A NotebookLM alternative for what you need to remember
Asking your sources helps you understand. Remembering takes coming back to it. Breef keeps what you learn as notes, brings each one back at growing intervals and quizzes you on it, and still answers your questions from them.
Why students try Breef instead
From understanding it once to knowing it on the day.
Notes that come back
Every note returns for review after 1, 3, 7, 21, 60 and 120 days, and more often as an exam nears.
Ask your notes
Questions in your own words, answered from your notes alone, with the note behind each claim.
PDFs into notes
Drop in lecture slides and Breef writes them up as an overview and a note per topic, linked to what you have.
Your data stays yours
Stored in the EU, never sold, used for ads or used to train AI models.
Breef and NotebookLM, side by side
| Feature | Breef | NotebookLM |
|---|---|---|
| Where it starts | YesYour own notes, written, recorded or imported | YesSources you add: PDFs, Google Docs and Slides, websites, YouTube |
| Answers with sources | YesAsk your notes: answers from them alone, each claim citing its note | YesAnswers from your sources, with citations |
| Spaced review | YesEvery note comes back after 1, 3, 7, 21, 60 and 120 days | In partFlashcards and quizzes made from your sources when you ask |
| Exam dates | YesReviews come closer together until the day, the last the day before | NoNot built in |
| Links between notes | YesLinks both ways, and a map of every note and link | In partMind maps of a notebook’s sources |
| Lecture recording | YesRecords a lecture and writes it up into a note | NoNot built in |
| Listening and watching | NoNo audio or video summaries | YesAudio Overviews and Video Overviews of your sources |
| Apps | In partIn the browser on any computer or phone, and installable as an app | YesWeb, Android and iOS |
| Price | YesFree to start; Pro is €6 a month or €48 a year | YesFree with a Google account; more with Google’s AI plans |
What’s said here about other apps comes from their own websites, as of October 2026, and may have changed since.
Where NotebookLM is stronger
Every app makes trade-offs. These are the ones Breef makes.
- Podcast-style Audio Overviews and Video Overviews of what you upload.
- Taking in many kinds of sources at once: PDFs, Docs, Slides, websites and YouTube.
- A generous free plan, from Google.
- Slide decks, infographics and data tables made from your sources.
Moving from NotebookLM
NotebookLM works from your sources; Breef works from your notes. Drop the same PDFs into Breef and it writes each one up as linked notes, an overview and a note per topic, that then come back for review. Many people keep NotebookLM for exploring sources and Breef for what they need to remember.
Questions
Does Breef make audio summaries?
No. Breef goes the other way: it records a lecture and writes it up into a study note.
Can I bring my sources?
Yes. Drop in a PDF, a Word document or a saved web page and Breef writes it up as linked notes: 50 pages a month free, 2,000 with Pro.
Does Breef use spaced repetition?
Yes. Each note comes back after 1 day, then 3, 7, 21, 60 and 120 days for as long as you remember it.
How much does it cost?
Free to start. Pro is €6 a month or €48 a year, for 30 hours of voice notes, more storage and AI as much as you like.
More comparisons
Start with one note.
Free to start, nothing to install. Your notes are never sold, used for ads or used to train AI.