Note-taking helps me keep track of what’s done and what needs my attention. It’s become an integral part of my workflow, especially when I’m jotting down quick ideas or collecting research snippets. In fact, I recently ditched paid apps for a note-taking setup that doesn’t cost me anything. However, I still wanted something lighter, so I searched for browser-integrated online solutions and found several Chrome extensions.
I tried several of them, and while there were a few I wouldn’t give a second try, some stood out. They offered features like capture, synchronization, and export options that I found interesting and helpful.
New Tab Notes
A notepad in your browser
New Tab Notes feels like having Windows’ Notepad app in your browser. You access a single, central notepad each time you open a new tab or click the extension icon. It’s one of the most seamless transitions from work to note-taking, a frictionless process where notes save automatically.
All notes are automatically synced across devices signed in to the same Chrome profile. Clearing your browser data or switching to a different browser profile will erase notes unless you export them first. However, you can download and save your notes as plain text, Markdown, or HTML documents.
It offers a solid range of formatting options. I can color-code parts of my notes, choose between multiple font styles, insert dates, or use code formatting. There’s also support for rich text, Markdown-like syntax, keyboard shortcuts, and toggles for light or dark mode, making it surprisingly flexible for a lightweight tool.
Install: New Tab Notes (Free)
OneNote Web Clipper
Seamlessly clip to the Microsoft Ecosystem
OneNote Web Clipper is the natural note extension if you’re already integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem. You can clip an entire web page, a selected region, or an article directly into your OneNote notebooks. Once you’ve clipped a note, it syncs directly to OneDrive, preserving formatting.
This extension lets you tag content, add quick notes, or drop research snippets directly into organized sections, and it shines when you use OneNote across devices.
It has a bookmark feature that lets you clip just the title, synopsis, link, and thumbnail of any web page. You can also append notes to the bookmark clip before saving. It’s very reliable, even though its tight integration with Microsoft can be a limitation for anyone outside that ecosystem.
Install: OneNote Web Clipper (Free)
Diigo Web Collector
The research workhorse: highlighting made simple
Diigo has been around for years and is a popular option for annotating the web. Diigo Web Collector is its extension, and it works quite seamlessly. It has highlighting and sticky note features that make it easy to mark and comment directly on web pages and PDFs. Handy for me: I love using this to capture quick quotes and add my personal insights.
Its bookmarking and tagging features are also great. They help you build a searchable, categorized repository of research or articles you want to read later. When you use these features, the extension saves your links to a personal Diigo online library. The interface can feel cluttered, though it excels at quick in-browser annotations. While this tool is mostly free, the paid plan offers unlimited PDF storage and collaborative tools.
Install: Diigo Web Collector (Free with paid plan starting at $40/year)
Slid: AI-powered Video Note-taking
AI for video: transcription and summaries with ChatGPT
This extension is specifically for video note-taking. It works great on YouTube videos and is also pretty consistent on general websites. Once you install the extension, you get a little Open Slid Notes button at the bottom-right of every video that reveals a bunch of features.
One of my favorites is the 1-click capture, which takes a timestamped screenshot of the video scene and automatically appends it to your notes. You can annotate this screenshot or include notes specific to that frame. It also has Optical Character Recognition (OCR), which lets you extract notes from a screenshot.
The tool also automatically timestamps your notes as you type, alongside the video. But the feature that stands out most is its Auto Notes, which use AI to generate notes as the video plays. It presents these notes in an easy-to-read, well-summarized format with bullet points, numbered lists, and other features that make it easily skimmable.
Install: Slid: AI-powered Video Note-taking (Free trial with subscriptions starting at $16.99/month)
Joplin Web Clipper
Open source note-taking
Joplin is an open-source note-taking app that gives you full control over your notes. Your notes aren’t tied to any ecosystem and are stored in Markdown format on your device. However, its Chrome extension, Joplin Web Clipper, increases its usability.
The extension has several clipping options. My favorites are Clip Selection and Clip Complete Page. These come in handy even on webpages where copying is disabled. Once you clip, you can choose which notebook to save it to, and the clip becomes automatically available in the Joplin app.
However, you can’t use the extension without first installing the desktop app. But what stands out to me is synchronization, which lets you view and use your notes across devices, no matter where you are.
Install: Joplin Web Clipper (Free)
Web Highlights
The ultimate web annotator
Web Highlights is one of the most efficient note-taking extensions. It allows you to highlight text on any webpage, and these highlights are persistent, so you see them when you revisit the page. You can append notes to your highlights and include tags to logically group them.
It provides a list of highlighted pages in chronological order. It also has a comprehensive search feature that lets you use specific terms to search through highlights. It’s similar to Glasp, which allows you to highlight quotes on the web.
Web Highlights is very effective for video, especially on YouTube. Once you click the Web Highlights icon, it automatically opens a page with a complete transcript of the YouTube video. The only drawback is that syncing across devices and multiple formatting options are locked behind a subscription.
Install: Web Highlights (Free with paid app starting from $34.99 /year)
There are several approaches to note-taking, and no single extension will handle them all. Some, like New Tab Notes and Joplin, are great for privacy and simplicity, while others, like OneNote Web Clipper and Diigo, are good when paired with mainstream services.
What works best is whichever fits most seamlessly into your workflow. I ditched my old notes app for Joplin because it’s open-source and gives me control, but a different factor may be more important to you.