# Alternatives to Roam Research The networked-thought pioneer. Roam Research ranks #20 of 22 in Personal knowledge management, with an Alt Score of 61. It is proprietary, sold by subscription and available on Web, iOS, Android and macOS. 10 of 14 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/roam-research/ Category: Personal knowledge management ## Where Roam Research stands out - **Real-time collaboration** — 10 of 20 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Researchers, writers, and knowledge workers who take large volumes of interconnected notes and want to see and build relationships between ideas over time, rather than filing notes into rigid folders. - **What you get**: An outliner where every note is a block that can be nested, tagged, and linked to any other block or page. Bidirectional links and tags automatically surface backlinks, so related notes reference each other without manual upkeep. A daily notes page opens automatically each day as a low-friction entry point for capture. A graph overview visualizes how pages and blocks connect across the whole notebase. - **How it works**: You write in the daily notes page by default, breaking thoughts into short outline blocks, and link concepts using [[page]] or #tag syntax as you go. Roam indexes those links automatically, so any page you reference accumulates a 'linked references' list of everything that mentions it, letting connections emerge from writing rather than upfront organization. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-12) - **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-12) - **Starts at**: ? - **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android, macOS - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-12) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Craft](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/craft.md) | 87 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | | 2 | [Heptabase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/heptabase.md) | 87 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 3 | [AppFlowy](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/appflowy.md) | 84 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 4 | [Trilium Notes](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/trilium-notes.md) | 84 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | | 5 | [Logseq](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/logseq.md) | 81 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 6 | [Notion](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/notion.md) | 81 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | | 7 | [Anytype](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/anytype.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 8 | [Obsidian](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/obsidian.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 9 | [Supernotes](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/supernotes.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 10 | [Tana](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tana.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 11 | [xTiles](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xtiles.md) | 74 | Proprietary | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS | | 12 | [acreom](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/acreom.md) | 71 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 13 | [Capacities](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/capacities.md) | 71 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 14 | [Coda](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/coda.md) | 68 | Proprietary | Web, macOS, iOS, Android | | 15 | [Walling](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/walling.md) | 68 | Proprietary | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS | | 16 | [Workflowy](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/workflowy.md) | 68 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 17 | [Dendron](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/dendron.md) | 65 | Apache-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 18 | [Reflect](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/reflect.md) | 65 | Proprietary | Web, macOS, iOS, Windows | | 19 | [Mem](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mem.md) | 61 | Proprietary | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS | | 20 | [Org-mode](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/org-mode.md) | 59 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 21 | [Foam](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/foam.md) | 55 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Personal knowledge management checklist | Roam Research | Craft | Heptabase | AppFlowy | Trilium Notes | Logseq | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Subscription | Freemium | Subscription | OSS + paid hosting | Free | Free | | Starts at | ? | $10/month | $8.99/month | $10/user/month | ? | $5/month | | License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 | | Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, macOS | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | | Markdown support | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes | | Block-based editing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Backlinks / graph view | Yes | Partial | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | | Databases & tables | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Templates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Real-time collaboration | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | No | Partial | | Web clipper | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | | Sync between devices (native) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Local-first storage | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Plugins / extensions | ? | Partial | No | Partial | Partial | Yes | | Daily notes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | | Task management built in | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Publish to web | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Version history | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | ## Sources Sources for Roam Research. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Updated on Apr 16, 2026” - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “© 2017 Roam Research, Inc.” - **Pricing model**: Subscription — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Believer subscriber” - **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android, macOS — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.” - **Markdown support**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Pasting a URL over selected text now creates a Markdown link (like the web app).” - **Block-based editing**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Fixed bug with checking todos inside of a block ref” - **Backlinks / graph view**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “References view will now by default show blocks open which contain only a reference (like the web)” - **Databases & tables**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “{{query}} {{table}}” - **Templates**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Added template (;;), attribute (::) and tag (#) auto completes” - **Real-time collaboration**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Collaborate with others in real time, or store all your data locally.” - **Sync between devices (native)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Fix syncing issues when editing a graph on mobile and the web app at the same time” - **Local-first storage**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Collaborate with others in real time, or store all your data locally.” - **Daily notes**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Display page shortcuts in sidebar accessible from daily notes page” - **Task management built in**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Fixed bug with checking todos inside of a block ref” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/