Yes, you can get a sticky notes extension for Chrome for free. The Chrome Web Store has many you can add at no cost. What differs is what free covers: some are free with no limit, some are free up to a number of notes and charge once to unlock more, and some save your notes into an account-based app instead of onto the page.
Our own extension, TackNote Lite, is the second kind: your first 25 notes are free, for life, and unlimited notes are $4.99 once. Below we explain what to check in any free extension, exactly how our free notes are counted, how long 25 notes last at different paces, and when a different free tool fits you better. If you just want to know whether free will be enough for you, answer two questions:
What "free" can mean for a sticky notes extension
Adding an extension from the Chrome Web Store usually costs nothing. The questions that matter come after you install it. Before you put months of notes into one, check these five things on its listing or its developer's site.
| Check | Why it matters | TackNote Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Is there a limit? | A cap on notes, features or time decides whether free lasts | 25 notes created, free for life |
| Once or monthly? | A subscription keeps costing; a one-time unlock does not | $4.99 once, no subscription |
| What happens at the limit? | Some tools lock what you already wrote | Existing notes keep working; only new notes wait for the unlock |
| Where are notes kept? | An account syncs; local storage needs no sign-up | In Chrome on your computer, no account |
| How do you get notes out? | You will reinstall Chrome or change computers one day | Save a backup to a file, restore it on another computer |
One more check applies to every page-note extension, free or paid: what it can access. A note that shows on a web page needs the extension to run on that page. Google's Web Store help says a warning such as "Your data on all the websites you visit" means the extension can read, request or change data on every page you visit, and that this "doesn't mean the app is dangerous, just that it can be." TackNote Lite asks for each site the first time you tack a note there, and its settings list every allowed site so you can remove any of them. Our guide to picking a sticky notes Chrome extension covers the other kinds of extension in more depth.
How TackNote Lite's 25 free notes work
We would rather you know the exact rules before you start than find them out at note 24.
- It counts notes created. Each new note adds one. Deleting a note does not give one back, so the free 25 is a lifetime count, not a number you can have at once.
- Editing is free forever. Typing, changing a note's color, turning it into a checklist, adding checklist items, moving it or switching it to Whole site never counts as a new note.
- Restored notes count. If you restore a backup with 30 notes into a free copy, the count becomes at least 30.
- You can see where you are. The board, which opens from the toolbar icon, shows how many of your 25 free notes you have used, with an Unlock button beside it.
- Nothing you wrote is locked. Past the limit, every note you have keeps showing on its page and keeps saving as you type. Only the next new note becomes a card that says you have made your 25 free notes and offers the unlock.
- The unlock is $4.99, once. Your key arrives by email, and TackNote Lite checks it on your computer, offline. Paste it into TackNote Lite's settings under Unlock.
- It is its own purchase. A TackNote for Mac or Windows license does not unlock TackNote Lite. The settings say so if you paste one in.
TackNote Lite is free for your first 25 notes, for life. $4.99 once for unlimited.
See TackNote LiteHow long 25 free notes last
It depends on how often you start a new note, not on how much you write in each one. Here is the simple arithmetic:
| New notes a week | 25 free notes last about | What we would do |
|---|---|---|
| About 1 | 25 weeks, close to six months | Start free. Unlock only if you outgrow it |
| 2 or 3 | 8 weeks, about two months | Start free and see if it sticks |
| 4 to 7 | 5 weeks or less | Use the free notes as a trial, then unlock |
| 8 or more | 3 weeks or less | It is a daily tool for you, so the unlock is the plan |
Making the free notes go further
- One note per site, not per page. Choose Whole site on a note and it shows on every page of that website. One note for "the login for this portal is in the shared vault" covers the whole portal.
- A checklist instead of five notes. Turn a note into a Checklist and add as many items as you like. The items are part of one note.
- All versions of a page. On a product page whose address changes when you pick a size or color, choose All versions so one note covers every option instead of making a new note for each.
- Edit, do not replace. When a note is done with, rewrite it for the next job on that page rather than deleting it and making another.
When a different free tool fits better
Free is only a good deal if the tool does the job. Two cases where TackNote Lite is not the answer, free or not:
- You need the note on your phone. TackNote Lite lives in Chrome on a computer. Google Keep is a notes app with a Chrome extension: select text and choose Save selection to Keep, or click the Keep icon to save the page. Google says notes associated with a page are opened and edited at keep.google.com, so the note lives in Keep rather than on the page.
- You have nothing to write. If all you want is to come back to a page, a Chrome bookmark does that without any extension.
If you do want a note that sits on the page and shows up again when you open it, Chrome cannot do that by itself, as we showed in how to put a sticky note on a web page in Chrome. That is the job TackNote Lite is built for. On a Chromebook it works the same way; see sticky notes on a Chromebook for the one difference, the shortcut.
Where TackNote Lite falls short
- No sync. Notes stay in Chrome on one computer. A backup file is how you carry them to another, and Restore adds notes without deleting any.
- No phone app. It is a Chrome extension for computers only.
- Not in Incognito windows. It does not run there.
- Not on Chrome's own pages. Chrome does not let extensions add notes on the Chrome Web Store, its settings pages or the new tab page. Any ordinary website works.
- No import from other extensions. Restore reads TackNote Lite's own backups. If you are switching, copy across the notes you care about.
Questions
Is there a free sticky notes extension for Chrome?
Yes. The Chrome Web Store has many sticky notes extensions you can add for free. They differ in what free covers: some are free with no limit, some are free up to a number of notes and charge to unlock more, and some save notes into an account-based app such as Google Keep. TackNote Lite is free for your first 25 notes, for life, then $4.99 once for unlimited notes.
Do deleted notes give back free notes in TackNote Lite?
No. The free 25 counts notes created, and deleting a note does not lower the count. Editing a note, changing its color, adding checklist items or moving it never counts as a new note.
What happens after 25 notes in TackNote Lite?
Every note you already have keeps working. Only the next new note shows a card asking you to unlock, which is $4.99 once with no subscription.
Does a TackNote for Mac or Windows license unlock TackNote Lite?
No. TackNote Lite is a separate app with its own $4.99 unlock key.
Start with 25 free notes
TackNote Lite for Chrome. Free for your first 25 notes, for life, then $4.99 once. No account.
Get TackNote Lite