No affiliate links on this page and no paid placements, ever. Prices change often, so confirm on the official site.
Ask questions about your own documents and notes.
| Category | research |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Free with a Google account; higher limits via Google AI plans from $4.99/mo Freemium |
| Free tier | Yes: free with a Google account (100 notebooks, 50 sources each) |
| Price source | https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16206866 (checked Oct 27, 2026) |
| Official site | notebook.google |
| Free quota reset | Refills daily (up to 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, and 3 audio overviews/day on Free) |
| Commercial rights | Included on Free and paid plans; Google states your uploaded sources are not used to train models |
| Smartest way to test | Start 100% free ($0) with your Google account — the free limits are generous enough that most users never need to pay |
What it’s good for
Gemini Notebook (it used to be called NotebookLM) lets you add your own documents, notes, PDFs or links, then ask questions about them. Answers point back to the part of your sources they came from, so you can check them.
It can also turn your sources into an audio overview, kind of like a short podcast about your material.
Who it’s for
Students, researchers and anyone with a pile of reading to get through.
Watch out for
- It only knows what you give it. If your sources are wrong or out of date, the answers will be too.
- A free account gets up to 100 notebooks with 50 sources each.
- Google renamed it in Jul 2026, and its home is now notebook.google. Old links still work.
How it compares
Perplexity is better when you want to search the whole web. Claude is good with long documents in a normal chat. Gemini is Google’s general assistant.
Before you pay
Most people won’t need to pay. Higher limits come with Google AI plans from $4.99/mo.
How I wrote this: plan and price details come from the official pricing page (checked Oct 2026). The rest is my own take from reading the official pages, not a lab test. How I review
Visit Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) → See my workspace
Tap Compare, then tap Compare on another tool in the full list. Or use the quick compare links under each alternative below.
Alternatives
- Perplexity: Answer engine that cites its sources.
Free plan; Pro $17/mo billed annually
⇄ Compare side by side with Perplexity
