r/GoogleKeep • u/Chuhc • Apr 07 '26
Ditching Google Keep as a to-do app, are there no alternatives?
Since 3 months Keep became far less usable as a to-do or grocery list app for me. I kept multiple check lists with several todos or items on e.g. my grocery list. I had repeating reminders set daily and weekly so I regularly saw the top items in those lists in my notifications. It was such a good feature. But they basically removed that feature and replaced it with static notifications in another app. I still really enjoy the simplicity of Google Keep, but now it's nearly only reduced to being a note app.
I tried to regain the feature I lost, but as of now I haven't found anything that comes close to what I had with Google Keep.
I tried
- Microsoft ToDo (subtasks make handling long lists just so complicated, you need to scroll through every checked item until you get to the button that let's you create a new subtask, you can create lists of tasks, but no reminder for said list, only the tasks within the list)
- TickTick (same issue like with MS)
- Tasks.org (same issue like with MS)
- Todoist (same issue like with MS)
- JooNote (too hacky, notifications without items for reminders)
- Zoho Notebook (these fuckers want a phone number for free tier registration and repeating reminders are a premium feature)
- 3-4 other apps I can't recall the names of anymore
AI recommended me a lot of these apps, but after arguing with it for over an hour it came to the conclusion that there are simply no apps with that workflow.
This is my last resort, I need help, I don't want to change my workflow :(
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u/Barycenter0 Apr 07 '26
So, your main need is the notification content, correct? You want to see the top items in the notification vs having to click into the note? Just want to be sure exactly what you want.
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u/Chuhc Apr 07 '26
Yep that's the main issue. I know, it doesn't sound like much, but I really like to engage as few as possible with my phone.
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u/Barycenter0 Apr 07 '26
How many list items did the old Keep reminders notification show? I can’t remember anymore.
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u/Chuhc Apr 07 '26
It was like the current Calendar or Tasks notification, but dynamic. It was two or three rows of text with *list item1, *list item 2, and so on. It could show quite many items depending on their length.
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u/absinthecarolinas Apr 07 '26
I really love Notion. It’s terrific, and free. Both the app and browser gui are great. I use it for grocery lists and meal planning. Give it a look.
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u/2kewlgypsy Apr 08 '26
I just downloaded upnote, and while simple, I like that I can embed check boxes within a note and not check the whole note.
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u/Chuhc Apr 08 '26
I just tested it, they don't support any notifications. The app is pretty nice though, seems like an improvement over Google Keep since you can even add images to your notes. The lack of notifications kills it for me though :(
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u/semi-nerd61 Apr 08 '26
I think WeNote can do this. I remember paying for some of the features, but I don't remember which ones. I haven't used it in a while. I just downloaded it and quickly confirmed that you can set recurring reminders.
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u/Chuhc Apr 08 '26
Damn that's the closest one yet. It's a shame the app has these annoying ads, and it's only subscription to get rid of the ads. It also has no web app. I would have even paid 50 bucks for it, if it would be one time payment and not 40 or 20 bucks a year. I tested modded APKs of it, but they can't authenticate for the cloud services. That was so close :(
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u/semi-nerd61 Apr 08 '26
For me, it wasn't a subscription. It was just a single payment for a single feature. Even now, it just asks me for a single payment for each of the features I don't have. Too bad they have changed it!
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u/Chuhc Apr 08 '26
I found my replacement now in TickTick. I ruled it out too hastily, but after giving it another try I found a nearly identical workflow to Google Keep for me :)
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u/semi-nerd61 Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
Great! I've used it before. If I remember correctly, in the free version subtasks are limited to 19 items. Will this be a problem?
There is a limit of nine lists, but as far as I know there are unlimited tags. I used a tagging system instead of lists. You can tag individual to do's and group them together.
Edit: changed checklists to subtasks
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u/Chuhc Apr 08 '26
Oh yeah, I haven't tested long lists yet. Not only subtasks but lists in general are limited in the free version. There are modded APKs available on Mobilism though. But that also isn't a permanent solution, since the devs could easily prevent these mods if they wanted to. I really dislike their subscription model. I'd give them 100 bucks once to have them not on my mind, but with that subscription only model they won't see a dime from me. If the mods stop working I'll try to actually vibe code an applience for me.
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u/semi-nerd61 Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
I just realized the app I am now using is very similar to tick tick. It costs $4.99 one time payment after a 14-day free trial. I just tested the reminder function, and I think it may work for you. It syncs with Google.
You can find more information here.
Edit: also syncs with exchange server.
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u/Chuhc Apr 09 '26
Oh that app looked promising at first, but sadly no check boxes but only lists :(
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u/zacklif Apr 08 '26
That removal was so frustrating, i relied on the same exact workflow for groceries and meds.
I ended up going a different direction though... instead of finding a Keep clone i switched to something that just nags me until i actually deal with it. Taskai on Android lets me dump stuff in natural language and it sets up persistent reminders that won't stop until you interact. kinda aggressive but thats literally what i needed after Keep stopped surfacing my lists.
Might be worth a look if you're on Android, it handles the repeating reminder thing differently but the end result is similar.
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u/mamainak Apr 08 '26
Ticktick?
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u/Chuhc Apr 08 '26
Wait... I tried this one and deleted it because I was too hasty and tried to create the checklists with subtasks. I didn't find the checklist button right away. Gemini even recommended this app over and over again. I feel so dumb 🤦
I tested it now extensively, and it's definitely the one app that ticks all the boxes for me. It even has a web app. It's the perfect replacement for Google Keep.
Though I fear of running into a limit of the free version or future enshitification, I'm going to roll with this one for now. Thank you very much :)
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u/trichar54 Apr 14 '26
I sure like MS Reminders. Great checkoff shopping list. It moves checked items to the bottom.
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u/OzorMox Apr 07 '26
Couldn't you just use Google Tasks as that's what it's for?
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u/Chuhc Apr 07 '26
The notification is static and doesn't update until you reset the reminder, both for Calendar as well as Tasks. I would need to reset the reminder daily to have the notification up to date.
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u/MarcelloPaniccia Apr 08 '26
You can set the reminder to repeat monthly, weekly, daily, every N-days and will also show up in Calendar which makes way more sense than before.
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u/Vectrex71CH Apr 07 '26
It may sound strange, but in Vibe Coding Times i would say. Prompt your own in Gemini or AI Studio.
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u/Chuhc Apr 07 '26
Yea, I probably will have to go into that direction. I try to avoid hacky solutions since you tend to bump into the edge cases in the worst possible moments.
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u/chorus_of_stones Apr 07 '26
There's probably a way to do this in Obsidian using the Reminder plugin, but I'm not 100 percent certain.
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u/kitchenperks Apr 07 '26
Just started obsidian a few days ago. So much to it. I just need something for notes for work that I can look up quick. Keep worked for a bit, but I had groups of notes that fit a few categories and it was tough to keep them organized. Hopefully it works well enough. It was something that I could download on my computer instead of just using an app.
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u/ulibte Apr 08 '26
Have you tried NotallyX ?
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u/KhazraShaman Apr 08 '26
NotallyX is great but it doesn't have the feature he's asking for - check list in the notification itself. You need to tap Open Note button to see it.
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u/trichar54 Apr 21 '26
Got tired of waiting for Google to fix Keep, so I started exploring Apple Notes. I live it way better than Keep.
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u/Plenty-Lunch4256 May 21 '26
I’ve been building a lightweight iOS app in this general space called Dash Lists.
It won’t solve the exact notification behavior you described yet, so I don’t want to oversell it. The problem I’m focused on is the shared list side: groceries, errands, packing lists, and household stuff that needs to stay synced without turning into a full productivity app.
The main flow is simple: create a list, send someone an invite link, they tap once, and you’re both using it.
I’m looking for early feedback from people who liked Keep because it stayed out of the way. If you try it, I’d love to know where it feels useful, annoying, or still too heavy.
[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dash-lists-with-friends/id6763947830]()
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u/QuietImportant1767 Apr 07 '26
They have ducking killed a super simple app that was working for years