Coppice vs Heptabase
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Coppice
Mac app for linking notes together on a spatial canvas
Heptabase
Visual notes app that arranges linked cards on whiteboards
Where they differ
- Coppice starts at $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year. Heptabase starts at $8.99 per month, billed yearly ($107.88).
- Coppice has a free plan. Heptabase does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Heptabase lists a web app.
- Only Heptabase lists Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Heptabase lists a browser extension.
- Heptabase also covers daily notes.
At a glance
| Coppice | Heptabase | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year | $8.99 per month, billed yearly ($107.88) |
| Free plan | The Mac App Store download is free. Neither the listing nor the site says which features need Coppice Pro. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial with unlimited PDF uploads and parsing and the Premium plan's AI credit allowance. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | High Caffeine Content | Hepta Platforms, Inc. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | heptabase.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Coppice
- Mapping out linked ideas for a project on a Mac
- Planning a tabletop roleplaying session, a use the vendor names
- People who think by spreading notes out and following connections
Heptabase
- Students and researchers learning complex topics from PDFs and videos
- Visual thinkers who like to arrange notes on a canvas
- Readers who sync highlights from Readwise or sources from Zotero
Worth knowing
Coppice
- It runs on the Mac only and requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
- The vendor does not say which features need Coppice Pro. The former maker's site listed unlimited canvases, page folders and automatic linking as Pro in the earlier version.
- Coppice Pro is sold only as a subscription, at $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year; no one-time purchase is listed.
- The app changed hands with the 2026 version, and M Cubed Software's site has purchases of the earlier direct-download version disabled.
Heptabase
- There is no free plan to sign up for; a subscription is required after the 7-day trial.
- Pro includes 100 AI credits a month and only Gemini models; GPT, Claude and AI Tutor need Premium.
- Heptabase says it does not currently offer educational, nonprofit or NGO discounts.
- People invited as free collaborators can edit shared whiteboards and cards but get no journal, tasks or AI features.
Key features
Coppice
- Canvases
- A canvas is a space for laying thoughts out visually and seeing how they connect. It expands in every direction as more pages are added.
- Pages
- Each thought is a page of text or an image, at any size. A page can sit on several canvases, or fill the window when one thought needs the focus.
- Links and branches
- Pages link to other pages, and clicking a link opens the linked page on the canvas as a branch. A closed branch is remembered with its pages and their arrangement.
- Auto-linking
- Coppice can connect thoughts by automatically adding links between pages. Image links can use oval and polygon hotspots for more precise targets.
- Drag and drop
- Text and images can be dragged onto a canvas from the sidebar or from other apps.
- Folders, colors and Open Quickly
- Pages can be kept in folders and given any color to stand out on the canvas. Open Quickly finds a page by name.
Heptabase
- Whiteboards and cards
- Each note is a card, and cards are laid out on whiteboards to work through a topic visually.
- Block editor with bi-directional links
- Cards are written in a block-based editor with slash commands and can link to each other in both directions.
- PDF highlights and source Q&A
- Highlight PDFs in several colors and ask AI to explain PDFs, YouTube videos, notes and journal entries. Unlimited PDF uploads and OCR parsing need Premium.
- AI agent and AI Tutor
- An AI agent helps take notes and organize knowledge, drawing on monthly AI credits. AI Tutor, which runs structured learning sessions, is part of Premium.
- Daily journal
- A journal entry for each day sits alongside a calendar and to-dos.
- Offline access and collaboration
- Notes and files stay available without an internet connection, and friends or teammates can be invited to collaborate in real time for free.
Plans
Coppice
Free$0
The app as downloaded from the Mac App Store. The vendor does not publish which features or limits apply without Coppice Pro.
Coppice Pro (Monthly)$1.99
per month
In-app subscription, billed monthly through the Mac App Store. The listing does not describe what it unlocks.
Coppice Pro (Yearly)$19.99
per year
The same Coppice Pro subscription billed once a year.
Heptabase
Pro$8.99
per month, billed yearly ($11.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited notes, whiteboards, tags and collaborator invites, 100 AI credits a month and an AI agent limited to Gemini models.
Premium$17.99
per month, billed yearly ($23.99 billed monthly)
Everything in Pro, plus unlimited PDF uploads and OCR parsing, GPT and Claude models, AI Tutor and 1,800 AI credits a month.
Premium+$53.99
per month, billed yearly ($71.99 billed monthly)
Everything in Premium, with 8,100 AI credits a month and a 33% discount on AI credits.
Ways to pay less
Coppice
- Annual discount
About 16% off with yearly billing
Coppice Pro costs $19.99 a year against $1.99 a month, which comes to $23.88 over 12 months, a saving of about 16%.
Heptabase
- Annual discount
Save 25% with yearly billing
Heptabase's pricing page marks yearly billing as 25% cheaper: Pro is $107.88 a year instead of $11.99 a month, and Premium is $215.88 instead of $23.99 a month.
