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4 alternatives

4 best open-source alternatives to Google Keep (2026)

Looking for a free, open-source alternative to Google Keep? These 4 projects can replace it. Each one passed our quality screening and is explained in plain words, so you can compare stars, license and maintenance at a glance.

How to choose

Start with the job you need done: Koffan is built for a shared grocery list that a household edits together, while crumbs and papyra are general note-taking apps. Then decide how you want your notes stored: papyra keeps every note as a plain Markdown file in a folder you own, which makes them easy to move or edit by hand. papyra is under a copyleft license (GPL-3.0), which matters mainly if you plan to modify it and distribute your version.

  • KoffanBest for families and households who want a shared grocery list with real-time sync and offline mode.
  • crumbsBest for anyone who wants a privacy-first, self-hosted note-taking app as a straightforward Google Keep replacement.
  • papyraBest for people who want Keep-style notes stored as plain Markdown files in a folder they own.

Quick comparison

ProjectStarsLicenseLast commit
PanSalut/Koffan★ 825Other22 days ago
Jinjinov/OpenHabitTracker★ 308GPL-3.05 hours ago
bretzel-app/crumbs★ 129MIT16 days ago
lyfie-org/papyra★ 128GPL-3.011 hours ago

FAQ

Is there a free, open-source alternative to Google Keep?
Yes. The most popular open-source alternatives to Google Keep on Repolode are Koffan, OpenHabitTracker, crumbs.
Which Google Keep alternative should I choose?
Koffan has the most GitHub stars and is released under Other. Compare the license and last commit of each option in the table above before choosing.

How this list is made: AI reads each project's documentation to match it with products it can replace, every project passes our quality screening, and the list is ranked by GitHub stars. Stars updated Nov 7, 2026. How Repolode works

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