Heptabase vs Walling (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Heptabase grades higher than Walling: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Heptabase grades higher on features and platforms. Walling grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan 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
Walling
Visual workspace for notes, tasks, links and files laid out on walls
Which one is for you
Pick Heptabase if
- Fits if you're a student or researcher working through a big topic from PDFs and videos
- Works for readers who already collect highlights in Readwise or sources in Zotero
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free notes app, as a subscription is required after the 7-day trial
- Pricey if you want GPT, Claude, unlimited PDF uploads or AI Tutor, which need Premium at $17.99 a month
- Not for you if you were counting on a student or nonprofit discount, because Heptabase says it doesn't offer one
- Tight if you lean on AI, as Pro has 100 credits a month and Gemini models only
- Watch out: free collaborators can edit shared boards and cards but get no journal, tasks or AI
Pick Walling if
- Fits if you think in boards and want notes, links and files side by side
- Makes sense if a small team shares or publishes a wall as a web page
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 10 collections, 25 walls, 50 AI credits a month
- Pricey if you want your own domain on a published wall: $8 a month or $80 a year extra
- Watch out: the iPhone and iPad app is listed as a beta
- Watch out: the older walling.app site says it closes on 15 December 2026, so pages may contradict each other
- Watch out: extra AI credits are bought separately, and Basic has only 7 days of edit history
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHeptabaseFair | 2.2GPAWallingFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DPro is $8.99 a month billed yearly ($107.88), or $11.99 month to month, where notes apps here sit around $6 in the middle and $8.25 in the dearer quarter. And Pro is the thin version: unlimited PDF uploads, GPT and Claude models and AI Tutor all sit on Premium at $17.99 a month, three times the category's middle. | C$6.67 a seat a month billed yearly ($8 monthly) for Basic. The category's middle is $5.99 and the dearer quarter starts at $8.25. Plus is $16.67. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's no free plan to sign up for. You get a 7-day trial with unlimited PDF uploads and the Premium AI credits, and nothing in the listing says it asks for a card, but a week is all there is before a subscription is required. | CA free plan with 10 collections, 25 walls, 50 AI credits and 2 GB of storage, and every paid plan has a 30-day trial. Those caps are easy to reach. |
| Features | BCards on whiteboards, links in both directions, PDF highlights, AI that explains PDFs and YouTube videos, a daily journal with to-dos, offline access and real-time collaboration. Nothing's missing from the note-taking job itself; what's rationed is AI credits and models by plan, and that's what keeps it off an A. | CBricks, four views, email forwarding, sharing, a browser extension and MCP. The listing's gaps: the iPhone and iPad app is a beta and AI runs on credits you buy more of. |
| Ease of use | CYou're picking up a way of working, not just an app: cards, whiteboards, links in both directions and a block editor with slash commands. No App Store rating is on record to go by, so that learning curve is what we go on. | CNo store rating on record. You build your own walls and collections, so there is setup work before it is useful. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, which is the full set, with Readwise highlights and Zotero sources coming in. Notes and files stay readable with no connection too. | BWeb, Android, iPhone and iPad (beta) and a browser extension, with MCP for AI tools. There is no desktop app. |
| Best for | learning a hard topic by laying notes on a board | notes laid out on a board, with AI credits |
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 Walling. How we grade
Price against what you get
Heptabase starts at $8.99 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Walling starts at $8 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Heptabase scores higher, and starts $0.99 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other note-taking apps on the chart, 15 score higher than Heptabase for less, and 36 score higher than Walling for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Heptabase also covers linked notes, whiteboard and daily notes.
- Walling also covers chat assistant, web clipper and kanban boards.
At a glance
| Heptabase | Walling | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8.99 per month, billed yearly ($107.88) | $8 per seat / month, billed monthly ($6.67 billed annually) |
| Free plan | None | 10 collections, 25 walls, 50 AI credits a month, 25 email forwards a month, 20 MB uploads and 2 GB storage. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with unlimited PDF uploads and parsing and the Premium plan's AI credit allowance. | 30-day free trial on every paid plan |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Hepta Platforms, Inc. | Walling |
| Price read from | heptabase.com | walling.io |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
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.
Walling
- The older walling.app site says it will sunset on December 15, 2026, as Walling relaunches at walling.io.
- The iPhone and iPad app is listed as a beta on the download page.
- Custom domains for published walls are an add-on at $8 a month or $80 a year per domain.
- AI features run on monthly credits, and extra credits are bought separately.
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.
Walling
- Bricks on a wall
- Notes, tasks, links and files are placed as bricks on a free-form canvas, then grouped into walls and collections.
- Four views of one wall
- Switch the same content between a visual grid, a kanban board, a sortable table and a list.
- AI credits and agents
- AI chat, auto-organize, summarize and brainstorm actions draw on a monthly credit allowance; extra credit packs are sold as add-ons.
- Email forwarding
- Forward emails into Walling to turn them into bricks, with rules that sort receipts, leads and newsletters automatically.
- Sharing and publishing
- Invite people to a wall to comment or edit, or publish a wall as a public web page. Custom domains cost extra.
- Browser extension and MCP
- A Chromium extension clips pages into a wall, and Walling offers an MCP connection for AI tools.
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.
Walling
Free$0
10 collections, 25 walls, 50 AI credits and 25 email forwards a month, 2 GB storage per workspace.
Basic$6.67
per seat / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)
100 collections, unlimited walls, 150 AI credits a month, 50 GB storage per member and 7 days of edit history.
Plus$16.67
per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Unlimited collections, 400 AI credits a month, unlimited file size, 250 GB per member and 30 days of edit history.
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.
Walling
- Annual discount
2 months free with annual billing
The pricing page labels annual billing as 2 months free: Basic is $6.67 a month billed yearly against $8 monthly, and Plus $16.67 against $20.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Heptabase or Walling?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Heptabase starts at $8.99 per month, billed yearly ($107.88), and Walling starts at $8 per seat / month, billed monthly ($6.67 billed annually). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Heptabase or Walling?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Walling has a free plan. Heptabase does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Heptabase and Walling run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Heptabase lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app, iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.