Simplenote
I have been using Google Keep for the last ten years. It's convenient, simple, and organized.
Until recently, I found something better.
Simplenote has everything Google Keep has but with added features.
Its ability to export notes to .txt files made me make the switch immediately.
I love the idea that .txt files are tech-agnostic;
you can read them on any device, on any OS.
The simple UI makes it easy to use. There's not that many features so there's nothing much to explore.
Its Markdown Preview has made it a convenient storage of drafts for my blog. I hope to view the editor and preview in a split screen on bigger screens so I don't need to toggle views from time to time.
When I used Apple Notes, link to other notes was a game-changer. I can link to another note and link back. But the thing is, I use Android for my day to day, both phone and tablet. So if I had to write something, I'd have to write it on Keep, access it through the browser on my Mac, and then transfer it to Apple notes (and vice versa). It was too much of a hassle that I discontinued using Apple Notes. Although I might consider using it again when I have a complete ecosystem in Apple.
Auto-sync takes less than a second! I don't have to configure anything or manually sync notes unlike Keep.
Low memory usage It's fast and efficient. No lags. No loading. When you export the notes to files, each file is only 1KB.
The only downside of Simplenote is that you're not able to upload pictures unlike Keep. But since I use it mostly for text and links, the trade-off is not significant.
So if you haven't already, give it a try!