Have you ever had a brilliant idea pop into your head, only to lose it to distractions moments later? Imagine being able to capture those fleeting thoughts instantly with your phone.
Let’s use second brain apps.
These apps do more than just take notes; they act as an extension of your mind. They help you organize thoughts, maintain a daily journal, and boost your creativity.
If you’ve never tried a second-brain app, now’s a great time to start.
In today’s article, I’ve rounded up some second-brain apps that are set to make waves in the coming year. These apps are poised for growth and are sure to spark even more interest soon. Let’s explore which ones might become your new go-to tools!
A Second Brain is like your personal digital assistant that helps you manage all the knowledge you gather every day.
Tiago Forte introduced the second brain concept first in his book “Building a Second Brain.” He reasons that humans can’t always remember every piece of daily information, as it can get overwhelming.
This system acts as a centralized hub where you can store all your ideas, insights, and connections. Think of it as a smart library that makes everything easy to find when you need it.
The beauty of having a Second Brain is that it takes on the heavy lifting of remembering details and organizing thoughts, which frees up your mind to focus on more creative and strategic tasks.
Whether you’re learning something new, working on personal projects, or trying to boost your productivity at work, a Second Brain can help you keep track of everything important, so you can make connections between different pieces of information and come up with brilliant ideas more easily.
In today’s world, there are countless “Second Brain” apps available, which can sometimes make choosing the right one a bit overwhelming. But don’t worry, we’re here to help guide you through finding the perfect app to suit your needs!
When it comes to choosing a fantastic second-brain app, think of it as your ever-present companion, ready to jump into action on any device you might be using. Here’s why accessibility is key:
Cross-Platform Functionality:
A great app should be like a good friend – available wherever you are, whether you’re on your phone, tablet, or computer. This means looking for an app that works smoothly across all platforms, so you can jot down those brilliant ideas whenever inspiration strikes!
Sync Across Devices:
Imagine starting a note on your phone during your commute and then finishing it up on your laptop at home. An app that syncs your notes across devices allows you to do just that, making your workflow as seamless as a gentle stream.
When picking the perfect second-brain app, think of it as your personal assistant who’s ready to adapt to your unique style and needs. Here’s why structure and flexibility are your best friends:
Customizable Interface:
Your app should be like a cozy, customizable workspace. Whether you prefer a simple text format or need complex diagrams, the right app will let you tweak the note interface to suit whatever task you’re tackling. It’s all about making the space truly yours!
Flexible Organization:
Look for an app that offers various organizing tools like folders, tags, and notebooks. This way, you can sort your notes just the way you like, making them easy to find and review.
Adapts to Your Workflow:
The best app grows with you and adapts to your evolving workflow. Whether you’re brainstorming, planning a project, or just jotting down daily tasks, your app should enhance your creativity and boost your productivity without missing a beat.
3. The 25 Best Apps To Create Your Second Brain in 2024
Saner.ai is a One-stop AI Productivity app for ADHDer.
It enable you to easily note, recall, create insights, and get things done with a simple-design note & to-do list app, using best-in-class AI Assistants.
Best feature
- Quickly capture notes and clips via the side panel without switching around.
- Get tag suggestions for your notes
- Ability to find back information based on what you remember.
- A personal AI provides relevant suggestions for what you are working on.
- Ability to use multiple AI bots (GPT4, Claude3, Gemini Pro, search Internet), alongside your notes, helps you brainstorm and write on a single screen.
- Write tasks directly in your notes and receive reminders until they are completed.
Saner.ai Limitations
- Requires internet access: You need to have access to the internet to search through emails, which might not be possible everywhere.
Pricing
- Free
- Starter: Monthly at $7.89/month, Annually at $5.89/month
- Standard: Monthly at $15.89/month, Annually at $10.89/month
Notion.so is your go-to app for keeping everything organized and accessible, especially helpful if you like complicated database views.
Best feature
- Unlimited notes: Write as much as you want without any limits
- Centralized organization: Consolidates all your necessities into one platform. Whether it’s notes, budgets, tasks, or recipes, you can create a customizable knowledge management tool that aligns with your thinking process
- Platform and device availability: Notion is available on iOS and Android for mobile, on Mac and Windows for desktop, and offers the Notion Web Clipper compatible with Chrome, Safari, and Firefox web browsers
Notion limitations
- Mobile version is not that invested and user-friendly
Pricing
- Free Forever
- Plus: $8-$10 per user
- Business: $15-$18 per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- Notion AI: it is available on all paid plans for $8 per month
Google Keep is a handy note-taking app that’s perfect for jotting down your thoughts, making lists, and organizing your ideas. It’s also great for setting reminders to keep you on track.
Best feature
- Optical character recognition: Turn any photo into text so that you can instantly take notes based on your images
- Voice recordings: Automatically transcribe your voice recordings into text
- Available on iOS, Android, and web: Use this web application anywhere and on any device
Google keep limitations
- Lack of formatting options: Keep does not offer formatting options like italics, bold, and underlining
Pricing
- It is free and does not have a premium version
Evernote is a versatile tool that helps users organize notes seamlessly.
It allows dynamic note-taking with text, images, templates, and more, and supports integration with Google Calendar
Best feature
- Work anywhere: Ensure crucial information is readily available with automatic note synchronization across all devices
- Everything: Boost the utility of your notes by incorporating text, images, audio, scans, PDFs, and documents
- Find things fast: Access what you need promptly using powerful and flexible search capabilities
- Unclear documentation
- Nascent AI features
Pricing
- The Personal version now costs $14.99 per month or $129.99 per year.
- Evernote’s Professional account costs $169.99 per year and brings the monthly upload limit up to 20GB.
Craft’s seamless interface includes features like daily notes, collaborative documents, wikis, integrations, rich link previews, AI writing assistance, comments, and reactions.
Best feature
- Workflows: Connect and organize work within and across teams
- Daily Notes: Enhance daily stand-ups with calendar-connected updates, priorities, and blockers
- Structured documents: Create Cards and Pages to provide detailed context and organization for ideas
- Rich content integration: Embed code blocks, rich link previews, images, videos, and AI assistant support
- Wikis: Consolidate team knowledge, eliminating the need for repeated requests for links or information
Craft limitations
- Not so adequate for task management: Craft is primarily designed for note-taking and offers limited options for task management
Pricing
- Free
- Pro: $5 per user
- Business: $10 per user
- Enterprise: Contact for Pricing
- Craft AI: Free to all users
Obsidian
Obsidian is an efficient note-taking and personal knowledge management tool.
It is free for individual users and has many helpful features to make your life easier.
Best feature
- Links and Graphs: Obsidian’s USP is its links and graphs effect. They help you track how your notes connect
- Collaboration: Share your work with others without giving out your private data
- Customization: Customize your work to your taste. With options to change your look, color, theme, etc, you should enjoy the creativity this app offers
Obsidian limitations
- Extra pricing: You need to pay extra to use some simple and expected features, such as synching across devices
Pricing
- Free
- Commercial use: $50 per user per year
Roam Research is a clever note-taking app that’s all about helping you write and research efficiently.
As you gather information, it organizes everything into a neat graph database, making it easy to connect the dots and see the bigger picture.
Best feature
- Graph Overview: Everyone loves to see themselves make some progress over time. And that’s what the Graph Overview feature offers you. Graph Overview is presented as a 2-dimensional graph showing how your ideas are interconnected.
- Notes: Roam has no fixed hierarchy, allowing for interconnected, non-linear content creation. It supports various formats like kanban boards and tables, and features task conversion with checkboxes. Quick note creation is enabled through keyboard shortcuts and integrations.
- Bi-directional linking: Roam is all about building connections within your notes. Each time you link to an existing topic or theme, Roam creates a bi-directional link between your current page and the mentioned page.
Roam research limitation
- The tool is not always easy to use, and users report a lack of willingness from the company to build the features that customers need
Pricing
- Pro: $15 per month
- Believer: $500 per 5 years
ClickUp is your go-to productivity buddy for taking notes and sharing
Best feature
- ClickUp Docs: Create and customize documents in various formats, and share them with your team. Choose from a range of templates to get started quickly.
- ClickUp NotePad: Easily jot down ideas and create checklists using diverse notepad templates. Customize your notes with different fonts, colors, and backgrounds, and convert them into tasks.
- ClickUp Relationships: Link your ideas and tasks seamlessly. Use backlinks to connect related tasks and documents, allowing you to spread one idea across multiple platforms.
- ClickUp AI: Leverage AI to generate new ideas, summarize extensive notes, or brainstorm for group projects.
- ClickUp Whiteboards: Collaborate on a digital canvas to brainstorm and plan projects. Work together in real-time, with features to comment, tag, and mention team members.
- Steep learning curve: ClickUp has many features and customizable options, which can make it overwhelming for new users. It may take some time to get used to the platform and figure out how to navigate it.
- Limited mobile app functionality: ClickUp has a mobile app that allows users to access their tasks and projects on the go. However, the mobile app has limited functionality compared to the desktop version, and some features may not be available on mobile devices.
Pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- ClickUp AI is available on all paid plans for $5 per Workspace
If you’ve used any Microsoft Office product in the past, the OneNote user interface will be familiar.
Like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, OneNote features a standard ribbon/toolbar at the top of the page, which holds all of your styling and formatting tools.
Best feature
- Support for Multiple Formats: The application supports a variety of formats including text, images, audio, and video, making it versatile for different types of content.
- Organizational Tools: Users can efficiently organize their content with features like notebooks, sections, and pages. Additionally, the use of tags and categories helps in sorting and retrieving content easily.
- Customizable Dashboard: The dashboard is fully customizable, allowing users to create custom templates and formatting styles that suit their needs, enhancing the user experience and productivity.
- Audio Features: Includes audio recording capabilities and transcription features, which are perfect for capturing meetings, lectures, or personal notes and converting them into text.
- Ink-to-Text and Ink-to-Shape Conversion: For users with touch-enabled devices, the application offers ink-to-text and ink-to-shape conversion, making it easy to convert handwritten notes and drawings into digital text and shapes.
OneNote limitations
- Local storage only offered under Windows
Pricing
- Free for up to 5GB of notes; $1.99/month for 100GB.
Mem AI uses artificial intelligence to enhance the note-taking experience.
It leverages data elements to establish connections between notes, creating an organized system.
Best feature
- AI Integration: The application incorporates artificial intelligence to enhance your note-taking experience, providing smart insights and content suggestions based on your notes.
- Collection Suggestions: For each note you create, the application automatically suggests collections where it might fit best, helping you keep your notes organized and contextually placed.
- Information Filtering: Filter through your notes using search and filter tools, allowing you to find the information you need without sifting through all your content manually.
- Note-Sharing and Collaboration: The application supports note-sharing and collaborative features, enabling you to work on documents with others in real-time, share ideas, and collaborate effectively from anywhere.
Mem.ai limitations
- Learning curve for advanced features
- Premium version necessity for full experience
- Internet dependency for optimal performance
Pricing
- Mem AI does not have a free plan but currently offers a straightforward individual plan priced at $14.99 per month
Milanote is an easy-to-use tool to organize your ideas and projects into visual boards.
Users can add notes, images, links, files, and to-do lists to the flexible interface. It’s suitable for designers, creative jobs
Best feature
- Visual Boards: Easily organize and share your ideas, projects, and sketches with visual boards. These boards support real-time editing from devices like iPads, allowing you to update and modify content on the go.
- Collaboration Tools: Improve your team’s productivity with powerful collaboration features. You can upload files, manage tasks with to-do columns, and communicate through comments. For individuals, Milanote offers flexible boards and customizable templates that simplify task management, providing a more adaptable alternative to traditional rigid to-do apps.
- Multimedia Support: Make your projects more engaging by adding multimedia elements. You can upload images, videos, and various files directly to your boards, enhancing the richness and dynamism of your collaborative efforts.
Milanote limitations
- No tree structures showing where notes are stored
Pricing
- Free version
- Trial:USD $12.50 per month
Amplenote is a versatile tool designed for note-taking, task management, and calendar scheduling.
Best feature
- Quick Bar: Capture your inspiration, the moment it strikes
- Flexible Recurrence: Life hack built for long-term goal setters
- Vault Notes: Client-side encryption for sensitive note content
- Include Task, Notes and calendar
Amplenote limitations
- Amplenote doesn’t use standard markdown, and doesn’t support split screen on iPadOS
- The calendar only allows for “business” and “household” as calendar segments.
Pricing
- Basic: $4.99/month or $49.99/year
- Pro: $9.99/month or $99.99/year
- Founder: $19.99/month or $199.99/year
Logseq is a networked thought note-taking application with the ability to create notes, create daily notes, connect notes and visualize in a graph view, use a whiteboard to bring ideas together
Best feature
- Advanced Note-Taking: Ideal for research and project development, Logseq supports extensive note-taking and idea generation.
- Graph View: Essential for connecting and referencing notes, Logseq’s Graph View enhances personal knowledge management by visualizing links between notes, journals, and ideas.
- Flashcards: Convert notes into flashcards for effective revision, making it a useful tool for students and professionals alike.
- Whiteboards: Similar to Obsidian, Logseq offers visual note-taking on a digital canvas, allowing for the creative expression of ideas.
Logseq limitations
- Lack of premium pricing: There’s not much focus on premium pricing which might be scary for some. Being able to see how the company makes money is always helpful to see where their future lies for notes.
Pricing
- Logseq currently operates on a free model, allowing you to download and start using it without any initial cost. However, it’s worth noting that while the core app is free, there may be charges associated with certain features.
Rewind AI is a unique application that serves as a personalized AI assistant; it records, indexes, and archives everything you perceive, articulate or listen to on your Mac
Best feature
- Automated Note-Taking: Writes down and summarizes your meetings for you, making it easier to remember and organize important discussions.
- Local Data Storage: Your data stays on your device, which keeps your private information secure and away from online storage spaces.
- Personalized AI Assistant: Using advanced AI, this tool helps you with tasks like writing emails and summarizing research, all tailored to your needs.
- Cross-Platform Functionality: It works with many different platforms, including Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, so you can use it with the tools you already prefer.
Rewind.ai limitations
- Takes getting used to given how we’ve never been able to do this before
Pricing
- Rewind Free – Access your data forever ($0 per user per month)
- Rewind Pro – One simple plan that has it all – ($19 per user per month (billed yearly)
Workflowy is a web-based second brain note-taking app that simplifies note-taking with its straightforward and flexible interface, allowing you to organize ideas quickly and naturally.
Best feature
- Infinite nesting: Develop intricate ideas while maintaining context. Delve into deep levels of detail within your notes or projects without losing track of the broader context or structure
- Files and images: Integrate an unlimited number of files and images directly into your content using the simple drag-and-drop feature
- No-login editing: Enable shared access without requiring recipients to have their own Workflowy accounts
- Templates: Choose from a library of Workflowy templates to get started if you don’t want to write your notes from scratch
Workflowy limitations
- Limited features on the free version: The free version of Workflowy restricts users with fewer features, including a monthly bullet limit and a 100MB cap on file uploads
Pricing
- Free forever
- Pro: $4.99 per user
Joplin is an open source note-taking app. Capture your thoughts and securely access them from any device.
Best feature
- Multimedia notes
- Save web pages as notes
- Customize the app with plugins, custom themes and multiple text editors
- Access your notes from your computer, phone or tablet
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS apps
- End-To-End Encryption (E2EE) to secure your notes
OneNote limitations
- Lacks some advanced features (handwriting recognition, mobile scanning, OCR, sketching)
Pricing
- Basic: Basic 2.40€ /month (28.69€/year)
- Pro: 4.79€ /month (57.48€ /year
- Teams: 6.69€ /month (80.28€ /year )
With Apple Notes, capturing inspiration is a breeze on any device—iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac.
Thanks to seamless iCloud syncing, your notes are always up-to-date and accessible wherever you are.
Best feature
- Security: iCloud boasts a highly secure privacy system, ensuring that only authorized individuals are able to access their notes
- Adequate Storage: Premium iCloud users enjoy storage capacity exceeding 12 terabytes, providing ample space for personal and business data needs
Apple Notes limitations
- Limited collaboration feature: While sharing notes with others is possible, iCloud notes lack the capability for comments. Collaborators are unable to provide feedback or display the editing history of each contributor
Pricing
- 50GB: $0.99
- 200GB: $2.99
- 2TB: $9.99
- 6TB: $29.99
- 12TB: $59.99
Quivr is an open-source, chat-powered second brain that allows you to build a unified search engine across all your documents, tools, and databases, powered by AI.
Best feature
- Quivr offers AI-powered workplace search synced with your data, the ability to chat with any document from anywhere (PDF, CSV, PPT, TXT), and the opportunity to create a personal AI cloud-based second brain.
- Brain Creation: Empower your employees with a complete Private ChatGPT solution.
- Brain Sharing: Generate content for your business with Quivr.
- Quivr Assistants: Automate repetitive tasks for your customer support.
Quivr limitations
- Not easy to use as a simple editor, for example if you want to save files locally in an encrypted folder. Also, preview and export features could be improved
Pricing
- Free version
- Plus $15
Anytype is a note-taking and personal data organization application designed to empower you with control over your information on an Alpha version.
This platform leverages a decentralized architecture, ensuring that your data remains private and secure.
Best feature
- Advanced Note-Taking: Connect up notes together in Anytype and bring together a sense of brain-like organization to your vault.
- Object-Based Note-Taking: Organize your notes as objects before you begin them, this allows you to save templates and replicate them as you use them throughout your account.
- Graph View: See the way your notes connect with graph view in Anytype and also the abilities like flow that allow you to see the relationship and knock-on effect of the notes in your workspaces.
Anytype limitations
- Steeper Learning Curve for Some
- Requires a Shift in Workflow
Pricing
- Explorer: $0 just your email
- Builder: $99 per year
- Co-Creator: $299 for 3 years
Agenda Notes integrates your notes with calendar apps. This means you can write down your notes and save them as an event in a specific event in your calendar.
Best feature
- Integrate your calendar to your note-taking app.
- Categorize with tags, sub-categories, and categories and filter through them.
- Share notes with others and collaborate with them.
- Enhance your notes with images, attachments, and links.
- Different color texts
- Reminders
- Cross-platform availability and sync.
Agenda limitations
- Difficult when running financial reports, because the software is not integrated with the companies POS.
- There are missing options for operators. For example, a tip option for guests to include.
- If you had a way to add the employee scheduler, I would pay more and I would stop using my existing one. You could double your revenue
Pricing
- Agenda is FREE, with no time limits. You can use it forever, at no cost
Capacities is an object-based note-taking application with a focus on building relationships between your notes – popular for journaling, making notes & managing personal ideas.
Best feature
- Embed Views: Capacities allow for enhanced linking within notes, offering options like embedded content, ‘wide’ or ‘small’ cards, and ‘link blocks’ for organized and visually appealing layouts.
- Object Views: Organize content into customizable Objects with views like tables, lists, galleries, or a dynamic ‘wall view’ for a quick visual overview.
- Tags: Facilitate flexible categorization and unified content viewing across different areas with tags on any object.
- Search and Command Bar: Efficiently navigate and manage your workspace with powerful search capabilities and quick command execution.
- Integrations: Seamlessly integrate with platforms like email and social media, supporting markdown and tags for easy content organization.
Capacities limitations
- Like some of the PKM apps there is a learning curve to using a tool like Capacities
- The Pro pricing can be much steeper than other PKM tools on the market right now
Pricing
- Capacities Basic: Free
- Capacities Pro: For professionals $9.99 /month
- Capacities Believer: For supporters from$12.49 /month
Reflect offers a solution for effective note-taking. It features instantaneous note synchronization with backlinked notes, forming a network of ideas.
Best feature
- Networked notes: Form a graph of ideas using backlinked notes, creating a comprehensive intellectual network
- Integrations: Manage and summarize meeting discussions while importing events from Google Calendar and Outlook integrations
- Reflect AI: Leverage AI assistance powered by GPT-4 and Whisper from OpenAI to enhance writing, organize thoughts, and act as your intellectual partner
Reflect limitations
- AI is not customized and based on GPT4 for to answer questions about notes
Pricing
- Premium: $10 per month
Otio.ai is an AI-powered productivity tool that combines advanced technology with user-friendly interfaces to help users manage their time and tasks more effectively.
Best feature
- Intelligent Task Management: Otio.ai excels with its AI-driven task management system, prioritizing tasks by deadlines, importance, and user preferences to keep you focused on what’s crucial.
- Automated Scheduling: Otio.ai streamlines scheduling by automatically arranging meetings and appointments based on your availability and preferences, integrating smoothly with popular calendar apps.
- Collaboration Tools: Otio.ai enhances team success with robust collaboration tools, including shared task lists, real-time updates, and collaborative document editing, ensuring efficient teamwork.
- Insightful Analytics: Otio.ai offers detailed analytics to help you understand time usage, tracking metrics and generating reports to pinpoint areas for workflow improvement.
- Integration with Popular Tools: Designed to complement your existing setup, Otio.ai integrates with a variety of tools and applications, enhancing productivity while letting you continue using your favorite platforms.
Otio limitations
- AI Content Selection: Sometimes, Otio’s AI might miss the mark on what’s most relevant to you, possibly overlooking crucial details.
- Internet Dependency: Otio relies on online sources, which might limit access to certain offline or paywalled content.
Pricing
- Free Trial Not Available
- Starts at $10.0. Offers Free-forever and Custom plan.
Fabric.so is an AI-native workspace and file explorer for individuals and teams. It serves as a copilot for everything you’ve seen or saved.
The platform is self-organizing, allowing users to find anything fast, in natural language, and even chat with their data.
Best feature
- Capture: Fabric allows you to save various types of digital content from the web using its browser extension. Quick shortcuts like Ctrl+alt+F and alt+N make capturing content straightforward.
- Organize: After saving, organize your content into collections, add tags for easy searching, and annotate with personal notes.
- Retrieve: Easily find your saved content through searches, browsing collections, or using tags. Fabric’s timeline view and upcoming AI-enhanced search aim to streamline content retrieval.
- Collaborate: Share content with others by inviting them to view or collaborate on collections. Fabric supports teamwork within specific spaces.
Fabric.so limitations
- Fabric can be complex and challenging to learn, use, and troubleshoot, due to the variety and diversity of its components and layers.
Pricing
- Fabric offers 14 days free trial
- Pro plan starts at 9$/month or 89$/paid annually.
- One-time payment Believer plan for lifetime access at $160.
A simple inventory management app for small businesses and labs provided as SaaS.
Tana is designed specifically for a small to a mid-sized team to manage inventories with ease.
Best feature
- Notes on the fly: Never miss a note again. Tana Capture allows on-the-fly note taking and syncs with your inbox.
- Text scanning: Effortlessly capture text from any document, image, or video and add it directly to your Tana inbox.
- Voice recording: Record voice, interviews, or meetings quickly and effortlessly. Recall spoken information with the tap of a button.
- Offline capture: Tana Capture works offline, and will sync to your workspace as soon as you’re back online.
- Tana is complex and requires Roam Research level skills to learn this application.
Pricing
- Free version
- Core: $14 / month
- Teams Custom
The world of knowledge management or “second-brain” apps offers some pretty nifty features to help you organize and visualize your notes in new ways. You might have heard about cool functions like graph views, mind maps, and tree views. While these features can really enhance your note-taking experience, they do come with a bit of a learning curve.
If you’re exploring one of these apps for the first time, my advice is to give it a fair shot. Spend some time getting to know the ins and outs before you decide to switch to another.
Patience is key—you might just find that these tools can revolutionize the way you organize information!
