Comparison
Writing Studio vs Gemini Notebook
Features, pricing and fit, side by side. Updated October 1, 2026.
Free to start. No credit card required. 🔓
Writing Studio
Draft, library, AI chat and citation tools in one view.
Gemini Notebook
Gemini Notebook homepage, October 1, 2026.
At a glance
Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM, turns your sources into answers, summaries and study material such as Audio Overviews, Mind Maps and Flashcards. Writing Studio is built for writing the paper: a document editor next to your sources, with citations you can check against the exact passage.
Best for
Researching, drafting and citing with sources you can verify
Understanding and summarizing a set of sources
Starting price
Free
Free
Paid plans
Plus from $15 per month, Pro from $35 per month (billed yearly)
Google AI Plus from US $4.99 per month, AI Pro US $19.99 per month
Works in
Web workspace, exports to Word, PDF, LaTeX and a live web page
Web and mobile app
Citations
Highlight a claim to find a source that backs it and see the exact passage, rated by strength of support
Answers that point back to your sources
Source library
250M+ sources to search, plus your own PDFs and Zotero or Mendeley imports
Up to 50 sources per notebook free, up to 600 on the top Ultra plan
Plagiarism and AI detection
Coming soon with GPTZero
Not listed on its site
Quick answer
Choose Writing Studio if
You are writing a paper or thesis and need a document editor.
You want to highlight a claim and see a source that backs it, with the exact passage.
You want citations in the style your school uses.
You want unsupported claims flagged.
You want AI rules per document, an AI use statement and a Writing Receipt.
Choose Gemini Notebook if
You want to turn sources into Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, Mind Maps or Slides.
You want Flashcards and Reports from your material.
You want Deep Research to find new sources.
You already pay for Google AI Pro or use Google Workspace for Education.
Use both
Use Gemini Notebook to understand and summarize your sources, then write and cite in Writing Studio.
Feature comparison
Built for
Students and researchers writing research-heavy papers
Students, researchers and professionals learning from a set of sources
Core strength
Verified sources and citations inside your draft
Turning your sources into answers and study material
Finding a source for a claim
Highlight any claim in your draft to find sources that back it
Discover sources and Deep Research find sources on the web
Citation proof
Exact passage from the source, rated strong or partial support
Answers point back to your uploaded sources
Unsupported claims
Flagged instead of quietly cited
Not listed on its site
Source library
Upload PDFs or import a .bib or .ris file from Zotero or Mendeley, organized and searchable, plus 250M+ sources to search
Up to 50 sources per notebook on the free plan, 100 on AI Plus, 300 on AI Pro, 500 or 600 on AI Ultra
Chat with your sources
Answers that cite the sources they draw on
Chat grounded in your sources
AI writing help
Autocomplete, AI edits and an AI chat that knows your sources and cites them
Reports, Slides and answers generated from your sources
Grammar and language
AI proofreading and rewrites of passages you select
Not listed on its site
Plagiarism check
Not included
Not listed on its site
AI detection
Coming soon with GPTZero
Not listed on its site
Reviews
Document reviews, peer reviews and literature reviews
Reports and Flashcards
Citation styles
APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and 10,000+ more, switch any time
Not listed on its site
Responsible AI tools
AI rules per document, AI use statement, Writing Receipt
Not listed on its site
Collaboration
Share a draft, comment, and compare versions in version history
Share notebooks, with Workspace and Education plans for organizations
Where you write
Writing Studio web workspace
Web and mobile app
Export
Word, PDF, LaTeX, HTML and a live web page
Not listed on its site
Use your own AI key
Yes: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok
Not listed on its site
Free tools
Citation Generator, Citation Checker, Citation Finder, Literature Review Generator, Thesis Statement Generator, Essay Outline Generator, Essay Title Generator, Introduction Generator, Conclusion Generator, Abstract Generator
Free standard plan with Mind Maps, Audio Overviews, Video Overviews and Infographics
What Writing Studio does best
Sources you can open and check
Highlight a claim and Writing Studio finds a source that backs it, shows the exact passage, and rates how strongly it supports what you wrote. Each citation you add this way keeps that passage.
Search results with the passage that matches your claim.
One workspace from first source to final draft
Bring your sources in, write with an AI that has read them, review the draft, then cite and export. Nothing lives in a separate tool.
Every source you save, cite or upload, checked against its record.
Open about AI use
Set AI rules on each document, add an AI use statement, and keep a Writing Receipt that shows how a document was written. This helps when your school asks how you used AI.
Writing history, with the Writing Receipt you can share.
Catches claims without a source
If no source supports a claim, Writing Studio tells you instead of citing it anyway. You find the gap before your reader does.
Your key, your choice of model
Use Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok with your own API key. AI features then don’t use your plan allowances. Citation checks still count.
What Gemini Notebook does best
Study material from your sources
It creates Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, Mind Maps, Flashcards, Reports, Slides and Infographics from the sources you add.
Source discovery
Discover sources and Deep Research help you find more material to add to a notebook.
Large source limits
Notebooks hold up to 50 sources on the free plan and up to 600 on the top AI Ultra plan.
Part of Google
It comes with Google AI plans and with Google Workspace for Education and Enterprise.
Pricing
Prices checked on October 1, 2026.
Free
$0. 10 AI autocompletes, 3 AI edits, 5 AI chat messages and 5 AI citation searches a day. 10 citation checks a day. 1 document review a month. Unlimited documents, sources and citations in every style. Full export.
Standard plan: $0. Up to 50 sources per notebook. Limits on chats and Audio Overviews apply.
Mid plan
Plus: $29 per month, or $15 per month billed $180 a year. 3,000 AI autocompletes, 300 AI edits, chat messages and citation searches a month. 10 document reviews. Unlimited citation checks. 5 peer reviews. Literature reviews. Email support.
Google AI Pro: US $19.99 per month. 4x the free usage and up to 300 sources per notebook. Google AI Plus is US $4.99 per month, with 2x usage and up to 100 sources.
Top plan
Pro: $69 per month, or $35 per month billed $420 a year. Unlimited AI autocompletes, edits, chat, citation searches, document reviews, citation checks, peer reviews and literature reviews, under fair use. 600 AI requests an hour. Priority support.
Google AI Ultra: US $99.99 or $199.99 per month, with 5x or 20x the usage of AI Pro and up to 500 or 600 sources per notebook.
Teams and universities
Enterprise plans with one invoice and volume pricing
Available through Google Workspace, Google Workspace for Education and Google Cloud
Prices show in your local currency on Google’s page. The US dollar prices above come from Google’s plan information. Check Google’s Gemini Notebook plans page before you buy.
Gemini Notebook plans, October 1, 2026. Prices show in Korean won for a visitor in Seoul.
Which one should you pick?
If you want to…
Pick
Find a source for a claim you just wrote
Writing Studio
Check a citation against the exact source passage
Writing Studio
Keep sources, notes and draft in one place
Writing Studio
Import a Zotero or Mendeley library file
Writing Studio
Show how you used AI
Writing Studio
Turn your sources into an Audio Overview or Mind Map
Gemini Notebook
Make flashcards and reports from your material
Gemini Notebook
Use a tool that comes with your Google plan
Gemini Notebook
Frequently asked questions
Is Writing Studio better than Gemini Notebook?
They do different jobs. Gemini Notebook is stronger for understanding a set of sources and turning them into study material. Writing Studio is stronger for writing a paper with sources you can verify.
Is Writing Studio free?
Yes. The free plan includes unlimited documents, sources and citations, full export, and a daily allowance of AI help. No credit card is needed.
Which one is cheaper?
Both have a free plan. Gemini Notebook’s paid usage comes with Google AI plans, from US $4.99 per month for AI Plus and US $19.99 per month for AI Pro. Writing Studio Plus is $15 per month on yearly billing and Pro is $35 per month. Google’s plans cover other Google AI products too, so compare what you need.
Which is better for citations?
Writing Studio inserts citations in your chosen style and shows the exact passage behind each one you add with Cite. Gemini Notebook’s answers point back to your sources, and it does not list citation styles on its site.
Does Writing Studio check for plagiarism or AI writing?
Not yet. Plagiarism checks are not part of Writing Studio, and AI detection is coming soon with GPTZero. Gemini Notebook does not list a plagiarism checker or AI detector on its site.
Can I use Writing Studio inside Word or Google Docs?
Writing Studio is a web workspace. You can export your work to Word (which opens in Google Docs), PDF or LaTeX. Gemini Notebook works on the web and in its mobile app.
Can I import my Zotero or Mendeley library?
Yes. Export your library from Zotero or Mendeley as a .bib or .ris file and import it. A direct connection isn’t available yet. You can also upload PDFs.
Was Gemini Notebook called NotebookLM?
Yes. Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook in July 2026.
Does Gemini Notebook train on my data?
Google says individual data is not used for training unless you share feedback. Check its privacy information for details.
Can I use both?
Yes. Many people understand their sources in one tool and write in another.
Does Writing Studio use my writing to train AI?
No. We do not use your documents to train AI models. See our Security page.
More comparisons
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