# Tinderbox

> Mac tool for mapping, analyzing and sharing notes

Tinderbox is a Mac application from Eastgate Systems for making, visualizing and analyzing notes. The same notes can be viewed as maps, outlines, timelines and charts, and agents scan a document continuously to gather the notes that match criteria you set. Documents are XML files kept on your own computer, and the app is sold as a one-time license that includes a year of free updates.

- **Category:** Note-Taking Apps
- **Made by:** Eastgate Systems, Inc.
- **Website:** https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/
- **Runs on:** macOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 6, 2026

## Pricing

Tinderbox is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $289 one-time license, with a year of free updates.

- **Pricing model:** Free trial
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** Free demo with every feature, limited to about thirty notes.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |

Read from https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/Order.html on Oct 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Tinderbox before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Household and multi-user licenses** (Other savings): 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. Source: https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/FAQ/multiuser.html
- **Update subscription with a cheaper first year** (Other savings): 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. Source: https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/Subscribe.html

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- 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

- 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.

## Works with

DEVONthink, Apple Notes, Evernote, Simplenote, Dropbox, iCloud Drive

**Tags:** One-time purchase, Local-first, Works offline, Notes, Linked notes, AI features

## Alternatives

- [DEVONthink](https://toolgpa.com/tools/devonthink): Document and information manager for Mac, iPhone and iPad. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/devonthink-vs-tinderbox)
- [Curio](https://toolgpa.com/tools/curio): Freeform Mac notebook with mind maps, lists and Kanban. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/curio-vs-tinderbox)
- [TheBrain](https://toolgpa.com/tools/thebrain): Visual knowledge network linking notes, files and web links. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/thebrain-vs-tinderbox)
- [Heptabase](https://toolgpa.com/tools/heptabase): Visual notes app that arranges linked cards on whiteboards. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/heptabase-vs-tinderbox)
- [Obsidian](https://toolgpa.com/tools/obsidian): Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/obsidian-vs-tinderbox)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 6, 2026:

- https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/Order.html
- https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/
- https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/download.html
- https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/Subscribe.html
- https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/FAQ/multiuser.html
- https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/updates/Tinderbox118.html
- https://eastgate.onfastspring.com/tinderbox

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/tinderbox
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).