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2 | Zettelkasten Software Comparison Chart | Welcome! This is a community crowd-sourced chart of software that could be useful for implementing the Zettelkasten method. Link to comment-version. | To prevent spam edits, this sheet is restricted to comments only. Feel free to message the mod* to propose additions (i.e new software). If you notice anything off about a value, please make a comment proposing a new change. If you can, include the source showing the correct value. Thanks in advance! | *I may take a while to respond (up to a month or more), but your comments will be visible for all to see until I get to it :) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Features ⬇️ | Atom | Atom | Bear | Boostnote.io | ConnectedText | DEVONthink | Emacs | Emacs | Emacs | Emacs | Emacs | Evernote | KeepIt | Mindforger | Neuron | Notion | nvALT | nvpy | Obsidian | QOwnNotes | Roam | SlipBox | Sublime Text + | Sublimeless Zettelkasten | The Archive | TheBrain | TiddlyRoam | Tiddlywiki | Tinderbox | Trillium | Typora | Vim | Vim | Vim | VoodooPad | VS Code | VS Code | VS Code | VS Code | VS Code | Zettel | Zettelkasten 3 (aka zkn3) | Zettlr | zk | |||
4 | Atom Notes | Linkist | - | - | - | - | Org Mode | Org-zettelkasten | Zetteldeft | neuron-mode (designed to work with Neuron) | Org-roam | - | - | any text editor | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Sublime ZK | - | - | - | - | - | - | Github | Notoire | Vim-Zettel | neuron.vim | Dendron | Memorize | Mzettel | VS Code Markdown Notes | Zettelkasten | - | - | - | - | |||||||
5 | Platforms | Android | - | macOS, iOS | - | Windows | macOS, iOS | - | - | Linux, macOs, Windows | Linux, macOS, Windows (using WSL) | Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, web | macOS, iOS | - | Linux, OS X, Windows | - | macOS | OS X, Linux, Windows | OS X, Linux, Windows | OS X, Linux, Windows | Web | - | - | - | OS X | - | Browser | Web/self-hosted | OS X | Windows, OS X, Linux, web | Windows, OS X, Linux, web (Github) | - | Win/*nix | - | macOS, iOS | Linux, OS X, Windows | - | - | - | - | - | - | Linux, OSX, Win | OSX | ||||
6 | Cost | Free | - | Freemium | - | Commercial | Commercial | - | - | Free | - | Freemium | $50 | - | Free | - | Free | Free | Free for personal use, $50/year for commercial use | - | Commercial ($15/month) | - | - | - | ~$20 USD | - | Free | Free | Commercial | Free | Free (BETA) | - | Free | - | $25 | Free | - | - | - | - | - | - | Free | Free | ||||
7 | License | MIT | - | Proprietary | - | Proprietary | Proprietary | - | - | GGPLv3 | Open Source | - | Proprietary | Proprietary | - | Open Source | - | Open Source | Open Source | Proprietary | - | Proprietary | - | - | - | Proprietary | - | Open Source | Open Source | Proprietary | Open Source | Proprietary | - | Open Source | - | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 License | - | - | - | - | - | - | Open Source | Open Source | |||
8 | File storage location | Local | - | - | - | Local | Both | - | - | Local | Local | - | - | Local | - | Local | - | - | Both (Simplenote) | Local, paid Online | - | Online | - | - | - | Local | - | Local | Local | Local | Both local and online | Local | - | Local/Cloud | - | Local | Local | - | - | - | - | - | - | Local/Cloud | Local/Cloud | |||
9 | File format | Markdown | - | Markdown | - | - | Plain text | - | - | Plain text | Plain text | - | XML, any | - | - | Markdown (Pandoc) | - | Plain text | Plain text | Markdown | - | - | - | - | - | Plain text | - | Plain text | Local Database | HTML in SQLite | Plain text | - | Plain-text | - | SQLite + RTF + raw files | Markdown | - | - | - | - | - | - | Markdown, TeX, YAML, and JSON | Plain-Text | ||||
10 | Visualization of note structures | No | - | - | - | - | Yes (Hierarchical tags, tag cloud) | - | - | Yes (Linked network) | Yes (Structured index) | - | - | Yes (hierarchical index) | - | Yes (Structured index) | - | - | No | Yes (Linked network) | - | - | - | No | - | No | - | Network | Network with TiddlyMap | Network graph, visual timeline, hierarchical outline & others | Network graph | No | - | No | - | Yes (hierarchical indexes) | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | planned to support | None | |||
11 | Automatic backlinks | No | - | - | - | - | No | - | - | No | Yes | - | Yes, available for Premium subscriptions as a "Discover" feature. | No | - | Yes | No | - | No | Yes | - | Yes | - | - | - | No | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | - | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | |||
12 | Reference manager integration | None | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | No | No | - | - | No | - | Planned to support (Roadmap) | - | - | No | Yes, with plugin | - | - | - | - | - | No | - | No | No | - | No | No | - | No | - | No | Yes, via other VS Code extensions (ex. Pandoc Citer) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | No | |||
13 | Plain text styles | Yes | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | Yes | - | N/A | - | No | yes | - | - | - | Yes | - | Yes | - | Yes | Yes (As plugin) | No | Yes | No | - | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Optional | ||||
14 | Automatic note ID (or file naming) generation | Title | - | - | - | - | Yes (auto-generated UID) | - | - | Yes (customizable) | Yes (customizable - default: date/time) | - | Yes | No (not necessary) | - | Yes (Date-based, and custom IDs) | - | - | No | Yes (via Plugin) | - | - | - | - | - | No (but hotkey for date/time ID generation) | - | No | No | Yes, customisable | Yes (random alphanumeric) | Yes | - | Yes, custom: date+time+count | date+time+title | date+time | - | No (not needed) | Yes (autogenerated UID) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes, fully customizable (default: date and time). | Yes (EPOCH) | |||
15 | Note link autocomplete | Yes | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | - | N/A | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | No | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | - | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | |||
16 | Tag autocomplete | No | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | - | No | No | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes (hierarchical tags) | - | - | Yes (custom tags) | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | no | - | Yes | Yes | yes | Yes | No | - | No | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | No | |||
17 | Custom note templates | No | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | - | No | Yes (using YASnippet) | - | Yes | Yes | - | N/A | - | - | No | Yes, with plugin | - | - | - | - | - | No | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | - | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | No | |||
18 | Front matter | No | - | - | - | - | Yes (can define custom fields) | - | - | No | No | - | - | Yes (custom fields) | - | Yes (YAML) | - | - | No | No | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | No, own property format | No, own property format | Yes (custom fields) | Yes (Labels in SQLite) | No | - | N/A | - | Yes (can define custom fields) | Yes (YAML) | - | - | - | - | - | - | YAML | Yes | |||
19 | Markdown text styling | Yes with additional plugin | - | - | - | No | Yes (side-by-side editing & preview panes) | - | - | No | No | - | Yes | Yes | - | N/A | - | Yes | No | in the works, Preview Mode | - | - | - | No | - | Yes | - | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | - | No | - | Yes | Yes (styled, visible syntax) | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes, text style is rendered inline instantly. Optional. What can be rendered: headers, bold, italics, links, tasks, images, tables, formulas (LaTeX), diagrams (Mermaid.js), code (all major languages), and citations. | Optional | |||
20 | Links function in editor | Yes | - | - | - | - | Yes (both) | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes (opens linked note in new tab/window) | Yes | - | N/A | - | - | Yes, same window | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | Yes | No | Yes (both) | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes (Links using github.com) | |||
21 | Search type | Fuzzy Search | - | - | - | - | Yes (complex & fuzzy) | - | - | Simple text | Yes | - | simple boolean | complex boolean & fuzzy | - | Fuzzy search | - | - | Simple text/Regex | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | Fuzzy | - | Simple text | Fulltex, complex and fuzzy | Fulltext and complex boolean search | Simple text | - | Complex boolean and fuzzy search w/ Ag, vimgrep, fzf | - | Fulltext and complex boolean search | Fuzzy search note names with Dendron Lookup; simple text and regex of note content via VS Code search | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes (fulltext, simple boolean, and regex searching) https://docs.zettlr.com/en/core/search/#searching-in-files | Fuzzy | ||||
22 | Last updated | 2022-02-15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | General guidelines | - write "yes/no (detail)" when it is listed in the options, this will trigger the conditional formatting to paint the cell | - use "planned to support" and include a link to the source of information, this will paint the cell orange | - use "-" for empty cells to paint it gray |