NotebookLM vs Claras: how Gemini Notebook and Claras differ

The main differences, explained

First, the name

On July 16, 2026, Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook. Google says it is the same standalone product, and that notebooks now sync with the Gemini app. Its Workspace announcement says automatic redirects keep existing shared notebooks and links working, and notebooklm.google.com now forwards to notebook.google.com. If you used NotebookLM before, nothing you made is gone. Only the name and logo changed.

What each one is really for

Gemini Notebook is a place to collect sources and think across them. You make a notebook, add PDFs, Google Docs, web pages, audio and YouTube links, and then ask questions. Its answers cite your sources, and selecting a citation opens the quoted passage in context. It can also turn the notebook into an Audio Overview you listen to, a Video Overview, a report or flashcards. Files you add from Google Drive stay in sync every few minutes.

Claras starts from a video. You give it a link or a file and get a transcript, a summary with key takeaways, chapters that jump to their moment, and Ask AI for questions. It doesn't read PDFs or web pages, and it doesn't keep a notebook of mixed sources. It does go further with the video itself: it can transcribe one with no captions, it reads Instagram and TikTok links, and it can summarize a playlist from one link.

The same job in each: a 90-minute YouTube lecture

In Gemini Notebook, you open or create a notebook, add a source and paste the link. If the video is public, has captions (uploaded or automatic) and is more than about three days old, it imports the transcript as text. Then you can ask questions, and each answer cites the lines it used. Google's help pages don't say that a citation moves the video to that moment, so expect to read the quote, not watch it. If the lecture has no captions, the link won't import. You would need the audio or video file, up to 200MB, which it transcribes on import.

In Claras, you sign in with a free account and paste the link, or click Summarize under the video with the Chrome extension. If the video has captions, Claras reads them. If it has none, AI transcribes the audio, up to 30 minutes on the free plan and 3 hours on a paid one, so a 90-minute lecture with no captions needs a paid plan. You get a summary, chapters you can click to jump the video, a searchable transcript and Ask AI. Answers usually give a time like [02:15], but it is plain text, so you move the player yourself. YouTube Shorts and live links don't work in the app or the extension yet.

The same job in each: ten videos on one topic

In Gemini Notebook, you add each video as a source. The free plan allows 50 sources per notebook, so ten is easy, and you can mix in articles or your own notes. Then one question covers all of them, and an Audio Overview can talk you through the lot. This is where it is at its best.

In Claras, Bulk Summaries takes one playlist or YouTube search link. You tick the videos you want, and Claras writes one combined summary, or one per video, and picks the one most worth watching. Ask AI then covers the whole batch and says which video each point came from. The free plan includes one run of up to 20 videos. Channel pages aren't supported, and a video with no usable transcript is skipped.

What each costs in practice

Gemini Notebook's free plan is generous: 100 notebooks of 50 sources each. Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra raise those limits, and Google's help page lists them without prices, since they come with the wider Google AI plans. The free Claras plan gives you 3 videos a month and 1 bulk run, which is enough to try it and little more. Paid plans are on our pricing page. If your videos have captions and you don't mind adding them one at a time, Gemini Notebook may cost you nothing at all.

Who should choose which

Choose Gemini Notebook if

• Your research mixes papers, documents, web pages and a few videos.
• You want every answer tied to a quote you can open and check.
• You learn well by listening and want an Audio Overview of your sources.
• You already work in Google Docs and Drive, or on your phone.
• Your videos have captions and you want to spend nothing.

For all of these, Gemini Notebook is the better tool, and we would rather say so.

Choose Claras if

• Most of what you learn from is video, on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok.
• Your videos often have no captions: talks, interviews, lectures filmed in a room.
• You want a quick read of a playlist or a search page before you choose what to watch.
• You want chapters that jump the video, and to work beside the video on YouTube.

If you want both

Many people will. Claras gets the words out of the video, and Gemini Notebook keeps them with the rest of your research. The next section shows how.

What Claras users say

From a Claras user. This person is not comparing it with Gemini Notebook.

"It's quietly become the best research tool in my stack. You're leaving hours on the table every week without something like this."

Joseph McMullen, Technical Translator, Claras