Heptabase vs Tinderbox
We give Heptabase a 3.0 GPA and Tinderbox a 2.4, out of 4.0. Heptabase grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Heptabase
Visual notes app that arranges linked cards on whiteboards
Tinderbox
Mac tool for mapping, analyzing and sharing notes
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAHeptabaseVery good | 2.4GPATinderboxFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $8.99 a month billed yearly ($107.88), or $11.99 monthly, above what even the dearer notes apps here start at. And it stops at 100 AI credits a month with Gemini models only. Unlimited PDF uploads, GPT, Claude and AI Tutor need Premium at $17.99. | C$289 once, which is about four years of a typical note subscription paid up front. And once isn't quite once: the licence includes a year of updates, and upgrading later is $98 for another year. The Household licence for up to five people is $325, a far better deal if you can share. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan to sign up for. You get a 7-day trial with unlimited PDF uploads and the Premium plan's AI credits, and then a subscription is required. The listing doesn't say whether the trial asks for a card. Seven days isn't long to judge a learning tool. | CNo free plan. There's a free demo that does everything the full version does, but it can only make about thirty notes. Enough to poke around, not enough to move in. |
| Features | ACards on whiteboards, a block editor with links in both directions, PDF highlights in several colours, AI that explains PDFs and YouTube videos, a daily journal with to-dos, offline access and real-time collaboration. That covers studying from start to finish. | AMaps, outlines, timelines and charts of the same notes. Agents that scan the document continuously and collect what matches, like overdue tasks. Prototypes, so one change updates every note based on it. Export to HTML, XML, RSS and OPML, and documents that are XML files on your own Mac. |
| Ease of use | BWrite a card, drop it on a board, link it to the next one. The editor uses slash commands, so there's little to hunt for in menus. No App Store rating is on record to go by, so a B is as high as we go. | BNo rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. The demo has every feature, so you can find out how you get on with maps and agents before spending anything. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and a browser extension. It pulls highlights from Readwise and sources from Zotero, and notes stay available offline. | DMac only, on macOS 12 or later. There's no iPhone or iPad app. For those, Tinderbox shares notes with Apple Notes, Simplenote, Evernote and DEVONthink, and files sync through Dropbox or iCloud Drive. |
| Best for | learning a hard topic by laying notes on a board | making sense of a big pile of notes on a Mac |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Heptabase and Tinderbox. How we grade
Where they differ
- Heptabase starts at $8.99 per month, billed yearly ($107.88). Tinderbox starts at $289 one-time license, with a year of free updates.
- Only Heptabase lists a web app.
- Only Heptabase lists Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Heptabase lists a browser extension.
- Tinderbox can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Heptabase also covers whiteboard and daily notes.
At a glance
| Heptabase | Tinderbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $8.99 per month, billed yearly ($107.88) | $289 one-time license, with a year of free updates |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with unlimited PDF uploads and parsing and the Premium plan's AI credit allowance. | Free demo with every feature, limited to about thirty notes |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Hepta Platforms, Inc. | Eastgate Systems, Inc. |
| Price read from | heptabase.com | eastgate.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Tinderbox
- Writers, researchers and analysts working through large sets of notes
- People who want several visual views of the same material
- Mac users who prefer files kept on their own computer
Worth knowing
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.
Tinderbox
- Mac only: it requires macOS 12 or later, and iPhone and iPad use relies on sharing notes with other apps.
- The license includes one year of free updates; upgrading later from any previous version is listed at $98 and adds another year.
- The free demo does everything the full version does but can only make about thirty notes.
Key features
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.
Tinderbox
- Maps, outlines, timelines and charts
- The same notes can be shown as a spatial map, an outline, a timeline or a chart, so structure emerges as notes are arranged, colored and linked.
- Agents
- Agents scan the document continuously and collect notes that meet your criteria, such as overdue tasks or a topic, and can feed project dashboards.
- Prototypes and the attribute browser
- A note inherits from its prototype unless you say otherwise, so one change updates every note based on it. The attribute browser breaks notes down by a chosen category.
- AI connections
- Built-in recognition finds addresses, names and organizations in notes, and a bridge to AI models can supply them with resources and prompts kept in a Hints folder.
- Open files and flexible export
- Documents are XML files stored on your Mac rather than on a server, and export produces HTML, XML, RSS, OPML and other formats.
- Works with other note apps
- Notes can be shared with Apple Notes, Simplenote, Evernote and DEVONthink for use on iPhone and iPad, and files sync through Dropbox or iCloud Drive.
Plans
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.
Tinderbox
Tinderbox$289
one-time license, with a year of free updates
Tinderbox 11.8 for Mac. The order page also showed a $217 SummerFest sale price, but the checkout listed no discount when checked.
Household$325
one-time license for up to five people
Family pack for up to five people living in the same household, for use on any of their computers.
Ten Pack$645
one-time ten-user license
Aimed at schools, libraries and work teams. 50- and 100-workstation licenses are listed at $1,595 and $2,695.
Ways to pay less
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.
Tinderbox
- Other savings
Household and multi-user licenses
A Household license covers up to five people living together for $325, and a ten-user license costs $645, against $289 for a single license.
- Other savings
Update subscription with a cheaper first year
An update subscription renews the yearly updates automatically. Its first year is listed at $83, with later years at the regular upgrade price, currently $98.
