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Comparison

Sidenote vs NotebookLM

NotebookLM is a research workspace you upload sources into; Sidenote reads the page you already have open, and cites the exact passage.

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Sidenote

Answers in the tab you already have open, cited to the exact passage.

NotebookLM

A study workspace you visit, and carry your sources into.

The short answer

Should you use Sidenote or NotebookLM?

Choose Sidenote if…

You want answers about the document already in front of you (a Confluence runbook, a PDF, an arXiv paper) without uploading it anywhere. Sidenote reads it in place and cites the exact passage, so every answer is verifiable in one click.

Choose NotebookLM if…

You are running a deep research project: pulling twenty PDFs, podcasts and YouTube videos into one workspace, then generating Audio Overviews and mind maps to study them. NotebookLM is a superb research desk.

Plenty of people use both. They solve different halves of the same problem.

Compared honestly

Sidenote vs NotebookLM: feature by feature.

CapabilitySidenoteNotebookLM
Installs as a browser extensionYesNo
Reads the page you already have openYesNo
Works on private Confluence & intranet pagesYesNo
Upload your own PDFs & documentsYesYes
Inline citations on every answerYesYes
Citations scroll & highlight the live source tabYesNo
Ask a question across many documents at onceYesYes
One-click glossary of jargon & acronymsYesNo
Audio Overviews (podcast-style)NoYes
Video Overviews & mind mapsNoYes
Per-document Store / Discard retention controlYesNo
Free tierYesYes

Last reviewed: 3 July 2026.

Two rows go to NotebookLM, and we are not pretending otherwise; see Where NotebookLM is the better tool below. The cross-document chat row above is powered by Sidenote Collections.

The core difference

A workspace you visit, or a reader that rides along.

NotebookLM is a destination. You open it, create a notebook, and upload or link the sources you want to study. Everything happens inside that workspace. It is a genuinely good research desk, but it is a place you go to, separate from the documents themselves.

Sidenote never asks you to leave. It sits in the side panel of every tab, reads the page you are already on, and answers questions about it in place. Click a citation and Sidenote scrolls the real document and highlights the exact passage, in the tab you were already reading.

The difference in one example

Take a private Confluence runbook. NotebookLM fetches URLs on Google’s servers and cannot sign in as you, so a page behind your company login is invisible to it. Sidenote runs in your browser, on your session, so it reads exactly what is on your screen.

Giving credit

Where NotebookLM is the better tool.

We are not going to build a worse version of these. If they are what you need, use NotebookLM:

Audio & Video Overviews

Turn a stack of sources into a podcast-style discussion or a narrated deep-dive video. Sidenote has nothing like it.

A broad study toolkit

Mind maps, briefing docs, timelines, Deep Research reports: NotebookLM is built for working a topic from every angle.

A very generous free tier

Google’s free plan covers a lot of notebooks and sources before you reach a paywall.

FAQ

Sidenote vs NotebookLM: common questions

It depends what you need. If you want answers about a document you already have open, whether that is a Confluence runbook, a PDF or an arXiv paper, Sidenote is the better fit: no uploading into a separate workspace, and every answer cites the exact passage. If you are running a deep research project across dozens of sources and want Audio Overviews, NotebookLM is excellent at that.
Not private pages. NotebookLM fetches web URLs on Google’s servers, so it can only see pages that are public; anything behind your company login is invisible to it. Sidenote runs inside your browser on your own session, so it reads exactly what is on your screen, including private Confluence pages and intranets.
No. Audio Overviews and Video Overviews are NotebookLM’s signature features and it does them well. Sidenote is deliberately narrower: it focuses on citation-grounded reading, which means summaries, chat, plain-language explanations and glossaries, each answer linked to the source passage.
Both Google and Sidenote state they do not train AI models on your content. Sidenote adds a per-document choice: Store mode keeps a document indexed for as long as your account is open, Discard mode purges it within 24 hours. Sidenote’s data sits in a UK (eu-west-2) region with row-level security isolating every account.
Yes, and plenty of people do. They solve different halves of the same problem: NotebookLM is a research desk you bring sources to; Sidenote is a reader that travels with you across every tab. Use NotebookLM for a focused research project and Sidenote for everyday reading.
Both have a free tier. Sidenote's free plan covers everyday summaries, explanations and glossaries, with an opt-in 7-day Pro trial (no card required); paid plans start at £10/month. NotebookLM has a generous free plan and several paid tiers bundled with Google’s AI subscriptions.
Try it on the page you are on

Read anything. With citations.

Add Sidenote to your browser and ask the document in front of you a question. No upload, no workspace. Just the answer, and the passage that proves it.

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7-day Pro trial · No card required · Free plan forever