Three apps that often turn up in lists of linked-note tools now sell themselves as something else: a meeting platform, a team AI organiser and a flashcard app. The live options for linked, bulleted notes fall into four camps: local-first Markdown, open source, visual thinking and team workspaces. Decide where your notes must be stored, then move a week of notes into two of them.
Roam Research describes itself as a note taking tool for networked thought, built on a bulleted-list interface with real-time collaboration. People who leave it usually want to keep two things, two-way links between pages and a sense of how ideas connect, while changing where those notes are kept. That thread runs through this page.
Three familiar names that have changed course
Tana's own page now calls it an agentic meeting platform. Mem says 'Let AI organize your team'. RemNote leads with AI flashcards for studying. Whatever else they do, none of them leads with networked writing any more, so none is listed here.
It's a useful reminder that a product you read about a while ago may be selling something different today. Read a homepage before you migrate years of pages into anything, because the company's own description tells you where its effort is going next.
Where your notes are stored shapes everything else
The biggest difference between the apps below isn't the editor. It's where your notes are kept. Some store everything as plain Markdown files on your own computer, so you can open them in any text editor years from now. Some keep data on your device inside their own format. Others live in a shared online workspace, which makes teamwork easier and puts your pages on someone else's servers.
Neither answer suits everyone. For a private research archive, local files give you an exit door whichever app you use next. For a team wiki that several people edit at once, a shared workspace saves a lot of syncing and chasing. Decide which of those describes you before you look at a single feature.
Then think about how you write. If your habit is nested bullets, where every line can be linked and moved, you'll feel at home in an outliner or a block editor. If you write longer pages and link between them, a Markdown note app will feel natural. And if you think in pictures, a canvas that holds cards and arrows may serve you better than any list.
Four camps of networked-note apps
Local-first Markdown. Obsidian keeps your notes in an app where, its maker says, you own your data. Reflect is open source and stores daily notes and their two-way links as local Markdown files. Foam builds a personal knowledge system on top of Visual Studio Code and GitHub, which will appeal to anyone who already lives in a code editor.
Open source outliners and block editors. Logseq calls itself a privacy-first, open-source knowledge base. SiYuan is local-first, with block references and bidirectional links, the closest match here to a bullet-and-block way of writing. Joplin describes itself simply as an open source note-taking application.
Visual thinking. Heptabase is a visual knowledge base, and Capacities organises ideas as connected objects instead of files and folders. Both suit people who'd rather arrange ideas than file them.
Team workspaces and all-in-one apps. Notion is the team option here, a workspace for docs, search and AI agents across a whole company. Anytype also covers notes, tasks, databases and chats, but keeps them on your own device.
Ten linked-note apps in one table
| Tool | Style of app | Suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Anytype | Private notes and databases | Notes and tasks kept on your device |
| Capacities | Object-based notes | Linking ideas as objects |
| Foam | VS Code based notes | Writers who live in a code editor |
| Heptabase | Visual whiteboard notes | Visual thinkers mapping ideas |
| Joplin | Open-source notes | Plain open source note-taking |
| Logseq | Open-source outliner | Bulleted outlines with privacy first |
| Notion | Team workspace | Teams sharing docs and search |
| Obsidian | Local-first notes | Private notes you own |
| Reflect | Open-source Markdown notes | Daily notes with two-way links |
| SiYuan | Local-first block notes | Block references and two-way links |
The ten, alphabetically
Sorting by name keeps this in no particular order of merit. Each line keeps to what the app's maker or project says about it.
Anytype
Best for: People who want notes, tasks, databases and chats in one app, with the vendor's promise that your data stays on your device.
Capacities
Best for: Thinkers who'd rather organise ideas as connected objects than as files and folders, which is how the vendor describes its approach.
Foam
Best for: Writers already working in Visual Studio Code and GitHub; the project's pitch is no subscriptions or vendor lock-in.
Heptabase
Best for: Visual learners building knowledge on a canvas; the vendor calls it an intelligent visual knowledge base.
Joplin
Best for: Anyone after a straightforward open source note-taking application, which is exactly how the project describes itself.
Logseq
Best for: Outliner fans wanting a privacy-first, open-source knowledge base, in the project's own words.
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Notion
Best for: Teams who keep docs together and want search and custom AI agents across all their apps, per the vendor.
Obsidian
Best for: Private thinking in an app where you own your data; the vendor calls it the free and flexible app for your private thoughts.
Reflect
Best for: Daily note takers who want two-way links and want to keep their files in Markdown, as the vendor puts it.
SiYuan
Best for: Block-style writers who rely on block references and bidirectional links, in an app described as open-source, local-first and privacy-first.
Moving a week of daily notes across
Don't export your whole graph on day one. Take a single week of daily notes, with the links between them intact, and recreate it in two apps from different camps, say one local-first app and one visual one. A week is long enough to include real links and short enough that you'll finish the job in an evening.
Then use both for a few days as if you'd already switched. Follow a link from one note to another and back again. Search for a phrase you wrote on day two. Open the files outside the app, if the app keeps files, and see whether they still make sense. Try both on your phone, because that's where most quick notes start. The one you reach for without thinking is the one to move the rest of your pages into.
For researchers with years of linked pages
If your notes are years of research, I'd put ownership of the files ahead of every other feature, which points to the local-first and open source camps. A team that writes together has the opposite need, and a shared workspace will save it more time than any graph.
If you're still weighing the wider field, my guide to note-taking apps covers simpler options too, and students will find a tighter shortlist in these note apps for students.
Do you make networked note-taking or knowledge base software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring my existing graph into another app?
Most people move their pages as exported files, then check the links by hand. Try a small export first and open it in the new app before you move everything, because nested bullets and block references don't always arrive the way they left.
What does local-first mean?
It means your notes are stored on your own device first, rather than only on a company's servers. Some local-first apps also sync, but your own copy stays with you if you stop using the service.
Do I need to know Markdown?
No. Markdown is a handful of simple symbols for headings, bold text and lists, and most people pick it up quickly. The benefit is that your notes stay readable in any text editor.
Can a team share a linked-note app?
Yes, though the team workspace camp is built for it and the local-first tools put one person's files first. If several people edit the same pages daily, test sharing and permissions during your trial.
Why aren't Tana, Mem and RemNote on this list?
Their own homepages now lead with a meeting platform, AI team organisation and AI flashcards, rather than with networked note-taking, so they fall outside what this page covers.
Is a graph view worth having?
It's a nice way to see clusters of ideas, but most people move around by links and search day to day. Treat the graph as a bonus and judge an app on how quickly you can write and find a note.
