Alternatives to Heptabase
Visual whiteboard notes for research thinking
Heptabase ranks #2 of 22 in Personal knowledge management, with an Alt Score of 87. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from $8.99/month and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and Web. 14 of 14 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Students, researchers, and other knowledge workers who need to make sense of complex topics by organizing large amounts of notes, sources, and ideas rather than just capturing them in a linear list.
An infinite whiteboard where notes live as cards that can be freely arranged, linked, and grouped to map out how ideas relate. It supports bi-directional linking, PDF annotation, web clipping, and daily journaling, plus AI tools that can summarize imported sources and answer questions with citations. Everything (PDFs, web highlights, YouTube transcripts, notes) is consolidated into one connected knowledge base instead of scattered files.
You import or write source material as cards, then place and connect those cards on whiteboards to visually structure your thinking. Whiteboards can nest and link to each other, so you build up a network of maps that lets you navigate between high-level overviews and detailed notes.
Where Heptabase stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Heptabase
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Personal knowledge management checklist (18 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Personal knowledge management checklist | Heptabase | Craft | AppFlowy | Trilium Notes | Logseq | Notion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Markdown support | ||||||
| Block-based editing | ||||||
| Backlinks / graph view | ||||||
| Databases & tables | ||||||
| Templates | ||||||
| Real-time collaboration | ||||||
| Web clipper | ||||||
| Sync between devices (native) | ||||||
| Local-first storage | ||||||
| Plugins / extensions | ||||||
| Daily notes | ||||||
| Task management built in | ||||||
| Publish to web | ||||||
| Version history |
Every fact and feature listed for Heptabase is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License Proprietary verified 2026-07-12
Pro $8.99/ month
https://heptabase.com/pricing -
Starts at $8.99/month verified 2026-07-12
$8.99/ month
https://heptabase.com/pricing -
Pricing model Subscription verified 2026-07-12
Pro $8.99/ month
https://heptabase.com/pricing -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web verified 2026-07-12
in January, we launched a full-featured web app.
https://wiki.heptabase.com/version-one -
Status active verified 2026-07-12
Note Card Highlighting, Web Cards, and more!
https://wiki.heptabase.com/newsletters/2026-03-24 -
Markdown support Partial verified 2026-07-12
you can simply go to the product's left sidebar and click Settings → Backup & Sync → Export Now to export all notes as Markdown files.
https://support.heptabase.com/en/articles/10364279-how-sustainable-is-heptabase-can-i-easily-export-my-data-and-move-on -
Block-based editing Yes verified 2026-07-12
You can type `/` in the card editor to add any types of blocks you want: headings, lists, to-dos, toggles, tables, images, audio, videos, files, PDFs, code snippets, math equations, and dates.
https://wiki.heptabase.com/fundamental-elements -
Backlinks / graph view Yes verified 2026-07-12
You can type `@` in the card editor to mention other cards, and you can see all the block-level backlinks in the info section of the card.
https://wiki.heptabase.com/fundamental-elements -
Databases & tables Yes verified 2026-07-12
In Heptabase, each Tag functions like a table—each card tagged with it represents a row, while properties you define for the tag represent columns.
https://wiki.heptabase.com/organize-knowledge-and-projects -
Templates Yes verified 2026-07-12
Editor Templates, Image & Audio Cards, Card Library & Tag Sort, and more!
https://wiki.heptabase.com/newsletters/2024-02-08 -
Real-time collaboration Partial verified 2026-07-12
Heptabase provides a workflow that blends real-time discussions and visual collaboration
https://wiki.heptabase.com/collaborate-and-discuss-with-others -
Web clipper Yes verified 2026-07-12
consider using Heptabase's built-in Web Clipper to save them into your card library with a single click
https://wiki.heptabase.com/pdf-annotation -
Sync between devices (native) Yes verified 2026-07-12
If you enable syncing across multiple devices, your data is also securely stored on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
https://support.heptabase.com/en/articles/10448141-is-my-data-safe-in-heptabase -
Local-first storage Yes verified 2026-07-12
Heptabase securely stores your data on your computer's local database when used on a single device.
https://support.heptabase.com/en/articles/10448141-is-my-data-safe-in-heptabase -
Plugins / extensions No verified 2026-07-12
Not yet. We plan to offer end-user programming capabilities in the future, but it's not our current priority.
https://support.heptabase.com/en/articles/10447604-do-you-provide-an-api-so-i-can-create-my-own-plugins -
Daily notes Yes verified 2026-07-12
See all your journal cards here. Use your daily journals to quickly capture ideas and to-dos.
https://wiki.heptabase.com/user-interface-logic -
Task management built in Yes verified 2026-07-12
You can also see all unfinished to-dos across your cards
https://wiki.heptabase.com/user-interface-logic -
Publish to web Yes verified 2026-07-12
Public links update automatically. Viewers will see your latest changes after they refresh the page.
https://support.heptabase.com/en/articles/12121546-how-do-i-publish-whiteboards-with-a-public-link -
Version history Yes verified 2026-07-12
We only keep 60 days of version history. If you have important content you want to save, please export the card directly.
https://support.heptabase.com/en/articles/10448124-how-to-restore-my-cards-and-whiteboards-from-version-history
FAQ
Yes. Craft, Trilium Notes and Logseq have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
AppFlowy, Trilium Notes and Logseq — every license claim links its source.