There’s a ripple going through software development right now around “second brain” type note taking apps. Wikis and other personal knowledge management apps have been around for a long time. But suddenly new apps are popping up all over the place.
Here’s a round-up of PKM tools that I largely stole from Reddit and added my own thoughts to.
One thing to keep in mind when you start looking for the ideal PKM software – zettelkasten daddy Niklas Luhmann, who wrote 50 books from his knowledge base, built his “second brain” entirely out of slips of paper. So don’t expect software to work any miracles that a good Rollerball pen and a nice stack of index cards can’t handle.
Knowledge Graphs
- Tana Node based outliner and knowledge graph. Why you want this: Supertags. Tana turns any tag into a mini-database with strong inheritance properties, giving you options to build your own applications inside your notes. Cloud based. Beta.
- Obsidian Page based knowledge graph using markdown. Why you want this: Strong community support for plugins for everything from mind-mapping to kanban boards. Cross platform.
- The Brain “Intelligent note-taking. Non-linear file management. Ideas and relationships visualized.” Fast, easy to use, versatile and customizable. Surprised it isn’t more popular in the PKM forums. Why you want this: TheBrain’s Parent/Child/Jump relationships help you consider semantic relationships. This makes it easier to structure information for discovery and reuse. Cross platform local app with a web based option.
- Roam Research outliner based note-taking tool focused on creating a networked knowledge base. Why you want this: You want top-notch functionality and don’t want to fiddle with plugins.
- Logseq BETA Outliner based note-taking tool very much like Roam, but possibly more extensible. Open source. Why you want this: You don’t want to pay Roam’s hefty monthly fee. You want your files under your control, not somewhere in the cloud. Cross platform.
- Relanote Uses a card metaphor to create notes that can be grouped by category or linked via wiki-style links. Web based. Why you want this: The nodes on the graphical interface “stay put” unlike Roam or Obsidian where the nodes change position all the time. Ideal for building concept maps from your notes. Cloud based.
- Foam BETA Based on Roam but uses markdown files. Open source, very early development. Why you want this: You like working in markdown but want to be able to treat individual lines of text like nodes. And you aren’t afraid to roll your own code. Cross platform.
- Hypernotes Outliner based knowledge graph that works within the Zenkit project management ecosystem. Why you want this: You want an enterprise-ready tool for Knowledge Management. Cloud based.
- Nuclino Page based knowledge graph with board and table views. Why you want this: You want to collaborate with your team. Cloud based.
- MyReach Note taking with contacts added in. Why you want this: You want your notes to link to your contacts. Cloud based.
- Emacs: Org-roam Plain text editor that supports wiki style links and visual knowledge graph. Why you want this If you’re geeky enough to know what Emacs is, you know why you want this. Cross platform local apps.
- Emacs: Org-brain Plain text editor that supports wiki style links and a knowledge graph similar to TheBrain…only text based. Why you want this: You love Emacs and you want focused node graphing. Cross platform local apps.
- Dendron Knowledge graph that runs on VS code. Why you want this: You know what VS code is and you want to incorporate schemas in your notes.
- TiddlyRoam Personal wiki with visual knowledge graph. Why you want this: You want a free Roam alternative that works like a wiki. Cross platform local apps.
- Athens Card metaphor outliner with visual knowledge graph. Why you want this: An open source GIT based Roam alternative. Cross platform local apps.
- Notabase Note-taking, visual knowledge base. Why you want this: Drag-and-drop reorganization of linked notes. Cross platform.
- Tinderbox Visual note mapping and outlining with many automation options. Why you want this: You want to be able to represent information in multiple ways, concept maps, grouping, detailed anaylsis. MacOS
Knowledge Bases
- Devonthink A powerful media database that uses AI to find related material. Markdown editor supports wiki links. Why you want this: Keep documents, media, and notes where you can find them. Discover surprising connections. MacOS, iOS.
- Hypernomicon Personal productivity database. Why you want this: You want to manage a large number of PDFs and notes. Cross platform.
- Notion for flexible, customizable web-based notes accessible on any platform. Why you want this: You want to build a comprehensive knowledge base with task management and project management built in. Cross platform local apps.
- Mem AI assisted workspace. Supports calendar, email, and Zapier integration. Why you want this: Just dump everything in, let Mem sort it out. Web, MacOS, iOS
Wiki
- Tiddlywiki Personal wiki. Why you want this: Sharing. Notes can be shared by email, shared links, or Dropbox. Cross platform.
- Vim: Vimwiki Personal wiki. Why you want this: You want a wiki based on Vim. Unix based platforms.
- Zim Simple desktop wiki. Why you want this: You don’t need anything fancy and you want it to run on Linux. Linux source code.
- Dokuwiki Basic desktop wiki. Why you want this: User community has a large number of plugins including math and music notation, security and passwords, style, and semantics. Cross platform.
Mapping Tools
- Tangent Markdown based knowledge base that uses wiki type links to build dialog maps. Why you want this: You want to see visual mapping of your ideas in a more stable presentation than most knowledge graphs. Cross platform local apps.
- Escape Outliner based mind mapping software. Task management. Multiple templates. Apple platform. Why you want this: You want an all-in-one process management tool.
- CmapTools Robust mapping tool, a little bit “old school.” cross platform. Why you want this: You want extensively detailed concept maps and don’t mind the Windows 95 vibe.
- Transno “One tap to mind map” Outliner based mind maps. Why you want this: You want to create super fast mind maps. Cloud based.
- TreeSheets Outliner that has a graphical display. Definitely old-school. Why you want this: You need a simple outliner that has some light sensemaking capabilities. Windows, Mac, Linux.
Project Management
- Boost Note Document driven project management tool optimized for DevOps. Why you want this: You want a customizable solution for tracking development projects. Cloud and local apps, cross platform.
- Slite All-in-one wiki, project manager, process mapping tool Why you want this: You want single tool to handle business processes. Robust integration. Cloud based.
Notebooks
- AFFiNE Block based notebook with task manager and kanban view. Why you want this: You want an open source alternative to Notion. Cloud based.
- Nimbus Note Online notebook app that can incorporate web clippings. Why you want this: Allows enterprise-ready collaboration. Cloud based.
- Scrapbox Create pages of notes with links to other pages. Cloud based. Why you want this: Two-hop linking shows notes that are related but not directly linked. Allows team collaboration.
- OneNote Notebook with easy linking between pages. Allows handwritten notes and pictures. Why you want it: You’re on the Microsoft 365 platform and want an easy way to synch notes across devices and share with your team. Cross platform, part of MS365.
- Curio Designed for note taking and media archiving with some project management and mind mapping functionality. Why you want it: Integrates with popular tools like DevonThink, iThoughts, and Hook. MacOS.
- Muse Uses a storyboard metaphor, with boards that can be nested or linked. Why you want this: Ideal for managing design lifecycles form start to delivery. MacOS, iOS.
- Craft Tile metaphor that builds beautiful documents. Why you want this: Capture notes and convert them to high quality deliverables. MacOS.
- Evernote Notes with email functionality and OCR searching within images, PDFs, and Word documents. Why you want it: Take a photo of a poster or a page and it’s searchable. Cloud based with cross platform apps.
- Simplenote Just notes, it’s that simple. Synchronized on all your devices. Why you want it: You don’t need bells and whistles. Or you use Tinderbox and want to have access to your notes on your mobile device. Cross platform.
- Zoho Notebook Card metaphor, notes, tasks, and media. Why you want this: You want a robust notebook that integrates with the Zoho business platform. Cloud based, cross platform apps.
- Notorious Hierarchical notes in markdown. Why you want this: You want a knowledge base with various note types including Sticky Boards and indexes. Cross platform, GIT
- Supernotes Linkable notecards, written in markdown. Why you want this: Notecards can be shared among a community of Supernotes users. Cross platform and cloud.
- Myinfo Notebook with web clipper. Why you want this: You want an all-purpose notebook that runs on Windows. Windows.
- Vnote A pleasant note taking experience. Why you want this: You don’t want unpleasant. Cross platform.
- UpNote Well designed notebook with multiple views. Why you want this: If you’re going to spend all day working on notes at least they should look nice. Cross platform.
Outliners
- WorkFlowy Capture, tag, organize anything. Why you want this: You want an outliner and bookmarking service in one. Cloud based with cross platform apps.
- RemNote Outliner that also manages PDFs and web archives. You can highlight source material and link to notes. Why you want this: Flash cards and other tools for learning and memorization. Cross platform.
- Noteplan An outliner, task manager, and calender. Why you want this: Links your notes with calendar and tasks. MacOS, iOS.
- Checkvist Web based outliner that supports markdown and tagging. Why you want this: You want a simple list-maker that you can access from the web. Cloud based.
- Reflect Outliner with calendar integration. Why you want this: You want to track notes that you take in meetings and connect them with your larger knowledge base. Web based.
- Amplenote Outliner with task integration. Why you want this: You want a simple outliner that lets you import material from Roam, Evernote or websites. Cloud based with iOS and Android apps.
- Joplin Outliner with rich media integration. Why you want this: You want to incorporate web clippings, photos, video, into your outline based notes. Cross platform apps with cloud option.
Bookmarking/Read Later
- Raindrop.io Bookmarking app that integrates social networks. Why you want this: You want to access bookmarks across all your devices and share them with others. Cloud based.
- Marginnote eReader with powerful highlighting and note taking features.Why you want this: You want a Readwise alternative that lets you build concept maps of your notes. MacOS, iOS.
- Recall Web based bookmarking with local storage. Why you want this: Automatic categorization and automatic linking between sources. Web based.
- Polar eReader and learning environment with AI. Why you want this: You are studying a lot of material that you need to commit to memory. Uses OpenAI GPT-3 to sync highlights with flashcards and sort them with spaced repetition. Cross platform.
Zettelkasten
- Emacs: Zetteldeft Emac based note taking app that supports linking. Why you want this: You want a straightforward zettelkasten tool and you love Emacs. Cross platform apps.
- Zettlr A distraction free writing platform based on zettelkasten methodology. Why you want this: You don’t want to have to switch contexts from your zettelkasten to your writing environment. MacOS.
- Neuron Zettelkasten and web publisher. Why you want this: You want to publish your notes to the web and you don’t mind doing a little coding. Cross platform using Nix package.
Markdown Editors
- Bear Markdown editor with hyperlinks. Why you want this: You want a beautiful, easy to use editor with integration potential. MacOS, iOS.
- Inkdrop for cross-platform and mobile markdown notes. Why you want this: Plugin support for math symbols, BPM diagrams using mermaid, etc. Cross platform.
- NoteInkmarkdown notes with wiki linking. Why you want this: Each note can be embedded with custom fields for data structuring, useful for citations, submission tracking, etc. MacOS
- Nota BETA Powerful markdown editor with wiki links. MacOS. Why you want this: You don’t need anything beyond markdown files that are linkable and live on your own computer.
Personal Networking
- Weavit An AI enabled personal networking tool. Leverages LinkedIn profiles. Cloud based. Why you want this: You want a tool that will help you build and track your personal and professional networks.
Scratchpads
- Stashpad Optimized for developers, lets you capture ideas and decide what to do with them later. Why you want this: For developers who need a command line type tool to capture ideas quickly. Exports to JSON
BONUS SOURCE
Harold Jarche’s list of 100 PKM Tools
SEE ALSO
