Quick Notes App for Windows: 4 Options Compared

The best quick notes app for Windows is often one you already have. Notepad is the fastest route to a blank page. Microsoft Sticky Notes suits short reminders that stay on your desktop. OneNote suits notes you want to keep and read on your phone. Gubb is a paid scratchpad that adds checklists, a Kanban board, quick math and clipboard history to one window you can pin above everything else.

Quick picks:

• Notepad: best for throwaway text, with nothing to set up.
• Microsoft Sticky Notes: best for reminders you want on your desktop and on your phone.
• OneNote: best for notes you'll keep, organize and sync across devices.
• Gubb: best for one always-visible scratchpad that also handles to-dos, sums and things you copied.

We make Gubb, so weigh our view accordingly. We've tried to be fair to every app here, and for many people one of the free options will be enough.

How we chose

A quick notes app has one job: get you from "I need to write this down" to typing in as few steps as possible, then keep the note where you'll find it again. We compared the options on:

• Steps to the first keystroke from wherever you are in Windows.
• Where the note goes: saved automatically or only when you save, kept on the PC or synced.
• Whether it stays visible while you work in another app.
• What else it does with a note: checklists, structure, math.
• Price, as of November 2026.

They're listed from simplest to most capable, not by preference.

Quick notes apps for Windows compared

Steps to start typing in each app

One trick works for every app here: pin it to the taskbar, then press Win+1 (Windows key + 1) for the first pinned app, Win+2 for the second, and so on. That opens the app, or switches to it if it's already running.

If you'd rather speak than type, Windows Voice Typing (Win+H) works in text fields in other apps, including Notepad. See how to use voice typing on Windows.

Notepad

Notepad is built into Windows. Press Win+R, type notepad, press Enter, and you have a blank page. In Windows 11, Notepad has tabs, so you can keep several scratch pages in one window.

What it's good at:

• Speed and zero setup. Nothing to install, no account.
• Text you'll paste somewhere else: an address, a command, a draft message.
• Notes are ordinary .txt files that you name and place yourself.

What it lacks:

• Nothing syncs on its own. To read a note on another device, save the file into a synced folder such as OneDrive.
• A note becomes a file only when you save it. Save anything you want to keep rather than relying on an open tab.
• It's a text editor, so there are no reminders, boards or utilities beyond writing.

Price: free, part of Windows.

Pick it if your notes are short-lived text and you care most about how quickly the page appears.

Microsoft Sticky Notes

Sticky Notes is Microsoft's free app for quick notes that sit on your Windows desktop. You can type, ink, add a picture and format text, move notes around the desktop, and close them to the notes list when you're done.

What it's good at:

• Notes you want to keep in view, like a phone number or today's three tasks.
• Sync: notes reach OneNote Mobile, Microsoft Launcher for Android and Outlook for Windows, so a reminder written on your PC can show up on your phone.
• It's free and made by Microsoft.

What it lacks:

• Microsoft is partway through a change. A newer Sticky Notes opens from inside OneNote for Windows (open OneNote and select the Sticky Notes button), alongside the older standalone app. A Microsoft support blog from October 2026 says some users can't find notes they made in the old one. If notes seem to be missing, look in the other version too.
• Windows only. There's no Mac app.

Price: free, as of November 2026.

Pick it if you want a small note on screen and on your phone, and you don't need structure.

OneNote

OneNote is Microsoft's digital notebook for capturing thoughts, ideas and to-dos and syncing them across devices. It runs on Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android and the web, and it handles mixed content: typing, handwriting and clipped media in the same place.

What it's good at:

• Notes you'll come back to: meeting notes, research, class notes.
• Sync across desktop, phone and web.
• Free for core note-taking.

What it lacks:

• It's a notebook, not a scratchpad. Every page lives in a section of a notebook, which helps you find things later and slows you down when you just want to jot a number.
• Some features need a paid Microsoft 365 subscription.

Price: free; some features need Microsoft 365, as of November 2026.

Pick it if your quick notes usually turn into notes you keep, or you need them on several devices.

Gubb

Gubb is our app: one small window built around a scratchpad note. It's on the Microsoft Store for Windows as well as available for Mac. You click into the window and type. Notes save automatically a moment after you stop typing, and each note takes its title from its first line, so you never have to name anything.
What it's good at:

• Staying in view. Move the pointer to the window's right edge and click Pin window on top to keep Gubb above other windows, next to whatever you're working in. Gubb remembers the setting between launches.
• Lists without menus. Type [ ] and press Space at the start of a line for a checklist item, then click the box to tick it. - and Space starts a bulleted list, # and Space a heading. More syntax is in our Markdown checklist guide.
• Turning a note into something more. Typing gubb@ opens a small menu of commands:
  • gubb@todo on its own line turns the note into a to-do list with due dates, priorities and subtasks.
  • gubb@board turns it into a Kanban board with "To Do", "In Progress" and "Done" columns.
  • gubb@math lets you type a sum ending in = and get the result on the same line.
  • gubb@conversions converts units, offline.
  • gubb@currency converts currencies, which needs internet.
• Other tools you reach for while jotting: clipboard history for text you copied, voice-to-text into the note, a timer and break reminders, all in the same app.
• Notes stay on your PC. Notes and clipboard history live in a local database, with no account. Only a few features go online, such as currency conversion, downloading a voice model and the optional OpenAI transcription mode.

What it lacks:

• No global hotkey. You can't summon Gubb with a shortcut from another app. Keep it open and pinned, or pin it to the taskbar and use Win plus its number.
• No sync and no phone app. Notes stay on the device where you wrote them.
• Notes are text only: no images, attachments, tables or folders. Deleting a note is immediate, with no confirmation and no trash.
• Getting notes out is limited. The Markdown and Plain Text exports currently contain raw editor data rather than readable text. To move a note elsewhere, press Ctrl+Shift+C to copy the whole note as plain text, then paste it.
• Voice-to-text has limits. With a downloaded local Whisper model it's English-only and transcribes only the first 30 seconds of each recording. The text goes into the Gubb note, not into other apps.
• Clipboard history caveats: it records text only, starts recording once you first open the panel, and stores whatever you copy, including passwords, in plain text.

Price: $59 one-time (lifetime) on gubb.net, as of November 2026. For the Windows version, check the Microsoft Store listing for the current price. There's no free tier.

Pick it if you keep a scratch window open all day, want checklists, a small board and quick math in it instead of separate apps, and don't need your notes on your phone.

Which quick notes app for Windows to pick

• If you want the fastest possible blank page, use Notepad and save anything worth keeping.
• If you want a note visible on your desktop and on your phone, use Sticky Notes.
• If your notes need to last and sync, use OneNote. Our guide to the best note-taking apps for Windows covers fuller options.
• If you want one pinned window for notes, to-dos, sums and copied text, and you're fine with notes staying on one PC, try Gubb.
• If you mostly need to find something you copied, Windows' built-in clipboard history (Win+V) may be enough. See how to use clipboard history on Windows.
• If you like Sticky Notes but want more, see our list of Windows Sticky Notes alternatives.

FAQ

Does Windows have a quick notes app built in?

Yes. Notepad is part of Windows. Microsoft Sticky Notes is a free Microsoft app from the Microsoft Store, and the newer Sticky Notes also opens from inside OneNote for Windows.

What's the fastest way to open a notes app on Windows?

Pin the app to your taskbar and press the Windows key plus its position number (Win+1, Win+2 and so on). For Notepad you can also press Win+R, type notepad and press Enter.

How do I keep a note on top of other windows?

Gubb has a Pin window on top button. For other apps, see how to keep a window on top in Windows.

Can I take quick notes offline?

Notepad works without internet. In Gubb, notes, lists, math and unit conversion work offline, while currency conversion and voice model downloads need a connection. For more options, see offline note-taking apps for Windows.