Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)
Free tool that answers from the files you upload, with up to 50 sources a notebook. Skip it for open web research.
Should you use it?
Pick it if
Students and anyone who needs to study, summarise or question a pile of their own PDFs, notes and links.
Best for: Students studying or questioning their own PDFs, notes and links (AI apps Top 20)
Skip it if
You want answers from the open web; a general assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT fits better.
You give up: Answers from your sources, not the open web; daily limits not published in numbers
The short version
- What this is
- Google's free app where you upload documents, links and notes, then ask questions, get summaries and study guides grounded in those sources.
- Why it matters
- It is the default free tool for working from your own documents, and it keeps your files out of training on personal plans.
- Renamed from NotebookLM on 16 July 2026; Google says it is the same product s1.
- Free: 100 notebooks, 50 sources each; paid Google AI plans raise the limits s3.
- Not used for training on personal plans unless you send feedback s3.
Good at
Our take
Gemini Notebook is the new name for NotebookLM, and Google says it is the same standalone product s1. You add your own sources and it answers, summarises and builds study material from them s4. The free plan is large enough for most students: 100 notebooks with up to 50 sources each s3. Paid Google AI plans raise those limits; AI Plus costs $4.99 a month s2 s3.
On personal plans, Google says your data is not used to train Gemini Notebook unless you send feedback s3. There is no recent independent test of how accurate its answers are, and Google does not name the model it runs s1 s2, so we haven't scored it. Check its answers against your sources before you rely on them.
Not scored yet
This is a First look: the call above comes from the maker's own pages, so there is no score yet. When an independent test of source-grounded answers from the last 90 days covers the current version.
ResearchWriting
New to this? What the scores and labels mean
- 0 to 100
- Our score for one job, like writing or coding, compared with everything else out today. 100 is the best available today. For AI models we build it from public data, such as Arena's blind votes and Epoch AI's independent tests; apps and tools are scored on our own checklist. The same tool can score differently for different jobs, and where two likely ranges overlap, we call it a tie.
- Our verdict
- Use it: a top choice for most people. Worth trying: good, and worth a go. Depends: good for some people or one kind of job. Wait: too early to tell, or not out for everyone yet. Skip: something else does the job better.
- First look
- Just released. We say what it is and whether to bother, and give it a score once public results exist.
- No score yet
- None of the public sources we use covers it yet, or the only evidence is from a source whose numbers we can't use, so we describe it in words instead.
- Best buy
- Nothing cheaper scores as well for that job.
- Best free
- The best score for that job that costs nothing, through a free plan or by running on your own computer.
- Pay as you go
- No monthly plan: you pay for each use, usually through a developer account.
- Checked
- The day we last confirmed the score and the price against the sources. Prices change often, so check the date.
- AI model
- The engine underneath, like GPT or Claude. You use it through an app or, if you code, directly.
- Open source
- Free to download and run on your own computer, so nothing leaves your machine.
Alternatives
Better or cheaper for research, from our scores, then the ones we'd also look at. The same kind of product comes first.
- ClaudeTop scoredApp80FreeScores 80 in research, first in our ranking; free. General assistant whose free plan scores 80 for research; you can attach files to a chat. Side by side
- ChatGPT (GPT-6)App60$20 a monthGeneral assistant with projects and file uploads, if you already pay for ChatGPT. Side by side
Evidence
Everything behind the call and the scores, folded so the page stays short. Spotted a wrong price, score or link? Report a mistake.
How we scored this
Reviews are drafted with help from AI models, including Anthropic's Claude. Model scores come only from outside leaderboards and independent evaluations, by a written rule.
No one paid for this review or gave us free access, and we earn nothing if you sign up. How we score
Sources 4
- s1Google blog: NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook
- s2Google AI plans
- s3Gemini Notebook Help: Upgrade Gemini Notebook
- s4Gemini Notebook
Something here out of date or wrong? Report a mistake and we will check it against the source.
History 1 change
Every change to a rating, the price or our call, with the reason. Scores are against what exists on the day, so they drift down as better things ship. Older entries come from before we moved to scores.
- First look as a category leader for working from your own documents. No recent independent test, so not rated. Released date is the rename date; the product began as Project Tailwind at Google I/O 2023.
Use it well 3 guides on this site
Pages on this site that help with the jobs above.