Google Docs is ubiquitous, and with good reason. It is free, friendly and built at Google Workspace scale (the company claims billions of users). But the Docs app, which is built on Drive and can be glitchy offline, imposes trade-offs that drive lots of people elsewhere. If you’re ready to branch out, these four apps span the range from flexible knowledge bases to full desktop-class suites.
What’s wrong with Google Docs for complex projects
Docs is all about simplicity and collaboration, but the mobile app has weak in-app filing capability (snap a picture of a receipt to file it with your expense report? not yet: you’ll do that on the road, after arriving at your destination) and complex projects get unwieldy quickly. Analysts at companies like Gartner and IDC have long remarked a move towards tools that mix documents, tasks, databases, avoid context-switching and deliver solid offline operation. That’s the sweet spot these alternatives are aiming for: You get more control over structure and, in some cases, where your data lives.
- What’s wrong with Google Docs for complex projects
- Notion: All-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, databases
- Obsidian: Privacy First, Offline by Default
- Simplenote: The minimalist’s choice for fast, synced note-taking
- WPS Office: The full office suite you know on every device
- Choosing the right fit for your notes, documents, and work
Notion: All-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, databases
If you need Docs plus a brain, Notion is the best thing that offers anything close.
You have rich text editing, comments, mentions, and real-time collaboration à la Google Docs, but the real power is how pages can become databases — think content calendars or research wikis or lightweight CRMs — and then be filtered and viewed as boards, tables or timelines. Teams use it to supplant a spaghetti of Docs, Sheets, Trello boards and internal wikis.
Notion has been notably better about working offline on all its platforms, and controlling sharing is simple. The trade-off is a learning curve: It is easy to start a page, but templates, relations and rollups take time to master. Notion claims that tens of millions of users have signed up to the platform, but you can see it in how more and more of the community is leveraging templates and best practices available elsewhere to help scale beyond basic notes.
Obsidian: Privacy First, Offline by Default
Obsidian picks up where Docs leaves off: everything is local by default. Notes are just plain Markdown files in a “vault” on your device, and since everything is local it’s quite fast, and available offline. If you need multi-device sync or publishing, Obsidian provides add-on services, but you’re never trapped in a proprietary format.
Its superpower is networked thinking. Bidirectional links and a visual graph assist you in connecting ideas between projects, and a growing plugin ecosystem brings Kanban boards, citation managers and task systems. Others turn to Obsidian for a career of managing their knowledge. Anticipate a steeper learning curve than with Docs, but unparalleled control over structure and privacy once you get there.
Simplenote: The minimalist’s choice for fast, synced note-taking
Friendly warning: This is an intentionally simple app, so don’t expect full rich-text formatting. Simplenote itself is quite simple to use and keep all your notes synced across devices.
Made by Automattic, the folks behind WordPress, Simplenote lives up to its name. It’s note-taking, but with instant-on tags, fast search, version history and effortless sharing. If what you loved about Docs wasn’t so much the bells and whistles but rather low friction, Simplenote is a bit like removing the training wheels — nothing in your way, no ribbons or clutter, just text.
There are constraints. You won’t find folders or advanced layout tools, and the app wasn’t designed for long-form heavily formatted documents. But for meeting notes, to-do lists and quick drafts that you can sync across devices, it’s hard to beat Simplenote. It’s also totally free, so if speed is more important to students or teams than tight structure, that might make it an easier pick.
WPS Office: The full office suite you know on every device
If you want something that’s almost, but not quite a drop-in for Docs and Sheets or Slides, WPS Office is the most potent all-in-one option on mobile and desktop. Its Writer, Spreadsheets and Presentation apps mimic the Microsoft Office design — there’s not much of a learning curve. You also score a competent PDF reader and editor, strong template library, and close compatibility with popular file formats.
Founded by Kingsoft Office Software, WPS provides local documents and cloud integration to back up and sync. The company promotes security and document encryption choices that are industry-standard. A few want the peace of mind of keeping files offline or in your own cloud, but for day-to-day use, WPS is currently providing the most traditional “office suite” experience on phones and tablets.
Choosing the right fit for your notes, documents, and work
Choose Notion if your work combines documents with databases and regular processes. If what you value most are your local-first notes, robust file formats, and the ability to connect ideas over time, then go with Obsidian. If minimalism motivates you, go Simplenote. Turn to WPS Office whenever you need an application with a familiar Word look-alike editor and presentations, spreadsheets, or PDFs.
No one app is a Docs replacement for everyone, but each of these provides a solution to a real pain point — organization, privacy, speed or full-suite capability — with fewer compromises. The right one is the tool you will actually open tomorrow morning.