Category
AI note-taking apps: what they are and who makes them
structured and linked notebooks with built-in ai, local-first notes with optional ai, workspaces that grew ai features, ai-first notes and assistants: Capacities, Saner.ai, Craft through mymind.
Types of AI note-taking apps
Structured and linked notebooks with built-in AI
Capacities, Craft, Heptabase and Mem organize notes as objects, documents, cards or a flat stream, and bundle an assistant that answers questions about what you saved. You pay one subscription and the vendor chooses the models. Good for people who want results without wiring up a model account.
Local-first notes with optional AI
Obsidian and Reflect keep notes as files in a folder you choose. Reflect connects to your own AI provider key, and Obsidian leaves AI to community plugins. You get portability and low cost, and you give up a polished assistant that works on day one.
Workspaces that grew AI features
Notion and Evernote started as general document and clipping tools and added assistants, transcription and search over time. They suit teams or long-time users with big archives. The note-taking experience is wider than the AI, and the best AI features sit on higher plans.
AI-first notes and assistants
Saner.ai and Tana were built around an AI layer. Saner.ai pulls in email, calendar and files to act as an assistant for tasks and notes. Tana leads with a meeting agent and a structured knowledge graph. Expect fast change in both.
Facts at a glance
| Tool | Publisher | Based in | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacities | Capacities Labs GmbH | Germany | Free tier + API |
| Saner.ai | SANERAI CO., LTD | United States | Free tier |
| Craft | Craft Docs Limited, Inc. | Not stated on the pages checked | Free tier |
| Reflect | Reflect App LLC | United States | Free tier |
| Heptabase | Hepta Platforms, Inc. | Not stated on the pages checked | Paid |
| Tana | Tana Labs, Inc. | United States | Free tier + API |
| Mem | Mem Labs, Inc. | United States | Free tier |
| Notion | Notion Labs, Inc. | United States | Free tier + API |
| Evernote | Bending Spoons Operations S.p.A. | Italy | Free tier |
| Obsidian | Dynalist Inc. | Canada | Free tier |
| Supernotes | Supernotes Education Ltd | United Kingdom | Free tier + API |
| mymind | mymind, Inc. | United States | Paid |
