Google Keep is the default notes app for a billion Android phones, and for good reason: it's free, it syncs everywhere and it never loses anything. StickyHover exists for a different job — the note that has to stay on screen while you use another app. This page puts the two side by side, including the places where Keep is simply the better tool. Facts about Keep are as of August 2026 and linked at the bottom.
Feature by feature
| Feature | StickyHover | Google Keep |
|---|---|---|
| A note that floats over other apps | Yes — one note free, unlimited with Pro | No — home-screen widgets only. On Pixel phones with Android 17, Google's system-level Bubbles can pop Keep into a floating window; other phones don't get that. |
| Works without an account | Yes — nothing to sign into | No — needs a Google account |
| Platforms | Android only | Yes — Android, iOS, web, Wear OS, Chrome extension |
| Offline | Yes — everything is on-device | Mobile apps yes; the web version needs a connection |
| Sync between devices | No live sync. Back up and restore yourself: JSON export (free) or a full backup to your own Google Drive (Pro) | Yes — automatic, real-time, through Google's servers |
| Share a note with another person | Share as text, image card or file | Yes — live collaboration by email address |
| Checklists | Yes | Yes |
| Text formatting | Yes — bold, italic, headings, highlighter (Pro) | Yes — bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, H1/H2 |
| Reminders | Yes — in-app alarms with custom sound, vibration and a spoken readout (Pro) | Time-based; reminders now live in Google Tasks and Calendar after the 2025–26 migration |
| Voice | Yes — voice typing and a recorded voice memo attached to the note (both Pro) | Yes — voice note with automatic transcription |
| Drawing / handwriting | Yes — draw or sign into a note (Pro) | Yes |
| Text from a photo (OCR) | Yes — camera scan of a handwritten page (free); floating OCR bubble for any screen (Pro) | Yes — "Grab image text" on photos |
| Labels / tags and search | Yes | Yes |
| Colours | Yes — 10 papers, any hex colour, gradients, washi tape | Yes — fixed palette |
| Per-app rules (show only over app X) | Yes (Pro) | No |
| Auto-show on phone calls | Yes (Pro) | No |
| Home-screen widget | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Price | Free; Pro from $3.99/month, $19.99/year or $39.99 once | Free; Gemini features need a Google AI plan (free on Pixel) |
| Where your notes are stored | Your phone (and your own Drive if you enable backup) | Google's servers, tied to your Google account |
What Keep does better
- It's everywhere. Android, iPhone, the web, Wear OS and a Chrome extension, all in sync within seconds. StickyHover is Android-only and has no web app.
- Collaboration. Add a collaborator by email and you both edit the same list live. StickyHover shares a copy, not a live document.
- Zero-setup sync. Sign into your Google account and it just works. StickyHover's Drive backup restores on a new phone but isn't continuous sync.
- Google ecosystem. Keep notes surface in Docs, Calendar and Gmail, and Gemini can turn a rambling voice note into a tidy list if you have a Google AI plan.
Where StickyHover wins
- The note stays on top. Float it over a chart, a chat, a recipe video or a game; resize it to a one-line strip; minimize it to a sphere; edit it in place. Keep has nothing equivalent outside Pixel-only Android 17 Bubbles.
- Context rules. Show a trading plan only while your broker app is open; hide a personal list when a chat app is in front; pop a call script up when the phone rings.
- No account, no server. Notes live on your phone. Backups go to your Drive. There is no analytics SDK and no ad network in the app.
- Reminders that actually wake you. Per-note alarm sound, vibration pattern and an optional spoken readout of the note — inside the app, not routed through another one.
- More paper. Ten colours plus any hex value, gradients, washi tape, eight fonts, per-note text size.
Verdict
Choose Keep if you want one archive that follows you from phone to laptop to watch, or you share lists with other people.
Choose StickyHover if the problem is "I keep switching apps to look at this note." That's the one thing Keep can't do, and it's the only thing StickyHover was built around.
Plenty of people run both: Keep as the library, StickyHover as the three cards taped to the monitor.
FAQ
Can Google Keep show a note on top of other apps?
Not by itself. Keep offers home-screen and Wear OS widgets, and on Pixel phones running Android 17 the system's Bubbles feature can turn Keep into a floating window. On every other Android phone there is no floating Keep note.
Can I use StickyHover and Keep together?
Yes, and many people do: Keep for the long-term archive that syncs everywhere, StickyHover for the three things that need to stay on screen right now. Share a note from Keep into StickyHover with the share sheet and it lands as a floating sticky.
Does StickyHover sync like Keep?
Not in real time. StickyHover keeps notes on your phone and lets you back them up yourself — a JSON export file (free) or a full backup to your own Google Drive app folder (Pro) — so you can restore on a new phone. There is no StickyHover server.
Is StickyHover really free?
The free tier is a full notes app: unlimited notes, one floating note with resize, the quick-add bubble, checklists, templates, tags, search, widget, camera scan and JSON export/import. Pro adds multiple floating notes, per-app rules, locked notes, reminders with sound, gradients and washi tape, themes and more.
Sources for the Keep facts
- Google Keep on Google Play (features, free, no ads badge, widgets) — play.google.com
- Offline access on mobile only; Chrome app retired — support.google.com/keep
- Reminders moving from Keep to Google Tasks — support.google.com/tasks and 9to5Google, Jan 2026
- Gemini "Help me create a list" requires a Google AI plan — support.google.com/keep
- Collaborators — support.google.com/keep; labels (max 50) — support.google.com/keep
- Pixel Bubbles floating apps on Android 17 — XDA, Aug 2026
- Rich text formatting on Keep web — Android Central