Roam Research vs TheBrain
We give Roam Research a 2.8 GPA and TheBrain a 3.4, out of 4.0. TheBrain grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Roam Research
Outliner for networked notes with bidirectional links
TheBrain
Visual knowledge network linking notes, files and web links
How we grade them
| 2.8GPARoam ResearchGood | 3.4GPATheBrainVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$15 a month, or $165 a year, which works out at $13.75. Note apps typically start around $5.99, so this is the dear end. Two things soften it: collaborators cost nothing extra, and Believer is $500 once for 5 years, about $8.33 a month. | CPro Service is $15 a month billed at $180 a year, or $16 monthly. That's more than twice what note apps typically start at. It buys unlimited private sync, 30 GB of online storage and the full daily AI allowance. Sharing a brain with a team means TeamBrain, at $299 a person a year. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. There's a 31-day trial, but only if you've never had a plan, and the listing can't say whether it asks for a card. After that you pay or stop. | AThe complete app is free with no account: every feature, unlimited thoughts, brains and local attachments. Public brains are unlimited too. The caps are on private sync, at 1,000 thoughts and 100 MB of synced storage, and on AI, which is a small daily allowance. |
| Features | ATwo-way links, block references, daily notes, and graphs you can host, keep offline or encrypt. A graph can be shared with unlimited collaborators. Then there's Roam Depot for community extensions, plus an official MCP server and command-line tool so Claude or Cursor can read and write your notes. | AEvery note, file or link is a thought with as many parents and jump links as you like, shown in a network view called the plex. It also browses as an outline, mind map, cards or a tree. Notes are stored as Markdown, any thought can become a web page, and the Cerebro AI agent answers questions from your brain. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no rating on record for it, so a B is our ceiling. Writing starts in today's dated daily note, and links from there connect each entry to the rest of your graph. | BNo rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. There's no account to make before you start. It does ask you to organise by links instead of folders, which is a different habit. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Mac and iPhone, with an API, an MCP server and extensions. The listing has no Android or Windows app. And the local API that the MCP server and CLI rely on only works in the desktop app, not on the web. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, and a local API lets scripts and AI agents create and query thoughts. No ready-made integrations with other apps are on record, though. |
| Best for | bullet notes where every line can be linked | seeing your notes, files and links as one network |
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: Roam Research and TheBrain. How we grade
Where they differ
- Roam Research starts at $15 per month, or $165 per year ($13.75 a month). TheBrain starts at $15 per month, billed at $180 per year (Pro Service).
- TheBrain has a free plan. Roam Research does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only TheBrain lists Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Roam Research also covers daily notes.
- TheBrain also covers Markdown and mind mapping.
At a glance
| Roam Research | TheBrain | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per month, or $165 per year ($13.75 a month) | $15 per month, billed at $180 per year (Pro Service) |
| Free plan | None | Free App: every feature, unlimited thoughts, brains and local attachments, no account needed. Private sync stops at 1,000 thoughts, synced storage at 100 MB, and AI use is a small daily allowance. |
| Free trial | 31-day free trial, available only if you have never had a plan. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Roam Research, Inc. | TheBrain Technologies LP |
| Price read from | frontdeskreview.com (not the vendor's own page) | thebrain.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Roam Research
- People who work from daily notes and want every block to be linkable
- Researchers who reference and reuse individual blocks across notes
- Groups sharing a graph who do not want to pay per collaborator
TheBrain
- People who organize ideas as a network instead of folders
- Large personal knowledge bases mixing notes, files and web links
- Teams that want one shared, visual knowledge map (TeamBrain)
Worth knowing
Roam Research
- There is no free plan; after the 31-day trial a paid subscription is required.
- The lowest monthly-equivalent price, the Believer plan, is a single $500 payment covering 5 years.
- The local API used by the official MCP server and CLI works only in the desktop app, not the web version.
TheBrain
- Free private sync stops at 1,000 thoughts and 100 MB of synced attachments; going past either needs Pro Service.
- The free AI allowance is a small daily amount, and the vendor says AI services may be unavailable in some countries.
- Multi-user editing and shared brains need TeamBrain, at $299 per person per year.
- Cloud services run only for the paid service period, and on-premises deployment is sold separately through sales.
Key features
Roam Research
- Bidirectional links and block references
- Pages link to each other in both directions, and individual blocks can be referenced from other notes.
- Daily notes
- Writing starts in a dated daily note, and links from there connect entries to the rest of the graph.
- Hosted, offline and encrypted graphs
- A graph can be hosted in Roam's cloud or kept offline as a local-only graph, and graphs can be encrypted. Paid plans allow unlimited private or public graphs.
- Shared graphs
- Plans include unlimited collaborators with no per-seat charge, and a graph can be edited on mobile and in the web app at the same time.
- Roam Depot extensions
- A marketplace of community-built extensions, which developers submit through GitHub pull requests.
- MCP server, CLI and SDKs
- An official MCP server and command-line tool connect Claude, Cursor and other AI assistants to a graph to read, write, search and query it.
TheBrain
- The plex and linked thoughts
- Each note, file or link is a thought that can have several parents and jump links to other thoughts, shown in an animated network view called the plex.
- Outline, mind map, tree and card views
- Besides the plex, a brain can be browsed as an outline, a mind map, cards, or a tree that shows thoughts with more than one parent.
- Cerebro AI
- An AI agent that answers questions from a brain, creates thoughts and notes, summarizes attachments and suggests links. Free use is a small daily allowance.
- Markdown notes editor
- Notes are written in a visual editor and stored as Markdown, with tables, math, spellchecking and PDF export.
- Sync and Light Attachments
- Cloud sync keeps brains current across devices, and Light Sync leaves large attachments online until they are needed. Unlimited private sync is paid.
- Shared pages and local API
- Any thought can be published as a web page that needs no account to view, and a local API lets scripts and AI agents create and query thoughts.
Plans
Roam Research
Pro$15
per month, or $165 per year
Unlimited private or public graphs, unlimited collaborators, and API access and apps.
Believer$500
one payment for 5 years ($8.33 a month)
Everything in Pro, plus first access to new features, community calls with the team and priority support.
TheBrain
Free App$0
The complete app with unlimited thoughts, links and brains, unlimited public brains, private sync up to 1,000 thoughts and 100 MB of synced storage.
Pro Service$15
per month, billed at $180 per year; $16 billed monthly
Unlimited private sync, the full daily Cerebro AI allowance, 30 GB of online storage, encrypted backup and one-on-one support.
TeamBrain$25
per person / month, billed at $299 per year; $29 billed monthly
Everything in Pro Service plus multi-user editing and sync, unlimited shared brains, 100 GB of storage and per-user reporting and auditing.
Max Service$40
per month, billed at $479 per year; $48 billed monthly
Everything in TeamBrain plus 4x the Cerebro AI allowance, 250 GB of storage, unlimited sync devices and early access to new features.
EnterpriseCustom
On-premises server deployment, arranged through the sales team.
Ways to pay less
Roam Research
No public discounts listed.
TheBrain
- Annual discount
Save 7% to 20% with yearly billing
The store labels yearly billing as saving 7% on Pro Service ($180 a year against $16 a month), 16% on TeamBrain and 20% on Max Service.
