Compare New Tab Notes and Recall: Which Extension is the Best?

	New Tab Notes	Recall
	Transform your new tab into a distraction-free notepad with New Tab Notes. Offering rich text formatting, auto-sync, and customization, it's a handy tool for seamless note-taking. New Tab Note Taking	With Recall, you can capture, summarize, and organize articles, PDFs, and videos with AI, spaced repetition, browser extensions, and strong privacy controls. AI Productivity
Key Features	Rich Text Formatting: Use markdown and shortcuts for easy text styling. Auto-Sync: Notes are saved and synced across devices without an account. Customization: Adjust fonts, zoom, and toggle between dark/light themes. Export Options: Download notes as Markdown, HTML, or plain text.	AI Summarization: Instantly summarizes articles, PDFs, YouTube videos, and more. Personal Knowledge Base: Saves and organizes your summaries for easy retrieval. Spaced Repetition & Active Recall: Helps you actually remember what you save, not just store it. Augmented Browsing: Highlights related content as you browse, surfacing connections in your knowledge. Browser Extensions: One-click saving and summarizing directly from Chrome or Firefox. Editable Notebook: Add notes, highlights, and customize your saved content. Tagging & Organization: Automatic and manual tagging, with support for nested tags. Cross-Platform Sync: Works on desktop and mobile, keeping your knowledge base up to date.
Our Rating	8.6	8.9
Total users	1,232	73,229
Total ratings	16	95
Average rating	4.7 ⭐	4.1 ⭐
Entry Level Price	Free	Free
Chrome	4.4 15 ratings 1.0K+Users	4.2 78 ratings 70.0K+Users
Edge	5.0 1 ratings 232Users	-
Firefox	-	3.9 17 ratings 3.2K+Users
Safari	-	-
Features	8.7 New Tab Notes offers a range of functions for quickly and effectively storing information and ideas in a structured manner. Headings are generally used to achieve a clear structure of the notes so that you can return to the notes you are looking for on the note sheet, which is always updated. The Markdown and shortcut support are particularly worth mentioning here, as they allow users to format the notes effectively and quickly. Anyone who already has experience with Notion, for example, will find it easy to use. However, new users may miss out on this function, as the markdowns are not described again in the extension itself and must be learned on the website. A small manual at the beginning should help new users to be able to use them as well. In addition to the headings, formats such as bullet lists, numbered lists, and codes can also be embedded. Other functions such as highlighting notes or integrating links can also be very helpful. For advanced users, a few functions may still be missing here, for example, to highlight them visually using different font colors. The automatic synchronization by the browser is used by the extension to synchronize data across devices. A big difference from other competitors is that the data is not stored on separate servers. Furthermore, the saved notes can be exported in various file formats so that they can be sorted and saved elsewhere later if necessary. Overall, the extension offers all the essential functions for general users to create structured notes. For advanced users, however, additional organizational tools could be beneficial.	9.2 Recall's range of functions is impressive for a relatively new tool. The AI summary works on a wide range of content, from articles to YouTube videos with a running time of several hours. We particularly liked the personal knowledge base and the way Recall automatically links related content. Spaced Repetition and Active Recall are outstanding features for students. However, some features are still in beta or will be available soon. The functions in the free version are severely limited in the number of users per day, and there is an upper limit for free use.
Performance	8.8 In our tests, New Tab Notes works reliably and without any significant noticeable reduction in browser performance. When opening a new tab, the extension loads quickly and smoothly. There may be short delays with large notes that need to be synchronized, but these are hardly noticeable. Overall, the performance should be sufficient for most basic users without any performance problems, although there could still be room for improvement for advanced users.	9.0 Retrieval is fast and reliable in most cases. The summary is fast, even with very extreme examples such as a 9-hour news show that we had summarized in our test. Occasionally, we encountered errors or slowdowns, especially when asking further questions about the summarized content via the wizard. The team is actively working on performance improvements and there are regular updates. Overall, the tool feels stable and is suitable for everyday use.
Design	8.5 The design of New Tab Notes is clean and minimalistic. It creates a distraction-free environment where you can easily take structured notes without getting distracted. Since the design is specifically meant to be distraction-free, this is good. However, there could be a few more customization options, especially when it comes to the color design, including the notes. Overall, the design fulfills its purpose, but it does not win a beauty award.	9.0 The user interface has a clear and modern design. The focus is on user-friendliness. We found the browser extension intuitive and easy to navigate. The tagging and organization system can be used flexibly, and some users mentioned minor bugs in the user interface, but these were only minimally noticeable in the test.
Value for Money	8.7 As a free extension, New Tab Notes offers excellent value for money. For the basic user, the range of functions should be sufficient, considering that it is a free tool. For advanced users, there are still a few functions missing that other providers already have. If these were also added free of charge, the price-performance ratio would be unbeatable.	8.1 The free tariff is suitable for infrequent users who do not need all the functions, as you will quickly reach the map limit. However, if you want to use the extension on a day-to-day basis, you cannot avoid the extension. The paid plan is competitively priced, especially with the student discount. We appreciate that some features will remain free forever, and the team is open to feedback on pricing. Compared to alternatives, Recall offers good value for money for those who need advanced knowledge management features, but casual users may find the limitations too restrictive and stop using the extension.
Ease of Use	8.5 New Tab Notes was easy to install in the test and the learning curve was very fast. Even Basic users should have no problems finding and using most of the functions straight away. However, one suggestion for improvement would be a small tutorial for new users on advanced features such as markdowns and shortcuts. Everyone who installs but doesn't see the website with instructions may not know about these features.	8.0 An account is required to use Recall. However, due to the integration with a Google and Apple login, this should be easy for everyone. Saving and summarizing content is a one-click process that is well explained at the beginning. However, mastering all functions (e.g., nested tags, links, and spatial repetitions) requires some time and some searching, which can lead to many users not being able to exploit the full potential.
Security & Privacy	8.2 New Tab Notes is an extension that stores all data exclusively via the browser. This approach is ideal for the user, as it eliminates the need for an account and reduces the risk of data breaches associated with other external cloud storage. This was apparent to us in our tests, but it is not clear whether the basic user is aware of this, as we were unable to find a privacy policy from the provider either in the store or on the website. This would be an important point of improvement to allow every user to read the extension's guidelines.	9.9 Recall is characterized by its privacy-friendly approach. User data is not used by the extension for advertising, profiling, or AI training. All content is stored securely, and users retain full control over their data. Data can be exported for inspection or deleted at any time. The data protection guidelines are transparent, and support is always available to answer questions about data protection. We were unable to identify any uncertainties during our review.
Conclusion	With New Tab Notes, ideas, and information can be quickly and easily noted and saved directly in the browser without distractions. Text formatting features such as headings and the accompanying markdowns and shortcuts make it quick and easy to write them down in a structured way. The design is very user-friendly, but the extension could still benefit from additional export options and possibly more advanced functions. Overall, it is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a simple and effective solution to quickly save notes.	Recall impressed us with its useful intelligent use of AI and its focus on helping users in their everyday lives, especially when learning. The browser extension makes it easy to capture content, and the revision features with auto-generated questions are a real bonus for learners. For occasional users, the free version may be enough, but if you want to use the extension, you can't avoid the paid version. The extension is not yet perfect and has small bugs, but the team reacts quickly to these and feedback, and many new functions are currently being introduced. Overall, Recall is a good choice for anyone looking to do more than just bookmark cards and build a personal knowledge base. If you're tired of forgetting what you've read online and want to save time, it's a must!
	Install New Tab Notes	Install Recall
Our Recommendation	In our comparison between New Tab Notes and Recall, Recall came out on top, scoring 8.9. Recall is the most widely used, with over 73k users and 95+ reviews—and it also delivered the strongest performance in our tests. User reviews reflect our findings. Notably, New Tab Notes has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.70, which supports its strong performance in our review. In the end, the differences between these extensions are minimal, so your choice may come down to personal preference or specific features. Looking for the richest feature set? Recall stands out with a rating of 9.2. On the other hand, New Tab Notes lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.7. Need top performance? Recall stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, New Tab Notes lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.8. Design lovers, take note: Recall stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, New Tab Notes lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.5. Want to get the most for your money? New Tab Notes stands out with a rating of 8.7. On the other hand, Recall lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.1. If you hate complicated tools, New Tab Notes stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Recall lags behind in this area with a rating of 8. With privacy and security becoming ever more important, Recall stands out with a rating of 9.9. On the other hand, New Tab Notes lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.2. If you want a quick recommendation, Recall is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.