The Best Roam Research AlternativesTop Note-taking Tools & Todo List Managers like Roam Research

Roam Research is described as 'As easy to use as a word document or bulleted list, and as powerful for finding, collecting, and connecting related ideas as a graph database. Collaborate with others in real time, or store all your data locally' and is a popular Note-taking tool in the office & productivity category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Roam Research for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and iPad apps. The best Roam Research alternative is Obsidian. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Logseq or Anytype. Other great apps like Roam Research are Zettlr, Zim, Notesnook and TiddlyWiki.

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Roam Research alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools but may also be Todo List Managers or Task Management Tools. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Roam Research.

Roam Research

Note-taking Tool
Paid • Proprietary

As easy to use as a word document or bulleted list, and as powerful for finding, collecting, and connecting related ideas as a graph database. Collaborate with others in real time, or store all your data locally.

More about Roam Research

Roam Research alternatives page was last updated Feb 20, 2023

Obsidian
Obsidian is a note-taking app that lets you create a personal knowledge graph with ease. It is designed for non-linear thinking and allows you to easily link your notes together wiki-style.
83 Obsidian alternatives
License model
- Free Personal • Proprietary
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
+4
Top Obsidian Features
1. Support for MarkDown
2. Local Storage
3. Works Offline
4. Graph view
5. Bidirectional links
6. Mind Mapping
7. Personal Information Manager (PIM)
8. No registration required
9. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
10. Knowledge Management
11. Backlink
12. Dark Mode
Show all NaN Obsidian features ▾
Obsidian VS Roam Research
Is Obsidian a good alternative to Roam Research?
Comments about Obsidian as an Alternative to Roam Research

inshilon
Really similar in the approach, but it's offline.
Top positive comment •Apr 20, 2020
4
RemovedUser
Roam-like graph view, all offline, saved as Markdown, free!
Top positive comment •Jul 10, 2020
3
birnle
Obsidian is a dream for creative and scientific writers who need to make notes and find not only these, but related ones, too. Obsidian is in my opinion the best markdown-based notes solution available.
Positive comment •Aug 24, 2021
0
sCojQE5
Obsidian is a good alternative to Roam Research for those of you who prefer shopping at locally owned boutiques and shops compared to going to the Mall or Nordstroms.
Positive comment •Jan 6, 2021
-3
Guest
Similar Features but greater control of your data, run offline or your already used cloud service such as dropbox or google drive. Future proof.
Positive comment •Aug 24, 2020
1
Show more comments
5 of 6 comments
- Almost everyone thinks Obsidian is a great Roam Research alternative.
- Obsidian is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to Roam Research.
- Obsidian is the most popular free alternative to Roam Research.
- Obsidian is Free Personal and ProprietaryRoam Research is Paid and Proprietary

Logseq
Logseq is a platform for knowledge sharing and management. It focuses on privacy, longevity, and user control. Notice: the backend code will be open-sourced as soon as we’re sure that the backend service meets the security standards.
112 Logseq alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
Top Logseq Features
1. Bidirectional links
2. Graph view
3. Outliner
4. Backlinks
5. Local Storage
6. Knowledge base
7. Support for MarkDown
8. Knowledge Management
9. Works Offline
10. Note organization
11. Ad-free
12. Full-Text Search
Show all NaN Logseq features ▾
Logseq VS Roam Research
Is Logseq a good alternative to Roam Research?
Comments about Logseq as an Alternative to Roam Research

inshilon
It's free to use, although it's still a bit behind in performance and polish.
Top positive comment •Aug 12, 2022
0
jchalifour
Free and open source application that is developing in leaps and bounds, will likely outpace Roam in innovation.
Top positive comment •Mar 18, 2021
0
Hibiscus
Shares many similarities with Roam, except that Roam stores online. Workflow is basically the same. PDF-handling and use of aliases is far superior in Logseq.
Positive comment •Dec 27, 2022
0
cosmo
It's the most feature-complete, privacy-respecting, open-source alternative to Roam Research!
Positive comment •Apr 24, 2022
0
birnle
Roam Research is a powerful tool for online and offline note taking, but it is very expensive and depends on a database. Logseq is free and works with markdown text files. Logseq wins.
Positive comment •Aug 24, 2021
0
- Almost everyone thinks Logseq is a great Roam Research alternative.
- Logseq is the most popular Web-based & Self-Hosted alternative to Roam Research.
- Logseq is the most popular Open Source alternative to Roam Research.
- Logseq is Free and Open SourceRoam Research is Paid and Proprietary

Anytype
E2E encrypted, local-first, p2p and open. A knowledge graph of your ideas, tasks, wikis, projects, and databases. Supported on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android & iOS. Offline access, markdown export, and on-device storage.
100 Anytype alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- Flatpak
+6
Top Anytype Features
1. Works Offline
2. Privacy focused
3. Project Management
4. Synchronization
5. End-to-End Encryption
6. Visual Organization
7. Decentralized
8. Knowledge Management
9. Support for MarkDown
10. Ad-free
11. Local Storage
12. Dark Mode
Show all NaN Anytype features ▾
Anytype VS Roam Research
Is Anytype a good alternative to Roam Research?

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Zettlr
From idea to publication in one app: Zettlr accompanies you while writing your blog post, newspaper article, term paper, thesis, or entire book.
156 Zettlr alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Flathub
+5
Top Zettlr Features
1. Support for MarkDown
2. Zettelkasten note method
3. File Tagging
4. Multiple export options
5. Zotero integration
6. Note organization
7. Link files
8. Ad-free
9. Privacy focused
10. Syntax Highlighting
11. Works Offline
12. Hierarchical Structure
Show all NaN Zettlr features ▾
Zettlr VS Roam Research
Is Zettlr a good alternative to Roam Research?
Comments about Zettlr as an Alternative to Roam Research

Guest
Your files are always available offline.
Positive comment •Jul 25, 2020
2
- Almost everyone thinks Zettlr is a great Roam Research alternative.
- Zettlr is Free and Open SourceRoam Research is Paid and Proprietary
- Zettlr is Privacy focusedRoam Research is not according to our users

Zim
Zim brings the concept of a wiki to your desktop. Store information, link pages and edit with WYSISYG markup or directly typing some lightweight markup syntax and see it previewed as-you-type. Creating a new page is easy by either clicking on the "Create new note"...
286 Zim alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Flathub
- Flatpak
+1
Top Zim Features
1. Works Offline
2. Plain text file
3. Wiki-like interface
4. Hierarchical Structure
5. Cross-Platform
6. Note organization
7. WYSIWYG Support
8. Portable
9. Ad-free
10. Lightweight
11. Full-Text Search
12. Dark Mode
Show all NaN Zim features ▾
Zim VS Roam Research
Is Zim a good alternative to Roam Research?

Notesnook
Notesnook is a simple and cross-platform private notes app that keeps your notes organized and synced on your phone, tablet and computer. Take notes, capture ideas, create to-do lists, keep a journal, write your assignments and manage projects, we have got you covered.
203 Notesnook alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- F-Droid
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Flatpak
+6
Top Notesnook Features
1. Encrypted Notes
2. Private notes
3. Works Offline
4. Note organization
5. End-to-End Encryption
6. Privacy focused
7. Dark Mode
8. Support for MarkDown
9. No Tracking
10. Ad-free
11. Cloud Sync
12. Web Clipper
Show all NaN Notesnook features ▾
Notesnook VS Roam Research
Is Notesnook a good alternative to Roam Research?
- Notesnook is the most popular SaaS alternative to Roam Research.
- Notesnook is Freemium and Open SourceRoam Research is Paid and Proprietary
- Notesnook is Privacy focusedRoam Research is not according to our users

TiddlyWiki
TiddlyWiki is a single html file with all the characteristics of a wiki - including all of the functionality (including editing, saving, tagging and searching) and the style sheet. Because its a single file, its very portable - you can email it, put it on a web server or share...
153 TiddlyWiki alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- BSD
- Self-Hosted
- Xfce
- RemoteStorage
Top TiddlyWiki Features
1. Customizable
2. Standalone
3. Cross page linking
4. Support for MarkDown
5. Wiki
6. Portable
7. Wiki-like interface
8. No registration required
9. Ad-free
10. Dark Mode
11. No Coding Required
12. WYSIWYG Support
Show all NaN TiddlyWiki features ▾
TiddlyWiki VS Roam Research
Is TiddlyWiki a good alternative to Roam Research?

CherryTree
A hierarchical note taking application, featuring rich text and syntax highlighting, storing data in a single xml or sqlite file.
60 CherryTree alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- PortableApps.com
+3
Top CherryTree Features
1. Hierarchical Structure
2. Tree structure
3. Infinite hierarchical depth
4. Includes images in notes
5. Outliner
6. Tree view
7. Tree Style Tabs
8. Syntax Highlighting
9. Portable
10. Works Offline
11. Support for MarkDown
12. Code Formatting
Show all NaN CherryTree features ▾
CherryTree VS Roam Research
Is CherryTree a good alternative to Roam Research?

Typora
Typora gives you a seamless experience as both a reader and a writer. It removes the preview window, mode switcher, syntax symbols of markdown source code, and all other unnecessary distractions. Instead, it provides a real live preview feature to help you concentrate on the...
160 Typora alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Electron
+4
Top Typora Features
1. Support for MarkDown
2. Live Preview
3. Distraction-free
4. Write files in markdown
5. WYSIWYG Support
6. Save as Markdown
7. Support for Themes
8. Lightweight
9. Support for LaTeX
10. Syntax Highlighting
11. Spell Checking
12. No registration required
Show all NaN Typora features ▾
Typora VS Roam Research
Is Typora a good alternative to Roam Research?
Comments about Typora as an Alternative to Roam Research

Guest
Similar aesthetic, well integrated feature-set (link inline LaTeX support), relatively minimalist writing experience. No backlinks, nor block-level support.
Positive comment •Oct 11, 2020
0
- Typora is the most popular commercial alternative to Roam Research.
- Typora is Paid and ProprietaryRoam Research is also Paid and Proprietary
- Typora is LightweightRoam Research is not according to our users