The TheBrain Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about TheBrain 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.
TheBrain
The Insider’s Guide
Visual knowledge network linking notes, files and web links
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among note-taking apps, read from TheBrain’s own pages.
Made by TheBrain Technologies LP · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 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 TheBrain’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on TheBrain’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
2.8
GPA, above 72 of the 147 other note-taking apps we grade
TheBrain stores notes, files and web links as thoughts in a visual network, where an item can sit under several parents and link to related ideas instead of living in a single folder. Version 15 made the complete desktop, mobile and web app free and added Cerebro, an AI agent that searches, summarizes and creates content inside a brain. Paid cloud plans add unlimited private sync, online storage, larger AI allowances and team editing.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about TheBrain, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No rating on record, and this asks you to change how you file things: links and parents instead of folders, which takes a while to click.
- 1
Best for seeing your notes, files and links as one network
TheBrain keeps notes, files and web links as a network where one thought can have several parents, and the whole app is free on desktop, phone and web.
- 2
Paid plans start at $15 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $15 per month, billed at $180 per year (Pro Service).
- 3
There is a 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.
- 4
It runs on 6 platforms
Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.8 GPA, above 72 of 147
That is against the other note-taking apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
The plain part of TheBrain you could make: notes, mind mapping, linked notes and Markdown. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
TheBrain at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $15 per month, billed at $180 per year (Pro Service)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- Made by
- TheBrain Technologies LP, since 1996
- Category
- Note-Taking Apps
- Our grade
- 2.8 GPA, good
The report card
Best for seeing your notes, files and links as one network
TheBrain keeps notes, files and web links as a network where one thought can have several parents, and the whole app is free on desktop, phone and web. The cloud is where it charges: private sync past 1,000 thoughts or 100 MB needs Pro Service at $180 a year, team editing is $299 a person a year, free AI is a small daily allowance, and no ready-made integrations are on record.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | Pro Service is $15 a month, billed at $180 a year. The dearest tenth of note apps here starts at $9.99 a month, so this is past it, and sync is the thing most people will want. A team editing one brain together is TeamBrain, at $299 a person a year. |
| Free plan and trial | B | One person could live on the free app: every feature, no account, unlimited thoughts, brains and local attachments. What's capped is the cloud, with private sync stopping at 1,000 thoughts and 100 MB, and AI down to a small daily allowance. |
| Features | A | Any note, file or link is a thought with as many parents and jump links as you want, shown in the plex, which no other tool here does. The same brain browses as an outline, mind map, cards or tree. Notes are Markdown, any thought can be published as a page, and Cerebro answers questions from your own brain. |
| Ease of use | C | No rating on record, and this asks you to change how you file things: links and parents instead of folders, which takes a while to click. Nothing to sign up for at least, so you can start straight away. |
| Platforms and integrations | A | Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, and a local API that lets scripts and AI agents create and query thoughts. No ready-made integrations with other apps are on record, though. |
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 TheBrain is for
- Fits if you organize ideas as a network instead of folders
- Works for one knowledge base that holds notes, files and web links together
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you need private sync past 1,000 thoughts or 100 MB, at $180 a year
- Not for you if a small team wants to edit one brain together, because that's TeamBrain at $299 a person a year
- Tight if you want lots of AI for nothing, since Free gets a small daily allowance and AI may be unavailable in some countries
- Watch out: links and parents replace folders, which takes a while to learn, and no ready-made integrations are on record
- Watch out: cloud services stop when the paid period ends, and on-premises deployment is sold separately through sales
Good to know
Good for
- 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
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$15
A month to start. There is a free plan too
TheBrain has a free plan. Paid plans start at $15 per month, billed at $180 per year (Pro Service).
One person could live on the free app: every feature, no account, unlimited thoughts, brains and local attachments.
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.
Enterprise
Custom
On-premises server deployment, arranged through the sales team.
The 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.
Read from thebrain.com on Oct 6, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on thebrain.com
What the app costs elsewhere
Each country’s App Store price for “TheBrain Pro Monthly”, against $17.99 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.
| Country | Price there | In dollars | Against the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | ₺699,99 | $14.24 | 21% less |
| Philippines | ₱ 999.00 | $15.90 | 12% less |
| Indonesia | Rp 299ribu | $16.72 | 7% less |
| Canada | $24.99 | $17.57 | about the same |
| Mexico | $399.00 | $21.92 | 22% more |
| Germany | 19,99 € | $22.40 | 25% more |
| United Kingdom | £17.99 | $23.78 | 32% more |
| South Africa | R399.99 | $24.19 | 34% more |
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
6
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
Visual knowledge network linking notes, files and web links. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, notes, Markdown, linked notes, mind mapping.
Any note, file or link is a thought with as many parents and jump links as you want, shown in the plex, which no other tool here does.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
Its own pages name no integrations.
TheBrain is made by TheBrain Technologies LP, and has been around since 1996.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
72/147
Other note-taking apps it is graded above
TheBrain's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 72 of the 147 other note-taking apps we grade, and level with 34.
It stands best on features (A, above 135 of 147) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $15 a month, against a middle price of $5.83 for the category: 65 of the 66 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4. 8 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. TheBrain’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 147
- BFree plan and trialAbove 71 of 147
- AFeaturesAbove 135 of 147
- CEase of useAbove 5 of 147
- APlatforms and integrationsAbove 128 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. TheBrain 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.
Keep it
The plain part of TheBrain you could make: notes, mind mapping, linked notes and Markdown. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It costs $180 a year.
What you could make
- Notes, mind mapping, linked notes and Markdown: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- An API that other software can build on.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features A, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. TheBrain’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
Obsidian, Heptabase, Roam Research, Tinderbox and Logseq
The 5 tools TheBrain is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.6GPA
Obsidian
Free plan · from $4/mo
Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device.
- Only TheBrain lists a web app.
- Only Obsidian lists a browser extension.
- Obsidian is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- 2.4GPA
Heptabase
Free trial · from $8.99/mo
Visual notes app that arranges linked cards on whiteboards.
- TheBrain has a free plan. Heptabase does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Heptabase lists a browser extension.
- TheBrain also covers Markdown and mind mapping.
- 2.0GPA
Roam Research
Free trial · from $15/mo
Outliner for networked notes with bidirectional links.
- TheBrain has a free plan. Roam Research does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only TheBrain lists Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- TheBrain also covers Markdown and mind mapping.
- 1.8GPA
Tinderbox
Free trial · from $289 one-time
Mac tool for mapping, analyzing and sharing notes.
- 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.
- 3.0GPA
Logseq
Free plan · from $5/mo
Open-source outliner for linked notes stored as local files.
- Logseq is open source, according to its own site.
- TheBrain also covers mind mapping.
- Logseq also covers whiteboard and daily notes.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
11
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 TheBrain free?
TheBrain has a free plan. Free App: every feature, unlimited thoughts, brains and local attachments, no account needed.
How much does TheBrain cost?
TheBrain lists 5 plans. Free App: $0.
What platforms does TheBrain work on?
TheBrain is available on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
Does TheBrain offer any discounts?
TheBrain publicly lists the following: Save 7% to 20% with yearly billing.
Is TheBrain open source?
TheBrain is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 6, 2026.
Does TheBrain have an API?
Yes. TheBrain offers a public API, according to its own site.
Who makes TheBrain?
TheBrain is made by TheBrain Technologies LP. It dates from 1996.
What are the alternatives to TheBrain?
The closest alternatives to TheBrain in our directory are Obsidian, Heptabase, Roam Research, Tinderbox and Logseq.
How does TheBrain compare with other note-taking apps?
TheBrain's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 72 of the 147 other note-taking apps we grade, and level with 34.
Is TheBrain good value for money?
ToolGPA grades TheBrain D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $15 a month, against a middle price of $5.83 for the category: 65 of the 66 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of TheBrain?
The plain part of TheBrain you could make: notes, mind mapping, linked notes and Markdown.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from TheBrain’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 TheBrain's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-10-03.
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 TheBrain Technologies LP. Prices change, so check thebrain.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
- TheBrain, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/thebrain
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
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, "TheBrain: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/thebrain
Know someone choosing between note-taking apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/thebrain/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded note-taking apps after TheBrain, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Note-Taking Apps Insider's GuideEvery one of the 148 note-taking apps we grade, compared
- Microsoft OneNote Insider's GuideMicrosoft's free digital notebook for typed, inked and audio notes3.8 GPA
- Goodnotes Insider's GuideHandwritten notes, PDF markup and whiteboards with an AI assistant3.6 GPA
- Joplin Insider's GuideOpen source Markdown notes with sync through a service you choose3.6 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what TheBrain’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. TheBrain is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by TheBrain Technologies LP. Prices and plans change: check thebrain.com before you buy.