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What's the Best Way to Keep My Notes in Sync Across All My Computers and Mobile Devices?

Dear Lifehacker,
There are tons and tons of apps for syncing notes and I'm not sure what to choose. Some are simple, some are feature rich. Some sync well across all platforms, some don't. How do I figure out what's best for my needs, and what works best overall?

Sincerely,
Writer's (App) Block

Dear WAB,
Every platform has various options for syncing notes (we've picked our favorites for each before), but our needs may not mirror yours. Basically, there is no best way for everybody. We like syncing plain text with simple apps that do their one task well. Others, however, favor powerful features, organization options, and versatility. Let's talk about our favorite option first, how the software works, and then take a look at some alternatives if you'd like to go another route.

Our Favorite: Syncing with Dropbox

It's no surprise that we love Dropbox, but until recently it wasn't our first choice for syncing notes. Because of problems with our former favorite Simplenote (described in the next section), some great apps, and open access to individual files, our minds have changed.

Dropbox comes with 2GB of space for free, and you can get plenty more. That's plenty for note syncing. You can sync any kind of document, too, as Dropbox is just a source for saving files. Plain text works best, but you can also use rich text files if you need more styling options. Additionally, because all the files just sit in a folder you can edit them with pretty much any text editor on your computer. That means you can use a full-fledged word processor when you want, and a basic notes app the rest of the time. Both of our favorite syncing notes apps for Windows and OS X work just fine with Dropbox, even though they were designed primarily for Simplenote. Both iOS and Android have great options that work specifically with Dropbox. See the list below for some great options for every platform.

The Cheapskate's Guide to Getting Free Dropbox Space Read More

Apps for Dropbox Notes

Runner Up: Simplenote

Simplenote offers apps on every platform, supports simple styles, and syncs. On paper, it's nearly a perfect compromise between simplicity and features. But...

We loved Simplenote when it first began. It offers a great feature set, allowing simple text styles (e.g. bold and italic) plus the ability to roll back notes. It syncs everything, and it isn't hard to find an app that works with it. Unfortunately, Simplenote's syncing was never perfect and went downhill from there. On top of many sync troubles, not all Simplenote apps were created equal. Some do not respect the text styles and only sync plain text. It's still a great option, but it doesn't work quite as well as we'd like. If you want to give it a shot, check out the apps below.

Apps for Simplenote

For More Features: Evernote or Google Drive

Evernote is the king of feature-rich digital notebooks, offering great software for every platform. You can create some pretty complex documents and organize them easily. If Evernote is too feature-rich for your needs and you want something simpler, several third-party developers created alternatives that focus just on taking notes and not much else. The downside of Evernote, like pretty much everything else (other than Dropbox), is that your notes are stored on Evernote's servers and you don't get a collection of text files in a folder. You may not care about this, and there really isn't a more versatile note syncing option available. Evernote is so widely supported that you can just get the apps the suit your needs best.

Apps for Evernote

Few people see Google Drive as a note-taking app, but it actually works as a really great alternative. If you want to work with more complex documents, such as Microsoft Word files or rich text, Google Drive can handle them without a problem. Not only that, but it syncs files to your computer much like Dropbox. You can use it for simply plain text or go beyond. While we prefer the app options that work with Dropbox because they're so efficient, if you need additional features and want the best word processor the web has to offer, Google Drive is a great choice.

Apps for Google Drive

What's the Bottom Line?

We like using Dropbox because it's open, simple, free, and reliable. We would like Simplenote if it worked a little better and offered a consistent experience on each platform. If either of these solutions are too simple for you, try Evernote for great consistency and a rich feature set or Google Docs for high compatibility and the openness you get with Dropbox. Every option gets your notes on pretty much every platform, so don't worry too much about your decision. In the end, you're just trying to get text everywhere. The minute details of how it happens are only so important.

Love,
Lifehacker

Photo by mika48 (Shutterstock).