The Curio Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Curio in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

Pass it onEmail LinkedIn X WhatsApp

ToolGPAOctober 2026

Curio

The Insider’s Guide

Freeform Mac notebook with mind maps, lists and Kanban

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among note-taking apps, read from Curio’s own pages.

Made by Zengobi, Inc. · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.0GPA

01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Curio’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Curio’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.0

GPA, above 4 of the 147 other note-taking apps we grade

Curio is a Mac notebook app from Zengobi for gathering notes, documents and research on freeform pages called idea spaces. Its built-in collections include mind maps, lists, tables, index cards, pinboards and Kanban boards, with tags, dates and priorities for tracking tasks. Each project is a single local file on your Mac. After a 2-week trial it continues in a free mode limited to 5 idea spaces per project, with paid Standard and Professional editions above that.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Curio, taken from its own pages and our grades.

No store rating on record, and there's a lot in here: idea spaces, Organizer sections, eight kinds of collection, queries and filters.

From our grade for ease of use

1
Best for planning a whole project on freeform Mac pages
Curio is a Mac notebook where one local project file holds notes, PDFs, mind maps, lists, tables and Kanban boards on freeform pages.
2
Paid plans start at $5 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $5 per month, billed yearly ($60), or $99.99 one-time license.
3
There is a free plan
Free mode after the 2-week trial: Standard features with projects limited to 5 idea spaces. Larger projects open read-only for viewing, exporting and printing.
4
It runs on macOS
macOS.
5
Freeform idea spaces
Place text, Markdown, images, PDFs, documents, web links and media anywhere on a page, and divide larger projects into Organizer sections.
6
Integrated collections
Mind maps, lists, tables, index cards, albums, pinboards, stacks and Kanban boards sit on the same pages and can be nested inside compositions.
7
Task and project metadata
Items carry checkmarks, percent complete, tags, start and due dates, priorities, ratings and resources, all searchable with queries and filters.
8
A 2.0 GPA, above 4 of 147
That is against the other note-taking apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
9
Your call
A notes app at its plainest is text in folders with a search box.

Curio at a glance

Pricing: Free plan, from $5 per month, billed yearly ($60), or $99.99 one-time license
Free plan: Yes
Free trial: 2-week free trial with all Professional features, no purchase required
Runs on: macOS
Made by: Zengobi, Inc.
Category: Note-Taking Apps
Our grade: 2.0 GPA, fair

The report card

Best for planning a whole project on freeform Mac pages

Curio is a Mac notebook where one local project file holds notes, PDFs, mind maps, lists, tables and Kanban boards on freeform pages. Standard is $5 a month billed yearly or $99.99 once. It runs only on macOS 15 or later, free mode stops at 5 idea spaces a project, a license covers one year of updates, and licenses and subscriptions each work with only one of the two downloads.

ToolGPA report cardCurioGraded Oct 10, 2026

Subject	Grade	Comment
Value for money	C	Standard is $5 a month billed yearly, $6 month by month, which is right where this category's middle sits. The one-time licence is $99.99 and never expires, but it carries only a year of updates, and another year starts at $59.99.
Free plan and trial	C	The 2-week trial has every Professional feature and needs no purchase. After that free mode carries on with Standard features, but a project can hold only 5 idea spaces and anything bigger opens read-only.
Features	B	Mind maps, lists, tables, index cards, pinboards and Kanban boards all on the same freeform pages, with tags, dates, priorities and saved queries across them, Markdown with wikilinks and backlinks, and export to PDF, Markdown, HTML and OPML. Nothing missing in the notebook job.
Ease of use	C	No store rating on record, and there's a lot in here: idea spaces, Organizer sections, eight kinds of collection, queries and filters. The trial starts the moment you download it, but you won't be quick on day one.
Platforms and integrations	D	One operating system, and a recent one: Curio 34 wants macOS 15 Sequoia or later, and the site lists no iPhone, iPad, Windows or web version. On the Mac it does hook into Shortcuts, Calendar, Reminders and DEVONthink.

Grade point averageFair, out of 4.02.0

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Curio is for

Fits if you plan projects by laying everything out on a page on a Mac
Works for students or researchers piling notes, PDFs and web links into one project file

Who it is not for

Skip it if you need your notes on a phone or a Windows PC, as it only runs on a Mac with macOS 15 or later
Tight if you're staying free, because a project can only have 5 idea spaces and bigger ones open read-only
Pricey if you want every update, since a $99.99 license covers 1 year of them and renewals start at $59.99
Watch out: license keys work only with the website download and subscriptions only with the Mac App Store one
Watch out: the CLI, MCP, smart Kanban, table formulas and Mermaid diagrams need Professional, and academic discounts skip subscriptions

Good to know

Good for

Visual thinkers who plan projects on freeform pages
Students, writers and researchers collecting notes and documents
Mac users who want project files stored locally and usable offline

Worth knowing

Mac only: Curio 34 runs on macOS 15 Sequoia or later, and the site lists no iPhone, iPad, Windows or web version.
Free mode restricts a project to 5 idea spaces; larger projects open read-only.
License keys work only with the website download and subscriptions only with the Mac App Store download.
A license key includes one year of major updates; later updates need a paid renewal, and academic and volume discounts do not apply to subscriptions.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

A month to start. There is a free plan too

Curio has a free plan. Paid plans start at $5 per month, billed yearly ($60), or $99.99 one-time license.

Free
$0
Standard features for small projects, restricted to 5 idea spaces per project. Larger projects open read-only.
Standard subscription
$5
per month, billed yearly ($60); $6 billed monthly
Mac App Store subscription. Everything in Free with an unlimited number of idea spaces.
Professional subscription
$6
per month, billed yearly ($72); $8 billed monthly
Mac App Store subscription. Adds Curio CLI and MCP, smart Kanban, table formulas, synced figures, Mermaid diagrams and presentation mode.
Standard license key
$99.99
one-time, includes 1 year of updates
Bought from Zengobi's website. The license does not expire, and renewals for another year of updates start at $59.99.
Professional license key
$119.99
one-time, includes 1 year of updates
The Professional edition as a one-time purchase. Renewals for another year of updates start at $79.99.

The free plan

Free mode after the 2-week trial: Standard features with projects limited to 5 idea spaces. Larger projects open read-only for viewing, exporting and printing.

Trying it first

2-week free trial with all Professional features, no purchase required

Read from zengobi.com on Oct 6, 2026.

Ways to pay less

Education
Academic pricing on license keys
Qualifying students, faculty and staff pay $79.99 for a Standard license key or $99.99 for Professional after academic verification. Subscriptions are excluded.
Stated on zengobi.com
Annual discount
Two or three months free with yearly billing
Billed yearly, Standard works out to $5 a month instead of $6 and Professional to $6 instead of $8, which Zengobi describes as 2 and 3 months free.
Stated on zengobi.com
Other savings
20% volume discount for 20 or more licenses
Quantity purchases of 20 or more license keys receive an automatic 20% volume discount at checkout.
Stated on zengobi.com
Other savings
Discounted license renewals
Renewing a license key for another year of updates costs $59.99 to $69.99 for Standard and $79.99 to $89.99 for Professional, depending on the version owned.
Stated on zengobi.com

What the app costs elsewhere

Each country’s App Store price for “Curio Professional”, against $8.00 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 9.

Country	Price there	In dollars	Against the US
Canada	$10.00	$7.03	12% less
Indonesia	Rp 129ribu	$7.21	10% less
Turkey	₺399,99	$8.13	about the same
India	₹ 799	$8.26	about the same
South Africa	R149.99	$9.07	13% more
Mexico	$179.00	$9.84	23% more
Germany	9,00 €	$10.09	26% more
United Kingdom	£8.00	$10.58	32% more

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

Place it runs: macOS

Freeform Mac notebook with mind maps, lists and Kanban. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: works offline, local-first, one-time purchase, notes, Markdown, kanban boards, mind mapping.

On the Mac it does hook into Shortcuts, Calendar, Reminders and DEVONthink.

From our grade for platforms and integrations

Freeform idea spaces: Place text, Markdown, images, PDFs, documents, web links and media anywhere on a page, and divide larger projects into Organizer sections.
Integrated collections: Mind maps, lists, tables, index cards, albums, pinboards, stacks and Kanban boards sit on the same pages and can be nested inside compositions.
Task and project metadata: Items carry checkmarks, percent complete, tags, start and due dates, priorities, ratings and resources, all searchable with queries and filters.
Markdown, wikilinks and backlinks: Markdown text supports equations, tables, checklists and callouts, and wikilinks, backlinks and jump actions connect items across a project.
Local project files: Each project is one local file on your Mac that works offline, with automatic backups and export to PDF, Markdown, HTML, OPML and other formats.
AI services and Curio CLI: The Sleuth research window reaches chat services such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, and Professional adds a command line tool with an MCP server for AI agents.

Where it runs

macOS

What it works with

Apple Shortcuts
Apple Calendar
Apple Reminders
DEVONthink
ChatGPT
Claude
Gemini

Curio is made by Zengobi, Inc.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

4/147

Other note-taking apps it is graded above

Curio's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 4 of the 147 other note-taking apps we grade, and level with 7.

It stands best on features (B, above 100 of 147) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $5 a month, against a middle price of $5.83 for the category: 30 of the 66 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 41 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 148 note-taking apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Curio’s own letter is outlined.

CValue for money
Above 16 of 147
CFree plan and trial
Above 7 of 147
BFeatures
Above 100 of 147
CEase of use
Above 5 of 147
DPlatforms and integrations
Above 0 of 147

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 103 note-taking apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Curio is the marked dot.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Your call

A notes app at its plainest is text in folders with a search box.

You could make the core of Curio for yourself: notes, Markdown, mind mapping and kanban boards. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. It costs $60 a year.

What you could make

Notes, Markdown, mind mapping and kanban boards: an app builder makes these well.

What you could not

A real app for macOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
It plugs into other products, Apple Shortcuts, Apple Calendar and Apple Reminders among them.
The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. Curio’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Heptabase, Scrintal, Tinderbox, Milanote and Obsidian

The 5 tools Curio is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

2.4GPA
Heptabase
Free trial · from $8.99/mo
Visual notes app that arranges linked cards on whiteboards.
- Curio 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.
Curio and Heptabase compared in full
1.6GPA
Scrintal
Free trial · from $9/mo
Visual note-taking on an infinite canvas of linked docs.
- Curio has a free plan. Scrintal does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Scrintal lists a web app.
- Only Scrintal lists a Windows app.
Curio and Scrintal compared in full
1.8GPA
Tinderbox
Free trial · from $289 one-time
Mac tool for mapping, analyzing and sharing notes.
- Curio has a free plan. Tinderbox does not, though it has a free trial.
- Curio also covers Markdown, kanban boards and mind mapping.
- Tinderbox also covers linked notes.
Curio and Tinderbox compared in full
2.8GPA
Milanote
Free plan · from $9.99/mo
Visual boards for organizing creative projects.
- Only Milanote lists a web app.
- Only Milanote lists Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Milanote lists a browser extension.
Curio and Milanote compared in full
3.6GPA
Obsidian
Free plan · from $4/mo
Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device.
- Only Obsidian lists Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Obsidian lists a browser extension.
- Curio can be bought with a one-time purchase.
Curio and Obsidian compared in full

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Curio free?

Curio has a free plan. Free mode after the 2-week trial: Standard features with projects limited to 5 idea spaces.

How much does Curio cost?

Curio lists 5 plans. Free: $0.

What platforms does Curio work on?

Curio is available on macOS.

Does Curio offer any discounts?

Curio publicly lists the following: Academic pricing on license keys; Two or three months free with yearly billing; 20% volume discount for 20 or more licenses; Discounted license renewals.

Does Curio have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Curio is listed for macOS.

Does Curio have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Curio is listed for macOS.

Is Curio open source?

Curio is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 6, 2026.

Does Curio work offline?

Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.

What does Curio integrate with?

Curio's listing names Apple Shortcuts, Apple Calendar, Apple Reminders, DEVONthink, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.

Does Curio have a student discount?

Academic pricing on license keys. Qualifying students, faculty and staff pay $79.99 for a Standard license key or $99.99 for Professional after academic verification.

Does Curio have a free trial?

Yes. 2-week free trial with all Professional features, no purchase required.

Who makes Curio?

Curio is made by Zengobi, Inc.

What are the alternatives to Curio?

The closest alternatives to Curio in our directory are Heptabase, Scrintal, Tinderbox, Milanote and Obsidian.

How does Curio compare with other note-taking apps?

Curio's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 4 of the 147 other note-taking apps we grade, and level with 7.

Is Curio good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Curio C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $5 a month, against a middle price of $5.83 for the category: 30 of the 66 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Curio?

A notes app at its plainest is text in folders with a search box. You could make the core of Curio for yourself: notes, Markdown, mind mapping and kanban boards.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Curio’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Zengobi's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-02-25.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Zengobi, Inc. Prices change, so check zengobi.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

3,189

Tools graded, in 94 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Curio: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/curio

Know someone choosing between note-taking apps?

Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/curio/guide

ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa

See our other guides

The best-graded note-taking apps after Curio, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

ToolGPA

Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.

Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Curio’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Curio is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Zengobi, Inc. Prices and plans change: check zengobi.com before you buy.