TheBrain vs Tinderbox
We give TheBrain a 3.4 GPA and Tinderbox a 2.4, 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.
TheBrain
Visual knowledge network linking notes, files and web links
Tinderbox
Mac tool for mapping, analyzing and sharing notes
How we grade them
| 3.4GPATheBrainVery good | 2.4GPATinderboxFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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, 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. | 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 | seeing your notes, files and links as one network | 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: TheBrain and Tinderbox. How we grade
Where they differ
- TheBrain starts at $15 per month, billed at $180 per year (Pro Service). Tinderbox starts at $289 one-time license, with a year of free updates.
- TheBrain has a free plan. Tinderbox does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only TheBrain lists a web app.
- Only TheBrain lists Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Tinderbox can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- TheBrain also covers Markdown and mind mapping.
At a glance
| TheBrain | Tinderbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $15 per month, billed at $180 per year (Pro Service) | $289 one-time license, with a year of free updates |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free demo with every feature, limited to about thirty notes |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | TheBrain Technologies LP | Eastgate Systems, Inc. |
| Price read from | thebrain.com | eastgate.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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)
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
