
‘Underrated’ because many of us don’t know their use cases and how they differ.
Google Keep and Google Tasks help you store everything from shopping lists to to-dos at your workplace, with reminders for what’s pending, upcoming, or missed.
But—the difference lies in how they do it. ⚖️
In this article, I’ll compare Google Keep vs Google Tasks and determine which is better at enhancing productivity. I’ll also introduce a more robust alternative to Google Tasks and Google Keep: ClickUp.
Let’s begin.
Google Keep Vs Google Tasks: What’s the Difference?
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Is Google Keep?
Google Keep is a free note-taking app from Google. It lets you ‘Keep’ (pun intended) all that you care about, from thoughts to photos, in one place. Unlike Evernote or OneNote, Keep is free to use, with no hidden costs.
Google Keep is readily accessible; you can use it from the web app or download it on your phone, tablet, or computer. It syncs across devices.
Unlike your device’s default note-taking app, which creates wonderful checklists, Google Keep is more of a productivity tool. It offers you collaboration features and lets you add collaborators, save voice memos, customize backgrounds, draw on a hands-free canvas, and more.
💡Pro Tip: Google Keep is best used for journaling and diary-keeping. It’s suitable for people who want a bit of pizazz when saving their notes.
Google Keep features
Google Keep is simple, user-friendly, and loaded with features. If you’ve not used it before, here’s why you should:
1. Note-taking
Note-taking is a core feature of Google Keep, but your notes don’t have to be basic. With Google Keep, you can save notes as plain text, checklists, photos, drawings, or voice memos.
Moreover, you can set beautiful backgrounds, change colors, scribble, and personalize Keep notes.
I loved how Google Keep lets you capture texts from your images to create notes. How convenient!
2. Organization and management
Google Keep offers features like labels, filters, workspaces, and more for task organization and management. Let’s drill down on each:
Keep’s labeling feature is similar to Tags. It allows you to group notes into specific categories. For example, you can create labels to group notes based on high or low priority.
It’s also pretty easy to implement. Once you create a note, click the three-dot button and ‘Add Label.’
Once you create a label, all notes under that label appear in one place. Even better, Keep automatically creates separate workspaces for labels.
Using Google Keep’s filtering options, you can filter and search for your notes by label name, things, and other attributes, such as lists with images, audio notes with reminders, or just see shared notes.
3. Customization options
Google Keep offers limited customization options, perfect for the app’s use case.
For example, it lets you customize backgrounds and colors for notes but has no text formatting options, such as you cannot bold, italicize, or add other variations to your notes.
What’s more, you can also pin certain notes to always stay on top. 👇
4. Real-time collaboration and sharing
Google Keep allows you to add collaborators to notes via email. Once added, they can view or edit your notes, with real-time changes reflected for all participants. Keep also integrates with Google Docs, letting you export notes to docs with a click.
5. Instant reminders
Google Keep maintains reminders for you and syncs them to your Google account. Google has announced that reminders created in Google Keep will automatically sync with Google Tasks over the next year.
However, for now, Keep offers in-app push notifications for nearing deadlines. You can also choose to set reminders for a pre-set time or location.
For example, the next time you plan to visit a cafe in another city, jot down in Keeps and set up a location-based reminder using maps. Next time you visit the city, you get a push notification from Keep. Tada!!
Google Keep Pricing
- Free Forever
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Is Google Tasks?
Google Tasks is a task-management app that lets you track daily tasks, organize multiple lists, and stay alert for nearing deadlines.
The app seamlessly integrates with Google Workspace apps such as Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and others.
Ideal for: Professional and short-term goal settings. Tasks is best when you need a sidekick to jot things down for the day or the week without any distractions getting in your way.
Google Tasks Features
Google Tasks is a minimalistic app that comes with task management features. Here’s a quick breakdown of all that it offers:
1. Add and create tasks
It’s quick and easy to create a task on Google Tasks. Click the Add a task button > add a title > enter relevant details, and you’re done!
It also lets you break down your main task into subtasks. For example, I wanted to add subtasks for creating content briefs, starting with keyword search.
Here’s how I did it with Google Tasks. 👇
2. Create recurring tasks on auto-pilot
For recurring tasks, Google Tasks offers a repetition function that automatically creates repeated tasks at set intervals. Be it after days, weeks, or months. You can end the repetition based on a date or when the number of repetitions reaches a certain threshold.
3. Gmail integration
Google Tasks seamlessly integrates with Gmail. You can locate it on the side panel or just above when you open an email. It lets you create a list of emails you’d want to respond to, read, or come back to a later time.
4. Task management
Google Tasks offers different options for organizing and managing your tasks. First, you can simply rearrange or sort your task list with a single click using three parameters: My order, Date logged, or Recently Starred.
Or, if you’d like to do it manually, you may drag tasks up or down. If the task contains subtasks, they’ll move along as well.
5. Real-time alerts
Google Tasks integrates with Google Calendar to give real-time alerts for approaching deadlines. This way, you know what’s pending and what’s upcoming.
Google Tasks Pricing
- Free Forever
Summarize this article for me pleaseGoogle Keep Vs. Google Tasks: Features Compared
If you’re here, you know that both Keep and Tasks have intuitive features.
Google Keep stands out for its customization and note-taking abilities, while Tasks keeps it simple and excels at task management while integrating with other apps in the Google Workspace.
Let’s size them up against each other—Google Keep vs Task—to see which wins where.
Task management
Both apps allow you to create to-do lists and reminders. They sync well with other Google offerings, such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Drive. So, what’s the difference?
Google Tasks is a dedicated task manager. It lets you create separate task cards, provide context, add subtasks, and set due dates. You can configure recurring tasks to show up after a set period automatically.
Organizing tasks is no headache. It has simple drag-and-drop and touch-and-done functions to organize tasks based on changing priorities.
In contrast, Keep is a note-taking app with some task management capabilities. It lets you create workspaces and organize tasks using labels, checklists, and tick-off checkboxes when tasks get completed.
However, Keep doesn’t have the same level of task organization as Tasks. For instance, I can’t create tasks directly from email conversations, add subtasks, or sync them with my Google Calendar.
Winner: In Google Tasks vs Keep, Google Tasks wins in task management. It’s more intuitive as a task management app, while Keep is better for note-taking.
Real-time reminders
Both applications serve as reminders. Google Tasks integrates well with Google Calendar, so your deadline-conscious tasks will be visible on Calendar automatically. Meanwhile, any reminders you set via Google Assistant on your phone are also saved on Google Tasks.
Google Keep provides in-app reminders that are limited to your mobile app. It lets you customize reminders for time or locations to receive alerts through push notifications.
Winner: In Google Keep vs Tasks, both tools offer real-time alerts and reminders. However, Google Tasks is ideal for tasks that sync with Google Calendar.
User interface and flexibility
Tasks go for a simple, minimalist approach focused on tasks. The interface, which is limited to around one-sixth of your screen on the web, is straightforward to navigate. The same goes for the mobile app. However, this leaves you with less flexibility and customization options.
This is what Google Keep excels at. It has an intuitive, scrapbook format interface where all your notes are pinned onto a virtual board. You can label and search for your notes or sort them using labels, colors, and note types.
Winner: In Google Keep vs Tasks, Keep offers more flexibility and customization options. On the other hand, if you need something minimalist and super simple to get your reminders on time, Google Tasks is your go-to tool.
Journaling, scrapbooking, and long-term goals
There is simply zero competition on this front. Keep can do all of the above with multimedia note-taking features (voice notes, photos, doodles) and customization features. You can maintain your research or school projects, photo albums, and more on Keep.
Tasks fall short on all these fronts since it wasn’t designed as a basic task management software.
Winner: Keep, because Tasks lack these capabilities in the first place.
Integrations
Both Google Keep and Google Tasks integrate with other Google apps.
Google Tasks better serves as a central hub for managing tasks across various Google products like Gmail, Calendar, and Google Assistant.
On the contrary, Google Keep lets you create Google Docs from your notes. But doesn’t sync your notes with Calendar.
Winner: In Google Tasks vs Keep, Tasks is a more connected platform.
Collaboration and sharing
Google Keep allows users to add collaborators via email and share notes, including lists. Changes made by other users are visible in real time.
On the other hand, Google Tasks has limited collaboration functionalities and does not support sharing or collaboration at the same level as Google Keep.
Winner: In Google Keep vs Tasks, Keep is better for team collaboration and task sharing. Tasks is ideal for one-person shows and designed for action items you wish to act on yourself.
Summarize this article for me pleaseGoogle Keep Vs. Google Tasks on Reddit
We wanted some actual feedback from real users on this debate, so we went to Reddit to get an authentic view. What we found was not surprising.
Here are some opinions from users:
“Google Keep seems to be the most complete app but its integration with the Google Calendar is meh. Google Tasks is a bit better when it comes to the Google calendar integration but unfortunately not on Android, since you have to install the Tasks app”
“I use Google Keep to create a to-do list; I update it every day and order my tasks in order of importance. I also use keep for quick notes and brainstorming, shopping lists, packing lists, etc. I haven’t really used tasks”
This sentiment is consistent throughout. Most users prefer Keep because it is more complete software that offers services equivalent to and better than what Tasks can do for most. Google Tasks is just too bare-bones.
However, there are the occasional Tasks enjoyers out there:
“I use both. Tasks works great as an action-oriented “do it now” to-do list. I use Keep for vague long-term ideas, notes to myself, or general reminders.”
All in all, a lot depends on your personal preferences. But the overall verdict still stands: Keep can do almost everything Tasks can.
Summarize this article for me pleaseMeet ClickUp—The Best Alternative to Google Keep and Google Tasks
ClickUp is an all-in-one app for managing tasks, writing notes, collaborating, and doing more in one place.
Imagine never missing a single meeting or deadline, seamlessly sharing all your work with your team, and having a state-of-the-art AI assistant 24/7. These are just a few things ClickUp, as a Google Keep and Google Tasks alternative, can do for you.
Feature #1. Task Management
ClickUp Tasks can replace both Keep and Tasks for you. It’s highly customizable and lets you plan, organize, and collaborate on any project. You can even change how you view the tasks between Kanban, List, Calendar, and 15+ views.
Do you have a task that repeats often? Use one of our many task templates, including note-taking templates, to capture and organize information in any setting, be it a boardroom or classroom.
ClickUp Chat view lets you create different spaces or chat groups alongside projects. Enable role-based access to control who can view conversations, keeping talks private as long as you want.
Use @mentions and directly assign comments to notify members of messages in real time. Transform comments into actionable items and streamline communication with easily shareable screen recordings.
Feature #2. Get Docs and task management in one app
ClickUp makes for an excellent Google Keep alternative by letting you create notes alongside full-fledged task management.
ClickUp Docs lets you create and share multi-media documents with your team in real time. You can also edit in real time alongside your team. To stay on top of ideas, tag others with comments, assign them action items, and convert text into trackable tasks.
Unlike Google Keep, Docs are more vivid and offer rich text formatting and customization options. You can add nested pages, widgets, tables, banners, buttons, and attachments.
ClickUp native integrations allow you to connect Docs with 1000+ tools and apps for your business.
Feature #3. Integrate AI into task management
ClickUp Brain brings AI tools to note-taking for streamlined document management. AI-generated summaries and automated edits automate creation, editing, and organization tasks, boosting productivity through smart suggestions and optimized workflows.
And now, for the coup de grace, you get access to powerful tools and features at zero cost. Say goodbye to managing multiple apps, and sign up for free today at ClickUp.
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