Heptabase vs Tana Outliner vs Mem vs Smart Connections
A side-by-side look at scores, pricing and features — with RECATOOLS' ASEAN-aware verdict for each.
Heptabase
Card-and-whiteboard knowledge base with an AI agent and tutor
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Tana Outliner
Supertag outliner that turns notes into a queryable knowledge graph
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Mem
Your AI chief of staff
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Smart Connections
Local-first related-note discovery for Obsidian
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| RECATOOLS Score | 6.8 / 10 | 6.8 / 10 | 6.8 / 10 | 6.9 / 10 |
| Capability | ||||
| Value for money | ||||
| Ease of use | ||||
| ASEAN readiness | ||||
| API quality | ||||
| Pricing | Subscription | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Free tier | No self-serve free plan; 7-day trial with Premium-level AI credits. Invited collaborators get a limited free plan (edit shared whiteboards, no AI) | Free: 500 AI credits, up to 3 workspaces, 0.5 GB file storage, supertags, live searches, meeting transcription up to 100 minutes | Free: 25 messages and 25 new notes a month, task tracking on 25 notes, 15 open tasks and projects, 3 hours of Voice Mode | Core plugin free: related-notes pane, footer connections, Lookup semantic search, local embeddings with no API key or account |
| Paid from | From $11.99/mo monthly, or $8.99/mo billed yearly (Pro) | $8/month billed yearly (Plus), $10 billed monthly; Pro $14 yearly or $18 monthly | $9/month (Mem Plus); Pro $29, Pro 2× $49, up to Pro 20× at $199/month | $25/mo billed yearly ($299/yr) or $30/mo (Pro All-access) |
| Has API | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Open source | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Free to use | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Users | — | — | — | — |
| Founded | 2021 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Maker | — | — | Mem Labs, Inc. | Jobsi, Inc. |
| Verdict | Heptabase pairs an infinite whiteboard with card-based notes, PDF annotation and daily journals, plus an AI agent and tutor that work over your own library. Its strength is the spatial canvas for working through complex... |
Tana Outliner is the original Tana under a new name: an outliner where supertags turn any bullet into a structured object and live searches assemble always-current views across your notes. For people who think in network... |
Mem is a capture-first notes app that now doubles as a proactive assistant: Mem Agent detects tasks in your notes and reminds you before they slip, and the Heads Up panel surfaces related notes and past meetings as you w... |
Smart Connections does one job well: it surfaces related notes and passages beside the note you are writing, using a local embedding model with no API key or account. Chat and every API model integration have moved out i... |
| Full review → | Full review → | Full review → | Full review → |
Comparisons cover up to 4 tools. Scores are RECATOOLS editorial assessments; verify current pricing on each vendor's site.