The short answer
The NotebookLM app officially exists for iPhone, iPad and Android — free, directly from Google. An official desktop app for Mac or Windows does not exist. On the computer you work in the browser, and that is no stopgap: the browser can do more than the app.
Since July 2026 the tool is officially called Gemini Notebook. In the app stores you will also find it under this name — the old name NotebookLM only appears in the release notes there.
NotebookLM for iPhone and iPad
In the App Store the app is called Gemini Notebook, the provider is Google LLC. It is free but contains in-app purchases. What you should know:
- Requirement: iOS 17.0 or newer, iPadOS 17.0 or newer
- Devices: iPhone and iPad
- Size: around 199 MB
- Languages: German and 64 others
Important for everyday use: the audio summaries keep playing in the background and work offline. That is exactly what the app is made for — you load your material onto your phone as a podcast and listen to it while walking, on the train, without reception.
NotebookLM for Android
The same applies on Google Play: Gemini Notebook, provider Google LLC, free. Here too, the release notes carry the sentence “NotebookLM is now called Gemini Notebook” — it is the same app, just renamed.
If you still search the store for “NotebookLM”, you will usually find it anyway. If not, search for Gemini Notebook and make sure the provider shown is Google LLC.
What the app can do — and what only works in the browser
Here is the honest assessment nobody else gives you: The app is a second device, not a replacement.
What now also works on mobile — according to Google’s own release notes: creating and searching notebooks, adding sources from Google Drive, creating reports, downloading presentations as PDFs to your phone, sharing notebooks, short portrait-format video summaries, reading PDFs directly in the source view. You even get a notification when an audio or video summary is ready — so you can close the app and get on with your life.
What users report as missing in the store reviews: the interactive podcast mode where you interrupt the AI hosts with questions, mind maps, the source search and the export. Several reviews also describe the video feature as a computer-only affair. Those are user reports, not an official Google statement.
My rule of thumb: Build on the computer, consume on the phone. Setting up the notebook, sorting sources, generating the good formats — you do that in the browser. On the go you listen, read and ask.
NotebookLM as a desktop app for Mac and Windows: the honest answer
There is no official desktop app. Google’s own help puts it unmistakably: Gemini Notebook is available in the browser, plus the mobile app. Nothing more.
That sounds like a gap, but is not one. The browser is the most complete version — everything the tool can do, you can do there. If you want it like a program on your computer, simply install it as a web app: in Chrome and Edge you will find an install icon in the address bar; in Safari you file the page via “Add to Dock”. After that, NotebookLM has its own window and its own icon — without any third-party software.
Beware of third-party downloads
And now the part I genuinely want to impress on you. If you google “NotebookLM download Windows”, you get pages offering you an installer file: download portals, GitHub projects, providers with names like “GeminiDesktop”.
None of it comes from Google. These are shells around the website, built by third parties. Some are honest hobby projects, some are not. And in any case you are giving unknown software access to a window in which you sign in to your Google account and upload your business documents.
There are exactly two official routes: notebooklm.google in the browser — or the app from the App Store or Google Play, with Google LLC as the provider. You do not need anything else.
What does the app cost?
The app itself costs nothing. You only pay if you want higher limits — and not for NotebookLM alone, but via a paid Google subscription that also includes Gemini, Drive storage and other services. A NotebookLM-only subscription does not exist.
In the German App Store these in-app purchases are listed (as of 8 August 2026):
- Google AI Plus (400 GB) — €4.99
- Google AI Plus (2 TB) — €9.99
- Google AI Pro (5 TB) — €21.99
One note on this that I consider important: prices via the App Store are not necessarily the same as in the browser, and Google changes plans and regions regularly. Compare both routes before subscribing — the purchase in the app and the direct route via Google One. And as always, do not calculate the monthly price but what the tool replaces for you.
The limits: what you get on the free plan — and what more buys you
This is the actually important table, and at Google it sits hidden in the help pages. The numbers are Google’s own, as of 8 August 2026, and expressly subject to change:
| Standard (free) | Plus | Pro | Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notebooks | 100 | 200 | 500 | 500 |
| Sources per notebook | 50 | 100 | 300 | 500–600 |
| Chats per day | 50 | 200 | 500 | 2,500–5,000 |
| Audio summaries | 3 / day | 6 / day | 20 / day | 100–200 / day |
| Video summaries | 3 / day | 6 / day | 20 / day | 100–200 / day |
| Reports, flashcards, mind maps | 10 each / day | 20 each / day | 100 each / day | 500–1,000 each / day |
| Deep Research | 10 / month | 3 / day | 20 / day | 75–200 / day |
| Remove watermark | no | no | no | yes |
Ultra has two tiers (20 TB and 30 TB of storage), hence the ranges. Daily quotas reset after 24 hours, monthly quotas after 30 days.
And now the entrepreneurial reading of this table: For the vast majority of solopreneurs, the free plan goes surprisingly far. 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, 50 chats a day — you rarely hit those in normal business life. The numbers that slow you down first are the three audio summaries and three video summaries per day. If you regularly produce content from them, that is your reason to upgrade — not the notebook count.
A second point that easily gets lost: Deep Research you get only ten times a month for free, but on the Plus plan three times daily. If you research a lot, you will notice this difference much earlier than anything else.
Data protection: what Google says about your uploads
Google states it does not use your data to train Gemini Notebook — with one caveat you should know: If you give feedback, i.e. tap “Good response” or “Bad response”, Google may view the entire context of that interaction, including your uploads.
This does not apply to accounts from Google Workspace and Workspace for Education: there, according to Google, uploads, requests and answers are not manually reviewed and not used for training, even with feedback.
I am not a lawyer, and whether your specific use is GDPR-compliant depends on your setup. My rule of thumb remains: do not upload sensitive client data — whatever the plan.
Installing is quick. Harder is the question of which of your documents belong in there at all. That is exactly what we talk about in my free community “KI — aber richtig” — the templates and workflows from my videos live there too. And if you want company instead of doing it alone: the AI Business Community offers monthly live calls, workshops and the MACHZEIT! challenge for exactly that.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a NotebookLM app?
Yes. The official app has been called Gemini Notebook since July 2026 and is available free for iPhone, iPad and Android. The provider is Google LLC. For iOS you need at least iOS 17.0.
How do I download NotebookLM?
Via the Apple App Store or Google Play — search for “Gemini Notebook” there. Make sure the provider listed is Google LLC. On the computer there is nothing to download — there you work directly in the browser at notebooklm.google.
Is there NotebookLM for Windows?
No official Windows app. You use it in the browser and can install the page as a web app in Chrome or Edge, giving it its own window and icon. Installer files from download portals or third parties do not come from Google.
Is there NotebookLM for Mac?
There is no official app for Mac either. In Safari you file the page via “Add to Dock”; in Chrome you install it as a web app. The result feels like a program without you installing any third-party software.
What does the NotebookLM app cost?
The app is free. Higher limits only come via a paid Google subscription covering several Google services; the German App Store lists Google AI Plus from €4.99 and Google AI Pro at €21.99 per month. A NotebookLM-only subscription does not exist.
What limits does NotebookLM have?
Free: 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, 50 chats per day, 3 audio and 3 video summaries each per day and 10 Deep Research runs per month. Daily quotas reset after 24 hours.
Can I use the NotebookLM app offline?
Partly. Audio summaries can be downloaded and listened to offline, including background playback. For everything else — uploading sources, chatting, generating formats — you need a connection.
What can the app not do that the browser can?
User reports in both app stores consistently name: no interactive podcast mode, no mind maps, no source search, limited export, and video creation only on the computer. So build your notebooks in the browser and use the app for listening, reading and asking follow-ups.
The complete NotebookLM guide: where to go next
This article settles technology and access. The rest builds on it:
- What is NotebookLM? — the fundamentals guide: what the tool is, what it costs, where its limits are.
- Using NotebookLM properly — seven use cases from practice.
- NotebookLM dissects your business — having your own texts examined by the toughest critic.
- NotebookLM in Gemini: 3 workflows — voice filter, client dossier, single source of truth.
- NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook — what the renaming means for your notebooks.
Conclusion: the app is good — the browser remains headquarters
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: put the app on your phone, but do not move your work there. The app is strong in exactly one discipline — listening to your own material on the go, without reception, in the background. That is worth more than it sounds: documents that would otherwise stay unread become the drive to your appointment.
Everything else — building, sorting, producing — belongs on the computer. And for that you need to install nothing.
