Have you ever had a brilliant idea pop into your head, only to lose it moments later because life got in the way?
That’s where a brain system—powered by a good knowledge management app—can make all the difference.
Whether you’re out for a run or winding down for bed, a reliable notes app helps you capture inspiration the moment it strikes.
A modern notet-aking app does more than just hold your thoughts.
With advanced functionality like the ability to link notes, record audio notes, and organize information across other apps, you can build a robust knowledge management system.
Over time, you’ll begin to reflect on notes you’ve taken and even discover connections you didn’t realize were there.
If you haven’t hopped on the second-brain app train for note-taking, it’s time to do it, and we’ll tell you why.
10 Best Second Brain Apps & Software to Use
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat is a Second Brain App?
A second brain app is a digital tool designed to help you capture, organize, and store your thoughts, ideas, and information in a structured way that you can retrieve them anytime.
Building a second brain will extend your cognitive processes and ability, providing a structured and easily accessible repository for your notes, documents, and creative insights.
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.
Tiago went further to list the benefits of relying on the second brain system:
- Organizes your information perfectly, making access easy
- Keeps information unless you delete what you no longer need
- Preserves your creativity and ensures your work is tracked, allowing you to revisit it anytime
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhy Second Brain Apps Have Become More Essential Now than Ever?
We live in an information-saturated world where our natural memory can easily become overwhelmed. This is where the concept of a “Second Brain” comes in—a digital system designed to extend your memory and cognitive abilities.
Second Brain apps provide a powerful solution to managing the constant influx of information, enhancing productivity, and fostering creativity in a way that traditional methods simply can’t.
Here’s how they can help:
✅ Enhanced productivity: By providing a centralized, easily searchable repository for all your notes, ideas, and resources, these apps dramatically reduce the time spent searching for information. This frees up your mental energy to focus on execution and creative work
✅ Improved memory & recall: Your Second Brain acts as an external memory bank, ensuring that valuable insights, lessons learned, and important details are never lost. You can quickly retrieve information when needed, even if you captured it years ago
✅ Fostering creativity & innovation: By making connections between disparate ideas and providing a rich pool of knowledge, Second Brain apps facilitate serendipitous discovery and help you generate new insights and creative solutions
✅ Adapting to modern work: With the rise of remote work, hybrid models, and project-based assignments, the ability to organize and access information digitally and collaboratively is paramount. Second Brain apps streamline workflows and support continuous learning
✅ Leveraging AI capabilities: Many modern Second Brain apps are integrating AI, offering features like intelligent search, automated summarization, and insight generation. This transforms them from mere storage systems into powerful partners for knowledge discovery and creation
✅ Stress reduction: Knowing that all your important information is safely stored and easily accessible reduces the anxiety of forgetting things or being overwhelmed, leading to greater peace of mind
✅ Personalized learning: These apps become a personalized knowledge hub that grows with you, allowing you to build upon your existing understanding and accelerate your learning in any field
Summarize this article for me please10 Best Second Brain Apps at a Glance
Here’s a quick comparison table to get you started:
| Tool name | Key features | Best for | Pricing |
| ClickUp | Everything app for work with AI Notetaker, Connected Search, Docs, Whiteboards, task management, AI summaries, integrations, templates | For individuals and teams of all sizes needing an all-in-one workspace and actionable knowledge | Free plan; Paid plans from $7/user/month |
| Notion | Customizable workspaces, Notion AI, databases, web clipper, mobile & desktop apps | Visual thinkers & creators who want flexible, interconnected knowledge systems | Free plan; Paid plans from $12/user/month |
| Google Keep | Simple interface, color coding, reminders, voice notes, OCR, Google integration | Individuals who want fast, simple note capture and checklist management | Free with Google account |
| Workflowy | Infinite nesting, mirror nodes, tagging, global search, minimalist design | Outliners & structured thinkers who prefer bullet lists and hierarchy | Free plan; Pro $8.99/month |
| Craft | Block-based editor, daily notes, AI assistant, rich formatting, native apps | Visual thinkers & Apple users who want beautiful, interconnected documents | Free plan; Pro $7.99/month; Business $14.99/month |
| Evernote | Web clipper, universal search, notebooks/tags, tasks, calendar, AI features | Busy professionals & researchers managing diverse content types | Free plan; Personal $14.99/month; Professional $17.99/month |
| Reflect | Backlinked notes, graph view, AI, encryption, calendar integration | Privacy-focused users & networked thinkers who want secure, connected notes | Premium $10/month |
| Obsidian | Local Markdown files, bi-directional linking, graph view, plugins | Power users & privacy advocates who want full control and customization | Free; Sync $5/month; Publish $10/month |
| iCloud Notes | Apple integration, iCloud Drive, backup, simple notes, privacy | Apple ecosystem users who want seamless, basic note syncing | 50GB $0.99, 200GB $2.99, 2TB $9.99/month, higher tiers available |
| Roam Research | Bi-directional linking, daily notes, block-based editor, graph overview | Researchers & knowledge workers who thrive on non-linear, networked thinking | Pro $15/month; Believer $500/5 years |
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 10 Best Second Brain Apps & Software to Use
1. ClickUp
As the everything app for work, ClickUp is transforming the way teams work by acting as a true “second brain” with ClickUp Brain—an intelligent, all-in-one workspace that remembers, connects, and retrieves everything you need to get work done.
At the heart of ClickUp’s second brain features is its Connected Search, which goes far beyond basic keyword matching. It intelligently searches across all your tasks, documents, chats, attachments, and even integrated third-party apps, instantly surfacing the most relevant information no matter where it lives in your workspace.
This means you can quickly find a project brief, a conversation from months ago, or a specific file—saving hours that would otherwise be lost to manual searching.
But ClickUp Brain doesn’t just help you find information; it helps you understand it faster. Its advanced AI can summarize lengthy documents, task threads, and chat conversations, distilling them into clear, actionable insights. For example, you can ask ClickUp Brain to summarize a project’s status, extract key decisions from a meeting, or pull out action items from a long discussion—making it easy to stay on top of complex workflows without getting bogged down in details.
By combining deep, connected search with intelligent summarization, ClickUp Brain doesn’t just store your knowledge—it actively helps you retrieve, process, and act on it, making it the ultimate everything app and your indispensable second brain for work.
The biggest plus of all? With a connected ecosystem of Docs, Whiteboards, Dashboards, and more, ClickUp centralizes everything you need under a single workspace, making it instantly searchable!
Best for
- Individuals and teams of all sizes, from solopreneurs to enterprise
Ideal use cases
- Anyone looking to retrieve critical knowledge or next steps in seconds, even from vast amounts of workspace data (within defined permissions and access settings)
- Onboarding new team members becomes seamless, as they can instantly access and understand historical context
- Project managers can get up-to-date overviews without reading through every update
ClickUp best features
- ClickUp Docs: Create, organize, and link documents for notes, wikis, SOPs, and knowledge bases. Nest docs, add rich formatting, and connect them to tasks for seamless knowledge management
- ClickUp Notepad: Jot down quick ideas, checklists, or reminders. Easily convert notes into actionable tasks and personalize your notes with different fonts, colors, and templates
- ClickUp Relationships: Link related tasks, docs, and ideas together. Use backlinks to connect information across your workspace, making it easy to find and reuse knowledge
- ClickUp Brain (AI): Leverage AI to summarize docs, generate ideas, answer questions, automate repetitive tasks, and surface relevant information instantly—your intelligent digital assistant
- ClickUp Whiteboards: Visualize your thoughts, brainstorm, and map out projects on a collaborative digital canvas. Add tasks, docs, comments, and connect ideas in real time
- ClickUp Templates: Use pre-built templates like the Knowledge Base Template to quickly set up a centralized hub for your team’s ideas, notes, and resources
- Reminders & Inbox: Never forget anything—set reminders for tasks, notes, or ideas, and manage all your notifications and to-dos in one place
- Favorites & Private Views: Bookmark important docs, tasks, or views for quick access. Create private dashboards and custom views tailored to your workflow
- Chat, Comments & Voice Clips: Keep all your discussions, feedback, and quick thoughts linked to your work. Use @mentions, comments, and voice clips to capture context and collaborate
- Connected Search: Instantly find anything—tasks, docs, chats, or files—across your entire workspace and integrated apps, so your second brain is always at your fingertips
Pros
- Flexible organization: Highly customizable with various views and hierarchies to store any type of information
- Actionable knowledge: Integrates notes directly with tasks and projects, turning ideas into action
- Easy retrieval: Powerful search and linking features help you quickly find and connect information
Cons
- Can be complex: Overwhelming features can make it hard to start
ClickUp pricing
free forever
Best for personal use
Free Free
Key Features:
60MB Storage
Unlimited Tasks
Unlimited Free Plan Members
unlimited
Best for small teams
$7 $10
Everything in Free Forever plus:
2GB Storage per user
Unlimited Folders and Spaces
Unlimited Integrations
business
Best for mid-sized teams
$12 $19
Everything in Unlimited, plus:
Google SSO
Unlimited Storage
Unlimited Teams
enterprise
Best for many large teams
Get a custom demo and see how ClickUp aligns with your goals.
Everything in Business, plus:
White Labeling
Conditional Logic in Forms
Team Sharing for Spaces
* Prices when billed annually
The world's most complete work AI, starting at $9 per month
ClickUp Brain is a no Brainer. One AI to manage your work, at a fraction of the cost.
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (5,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (3,000+ reviews)
💡Pro Tip: Learn how to use AI for note taking. If your struggles are specific to meetings, we’ve got something for you here. 👇🏼
2. Notion
Notion is one of the versatile second brain apps that adapts to individual workflows. Use this unified space for note-taking, organization, task management, focused writing, and personal development to improve your focus.
Quickly jot down notes, ideas, to-do lists, or reminders from anywhere. It offers flexibility in organizing these notes without limitations, so you can easily retrieve them anytime.
Best for
- Building highly customizable, interconnected workspaces for almost any kind of information or project
Ideal use case
- Centralize notes, ideas, documents, and resources
- Organize tasks, timelines, and team collaboration
- Create flexible systems for tracking anything from habits to inventories
Notion best features
- Notion AI: Generate ideas for your work and write faster with AI
- 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
Pros
- Highly flexible: Adaptable to any organizational style
- Interconnected: Easy to link notes, databases, and pages
- All-in-one: Combines notes, docs, wikis, and project management
Cons
- Steep learning curve: Can be overwhelming for beginners
- Offline limitations: Poor or no offline access in some cases
- Performance issues: Can slow down with very large workspaces
Notion Pricing
- Free Forever
- Plus: $12per user per month
- Business: $24 per user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Notion ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (4,800+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (1,917+ reviews)
3. Google Keep
Google Keep is a note-taking tool software designed for writing, list-making, and organizing your thoughts; it is handy for setting effective reminders. It also allows easy sharing of notes with images and audio. With millions of users, Keep is the top choice for those who enjoy vibrant notes, offering a range of colorful labels to organize and arrange your documents efficiently.
Best for
- Quick, spontaneous note-taking, checklists, and visual reminders that sync across devices
Ideal use case
- Jotting down fleeting ideas, thoughts, and quick reminders
- Creating shopping lists, to-do lists, and packing checklists
- Capturing web links, images with text, and voice notes on the go
Keep best features
- Simple interface: Easy to use for quick capture without distractions
- Color coding & labels: Visually organize notes for easy identification
- Reminders: Set time or location-based reminders for notes
- Image to text (OCR): Extract text from photos for searchable content
- Voice notes with transcription: Record thoughts and have them automatically converted to text
- Google Workspace integration: Easily move notes to Google Docs or link with other Google services
Pros
- Fast capture: Designed for speed, ideal for quick thoughts
- Excellent accessibility: Available on all major platforms and devices
- Good for checklists: Simple and effective for managing basic to-do lists
Cons
- Limited formatting: Lacks rich text formatting like bolding, italics, or headings within notes
- No nested organization: Only uses labels; no folders or true hierarchical organization
- Basic search: While it has search, it lacks advanced filtering or contextual search
- No linking between notes: Cannot easily create internal links between your own notes for a connected knowledge base
Keep pricing
- Free with a basic Google account
Keep reviews and ratings
- G2: Not enough standalone reviews
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (200+ reviews)
4. Workflowy
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.
It works great offline and seamlessly supports the development of those ideas when connected to the internet. Workflowy’s nested lists are its standout—create bulleted lists for any number of levels to break down the complexity of your ideas or lists.
Best for
- Individuals and teams looking to organize thoughts, notes, and ideas in a simple, infinitely nested outline format
Ideal use case
- Brainstorming and structuring complex ideas or projects
- Creating flexible to-do lists and managing personal tasks
- Writing outlines for articles, books, or presentations
Workflowy best features
- Infinite nesting: Organize information into endlessly collapsible and expandable bullet points
- Simple interface: A minimalist design that focuses on content without distractions
- Mirror nodes: Duplicate a bullet point to appear in multiple places, keeping them in sync
- Tagging and filtering: Use #hashtags and @mentions to categorize and quickly find specific items
- Global search: Find any item across your entire Workflowy account
- Keyboard shortcuts: Efficient navigation and editing for power users
Pros
- Extreme simplicity: Easy to learn and use for basic outlining
- Focus-oriented: Hides complexity, letting you focus on one idea at a time
- Fast capture: Excellent for quickly jotting down thoughts in a structured way
- Highly flexible: Adaptable for notes, tasks, writing, or project outlines
Cons
- Limited rich text: Lacks advanced formatting options like bolding, italics, or varying font sizes beyond basic styling
- No database features: Cannot create tables, relations, or complex data structures like Notion
- Weak collaboration: While sharing is possible, it’s not designed for robust team collaboration like dedicated project management tools
- Visual monotony: The consistent outline format might feel visually limited for some users
Workflowy pricing
- Free forever
- Pro: $8.99 per month
Workflowy reviews and ratings
- G2: 4.5/5 (20+ reviews)
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
📮ClickUp Insight: 18% of our survey respondents want to use AI to organize their lives through calendars, tasks, and reminders. Another 15% want AI to handle routine tasks and administrative work.
To do this, an AI needs to be able to: understand the priority levels for each task in a workflow, run the necessary steps to create tasks or adjust tasks, and set up automated workflows.
Most tools have one or two of these steps worked out. However, ClickUp has helped users consolidate up to 5+ apps using our platform! Experience AI-powered scheduling, where tasks and meetings can be easily allocated to open slots in your calendar based on priority levels. You can also set up custom automation rules via ClickUp Brain to handle routine tasks.
Say goodbye to busy work!
5. Craft
Craft’s seamless interface includes features like daily notes, collaborative documents, wikis, integrations, rich link previews, AI writing assistance, comments, and reactions.
Craft transforms team collaboration and note-taking by merging structured daily updates, aligning priorities, and eliminating blockers, all in one place. It is a central hub for teams to take notes and track tasks, ideas, and challenges across various projects.
Best for
- Individuals and teams who need to create visual, and interconnected documents and notes with a focus on a fluid writing and organization experience, especially within the Apple ecosystem
Ideal use case
- Writing detailed documents, reports, and content with rich visual elements
- Building a personal knowledge base or digital garden with interconnected notes
- Collaborative document creation and sharing for small teams
- Daily journaling and task management within a visually appealing interface
Craft best features
- Block-based editor: Create and arrange content in flexible blocks, including text, images, files, and embedded content
- Interconnected pages: Easily link between documents and blocks to create a highly connected knowledge network
- Beautiful design & styling: Offers extensive formatting options, custom styles, and aesthetically pleasing layouts
- Daily Notes: Dedicated space for quick thoughts, journaling, and daily task tracking
- Native apps: Excellent performance and offline capabilities across Apple devices (Mac, iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro) and Windows
- AI Assistant: Built-in AI for brainstorming, summarization, and writing assistance
- Mirror nodes/blocks:Duplicate a block or page to appear in multiple locations, syncing changes automatically
- Powerful export options: Export documents in various formats including PDF, Markdown, and Web
Pros
- Visually stunning: Creates highly aesthetic and presentation-ready documents
- Fluid writing experience: Block-based editor makes writing and organizing intuitive
- Excellent native apps: Fast and reliable performance, especially on Apple devices
- Strong linking: Easily build a web of interconnected knowledge
Cons
- Limited Android support: Android app is still under development or not as robust as iOS/desktop
- Not a full database tool: Lacks the advanced database functionalities (e.g., relations, complex formulas) of Notion
- Subscription model: Requires a paid plan for unlimited use and advanced features
- Can be pricey for teams: Higher-tier plans for larger teams can get expensive
Craft pricing
- Free
- Pro: $7.99 per month
- Business: $14.99 per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Craft reviews and ratings
- G2: 4.6/5 (20+ reviews)
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
💟 Did You Know? Back in ancient times, before paper was common, people often took notes on wax tablets. These were wooden frames filled with a layer of wax. You’d write on the wax with a sharp stylus, and if you made a mistake or wanted to reuse the tablet, you could just smooth the wax over and start again! It was basically the ancient world’s reusable notebook.
6. Evernote
Evernote helps you organize your work and life with notes, no matter where you work. It allows you to take dynamic notes with text, images, templates, and more.
Evernote helps you manage notes with due dates and reminders, supports paperless document storage, and integrates with Google Calendar for efficient scheduling and contextual notes.
Best for
- Teams looking for capturing, organizing, and easily searching a wide variety of information formats
Ideal use case
- Saving web pages, articles, and research with a powerful web clipper
- Digitizing physical documents, receipts, and handwritten notes
- Centralizing meeting notes, project details, and personal ideas
- Storing multimedia notes including images, audio, and PDFs
Evernote best features
- Web Clipper: Save entire web pages, articles, or screenshots directly into Evernote with annotations
- Universal search: Search for text within notes, images (OCR), PDFs, and even handwritten notes
- Notebooks & tags: Flexible organization system using notebooks and tags for categorization
- Tasks: Add and manage simple to-do lists and tasks directly within notes
- Calendar integration: Connects with Google Calendar to link notes to events
- Offline access: Access your notes even without an internet connection (paid plans)
- AI features: AI-powered search, AI edit for writing assistance, summarization, and transcription
- Document scanning: Built-in scanner to digitize paper documents directly into notes
Pros
- Powerful capture: Excellent for gathering diverse content from anywhere
- Robust search: Finds information even within images and PDFs
- Reliable sync: Notes accessible across all devices
- Long-standing history: A mature and stable platform
Cons
- Limited free version: Very restrictive, pushing users to paid plans quickly
- Pricing can be high: Paid plans can be considered expensive compared to alternatives
- Occasional syncing issues: Some users report hiccups or delays in syncing
- Complexity for new users: Can feel overwhelming due to its many features, leading to a learning curve
Evernote pricing
- Free
- Personal: $14.99 monthly
- Professional: $17.99 monthly
Evernote reviews and ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (2000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (8000+ reviews)
➡️ Read More: 8 Evernote Integrations for Better Note Taking
7. Reflect
Reflect offers a comprehensive solution for enhanced cognitive processes and effective note-taking. It features instantaneous note synchronization with backlinked notes, forming a network of ideas.
Reflect ensures secure and efficient note management with end-to-end encryption, calendar integration, one-click publishing, and AI assistance powered by GPT-4.
Best for
- Individuals looking to create a networked thought system with daily notes, AI assistance, and seamless integration for personal knowledge management
Ideal use case
- Connecting ideas through backlinked notes for deeper insights and recall
- Daily journaling, task management, and brainstorming using a graph view
- Integrating notes with calendar events and external reading sources like Readwise
- Securely storing and accessing personal thoughts with end-to-end encryption
Reflect best features
- Backlinked notes: Automatically links notes together, creating a visual network of your thoughts
- Daily Notes: A dedicated space for daily thoughts, tasks, and reflections that links to specific dates
- AI integration: Built-in AI to help refine writing, summarize content, and generate ideas
- Graph view: Visualize the connections between your notes for a better understanding of your knowledge network
- Calendar integration: Connects with Google Calendar and Outlook to link notes directly to events
- Web Clipper: Save articles and web pages, instantly linking them to your notes
- End-to-end encryption: All your notes are encrypted, ensuring privacy and security
- Offline mode: Access and edit your notes even without an internet connection
Pros
- Strong knowledge connection: Backlinks and graph view create a powerful network of ideas
- AI-powered assistance: Helps with writing, summarization, and idea generation
- Excellent privacy: Offers end-to-end encryption for all your data
- Seamless integration: Works well with calendars and reading apps
Cons
- No free tier: Requires a subscription to use the app
- Relatively new tool: Still evolving, so some advanced features might be in development
- Learning curve for networked thinking: Understanding how to best leverage backlinks can take time
- Less focus on rich formatting: Prioritizes connection over complex document styling
Reflect pricing
- Premium: $10 per month
Reflect reviews and ratings
- G2: Not enough reviews
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
8. Obsidian
Obsidian is a versatile note-taking app that adapts to your thoughts. As you write your online sticky notes, the app dynamically adapts to your style so that you convey precisely what’s on your mind. Moreover, Obsidian allows you to easily link notes and share them with anyone. The app also supports office work and project management.
Best for
- Individuals and teams looking to build a local, interconnected knowledge base using plain text Markdown files, emphasizing control, privacy, and extensibility
Ideal use case
- Creating a “digital garden” or personal wiki with extensive internal linking
- Deep research and academic note-taking with strong backlink support
- Zettelkasten method implementation for idea generation and organization
- Users who prefer owning their data in local files over cloud-based solutions
Obsidian best features
- Local Markdown files: Stores all notes as plain text Markdown files on your device, ensuring data ownership and future-proofing
- Bi-directional linking (backlinks): Automatically shows connections between notes, allowing for non-linear thinking and discovery of relationships
- Graph view: Visualizes the entire network of your notes and their connections, helping to identify clusters and gaps in knowledge
- Extensive plugin ecosystem: A vast community-driven marketplace of free and paid plugins extends Obsidian’s functionality (e.g., Kanban boards, calendar, spaced repetition, mind maps)
- Customizable interface: Themes, CSS snippets, and flexible pane layouts allow for highly personalized workspaces
- Daily notes: A dedicated note for each day, ideal for journaling, daily logs, and task tracking
- Templates: Create reusable templates for different types of notes (e.g., meeting notes, book summaries)
Pros
- Data ownership & privacy: Notes are stored locally; no reliance on a company’s servers
- Highly customizable: Tailor the app exactly to your workflow with plugins and themes
- Robust linking: Excellent for building interconnected knowledge graphs
Cons
- Steep learning curve: Can be daunting for beginners due to its open-ended nature and many options
- No official cloud sync (built-in free): Syncing across devices requires third-party services (like Dropbox, Google Drive) or Obsidian Sync (paid)
- Not a collaboration tool: Primarily designed for individual knowledge management; collaboration features are limited
Obsidian pricing
- Free
- Sync: $5 per month
- Publish: $10 per month
Obsidian reviews and ratings
- G2: Not enough ratings
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (40+ reviews)
➡️ Read More: Digital Minimalism Summary: Key Takeaways & Book Review
9. iCloud Notes
With Apple Notes, you’re always ready to capture those moments of inspiration. Whether on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, the Notes app syncs effortlessly with iCloud, ensuring that your notes are instantly accessible across all your devices.
iCloud.com offers a range of functionalities, including creating, editing, organizing notes, managing attachments, and sharing notes or folders.
Best for
- Anyone looking to seamlessly syncing and backing up data across Apple devices, particularly for photos, files, and simple notes within the Apple ecosystem
Ideal use case
- Storing photos and videos to save device space and access them anywhere
- Backing up iPhone/iPad data for easy recovery and device migration
- Syncing simple notes, reminders, and contacts across Apple devices
- Storing general files and documents for cross-device access via iCloud Drive
iCloud best features
- Seamless Apple ecosystem integration: Built directly into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS for automatic syncing
- iCloud Drive: Store and access files and folders across all your Apple devices and on the web
- iCloud Photos: Automatically upload and store your entire photo and video library
- Apple Notes: Simple, built-in note-taking app that syncs via iCloud, supporting basic text, checklists, and attachments
- Automatic backups: Regularly backs up your iPhone/iPad data, including app data, settings, and messages
- iCloud+ privacy features: Includes iCloud Private Relay (for Safari Browse privacy), Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video support
Pros
- Effortless setup: Integrates automatically with your Apple ID and devices
- Reliable syncing: Generally robust and real-time synchronization across Apple products
- Strong privacy: Data is encrypted, and iCloud+ offers enhanced privacy features
- Cost-effective for Apple users: Often included with Apple One bundles, and base storage is affordable
Cons
- Limited functionality on non-Apple devices: Best experience is within the Apple ecosystem; Windows and web access are more basic
- Basic note-taking features: Apple Notes, while simple, lacks advanced features like backlinks, rich formatting, or complex databases found in dedicated Second Brain app
- No true knowledge graph: Lacks features to interlink notes in a networked way for idea discovery
iCloud pricing
- 50GB: $0.99
- 200GB: $2.99
- 2TB: $9.99
- 6TB: $29.99
- 12TB: $59.99
iCloud reviews and ratings
- G2: Not enough reviews
- Capterra: 4.7/ 5 (1800+ reviews)
10. Roam Research
Roam Research is a note-taking app designed to help you help you write documents and research while collecting information as a graph database.
It started as a tool to help doctorate students structure and write their complex thesis.
Unlike other second-brain note-taking apps, Roam Research serves more as a tech research-based tool. It also does not have templates but offers great options to connect notes and build a second brain.
Best for
- Connecting ideas through bi-directional links and daily notes, fostering non-linear thought and discovery for knowledge workers and researchers
Ideal use case
- Daily journaling and reflection to build a personal knowledge graph
- Research and academic writing, linking sources, concepts, and arguments
- Brainstorming and structuring complex projects through an emergent outline
Roam Research best features
- Bi-directional linking: Automatically creates connections between pages (notes), allowing you to navigate both forward and backward between linked ideas
- Daily Notes: A dedicated page for each day, serving as a primary entry point for capturing thoughts, tasks, and linking to other notes
- Block-based editor: Everything is a block, allowing for granular organization, embedding, and referencing of individual pieces of information
- Graph Overview: Visualizes the entire network of your notes, showing how concepts are connected
- Page References & Block References: Directly link to entire pages or specific blocks of text within other notes
- Querying: Powerful search functionality that allows you to create dynamic queries to pull related blocks and pages based on specific criteria
- Sidebar: Keep multiple pages open side-by-side for easy cross-referencing and editing
Pros
- Powerful idea connection: Bi-directional links and graph view excel at surfacing relationships between thoughts
- Non-linear thinking: Encourages organic knowledge growth rather than rigid hierarchies
- Keyboard-centric: Efficient for users who prefer keyboard navigation and shortcuts
Cons
- High price point: Significantly more expensive than many other note-taking or Second Brain apps
- Performance issues: Can sometimes be slow or buggy, especially with very large graphs
- No offline mode: Requires an internet connection to access and edit notes
Roam Research pricing
- Pro: $15 per month
- Believer: $500 per 5 years
Roam Research reviews and ratings
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
- G2: Not enough ratings
Summarize this article for me pleaseSome More Second Brain Apps
Looking for something extra? Here are some more second brain apps to help you find the right fit:
- Mem.ai is an AI-powered notes app that acts as a self-organizing second brain. It automatically tags and connects your notes, making relevant information resurface when you need it. With fast capture, smart search, and built-in collaboration, Mem helps individuals and teams keep their knowledge flowing without the clutter
- Tana is a next-generation personal knowledge management system that blends structured data with free-form thinking. With daily notes, live queries, and tag-based organization, Tana helps users build a dynamic, living brain system where information remains fluid, connected, and easy to surface at the right time
- Logseq is a privacy-first outliner that uses bi-directional linking and a graph-based interface to help users build a connected knowledge graph. Designed for local-first workflows, Logseq supports tasks, daily journaling, and Markdown editing, making it ideal for thinkers who want full control over their second brain
- Heptabase is a visual second-brain app that lets users map out ideas using cards and whiteboards. It supports research-heavy workflows by allowing you to spatially organize thoughts, literature, and questions, helping you see connections between notes in a highly visual, non-linear format
- Amplenote combines tasks, notes, and backlinks in one streamlined interface. With smart prioritization, end-to-end encryption, and flexible linking, Amplenote serves as a productivity-focused second brain for people who want to manage projects and knowledge in a single space
- RemNote merges note-taking with spaced repetition flashcards to help users retain knowledge long-term. It’s ideal for students, educators, and lifelong learners looking to build a second brain that not only stores ideas but also reinforces them over time through active recall
- Dendron is a markdown-based knowledge management tool built into Visual Studio Code. It offers hierarchical note-taking, schema support, and strong search functionality—perfect for developers and technical users creating large, structured second-brain systems within their IDE
- Supernotes is a collaborative note-taking platform built around bite-sized, interlinked cards. It enables users to rapidly capture, link, and organize knowledge while collaborating in real time. Its card-based format makes it easy to maintain an atomic, highly structured second brain
➡️ Read More: 15 Free Note Taking Templates for Better Organization
Summarize this article for me pleaseClickUp: Your Second Brain App for Note-taking
In essence, while the classic charm of jotting ideas in physical notebooks may have its appeal, the risk of misplacing them always looms. The beauty of a second brain app lies in its ability to safeguard your ideas and tasks in a centralized location, eliminating the worry of misplacement.
As the years pass, our cognitive abilities continue to dwindle with time as personal and professional lives intertwine. We accumulate professional expertise, creative breakthroughs, and ideas that must be documented and stored throughout our lifetime.
You can thank your second brain when you can access these decades of work in minutes.
ClickUp excels in providing a secure repository for your thoughts and tasks and offers many productivity options to go with it. Try it for free today!
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
