Heptabase: Offers spatial whiteboards for organizing complex research, but lacks Goodnotes' freehand handwriting stylus support. Goodnotes records 3,227,341 monthly visits with +10.8% month-over-month growth and Freemium, Free Trial pricing. Heptabase records 179,905 monthly visits with -5.8% growth and Free Trial, Paid pricing.
Handwritten notes, PDF markup, and AI study tools on one canvas
A visual knowledge base that turns scattered sources into a worldview you can build on
| Dimension / Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Official Domain | goodnotes.com | heptabase.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium, Free Trial | Free Trial, Paid |
| Monthly Visits | 3.23M (3,227,341) | 179.91K (179,905) |
| MoM Traffic Delta | +314.75K (+10.8%) | -11K (-5.8%) |
| Primary Market & Share | 🇺🇸 United States (33.8%) | 🇹🇼 Taiwan (44.5%) |
| Direct Visits / mo | 1.64M | 97.77K |
| User Rating | 4.4 | 4.6 |
| Supported Platforms | Website | Website |
Handwritten notes, PDF markup, and AI study tools on one canvas
Low-latency ink with palm rejection, cross-out to erase, and handwriting-to-text conversion keeps writing close to pen on paper.
Import contracts, papers, or textbooks and mark them up by hand, with searchable annotations and clean exports.
Search across typed text, handwriting, and sketches, and turn notes into summaries, mind maps, or structured plans.
Work together in shared notebooks, documents, and whiteboards simultaneously, without version conflicts or file ping-pong.
A visual knowledge base that turns scattered sources into a worldview you can build on
Split PDFs, web pages, YouTube videos, podcasts and Readwise or Zotero items into cards and read deeper through every citation.
Turn any goal into a personalised course and process readings with AI help before arranging ideas on the board.
Give your knowledge a structure that can be reworked as you learn, using nested tags and properties rather than flat folders.
Query your knowledge base from Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex or Grok Bot through the plugin, MCP server and CLI.
SpecialistAn AI-powered visual workspace where teams think, plan, and build together
SpecialistAn AI-powered visual workspace where teams think, plan, and build together
SpecialistExcels at automatically generating flashcards and practice quizzes from study notes, but lacks freehand drawing features.
SpecialistExcels at automatically generating flashcards and practice quizzes from study notes, but lacks freehand drawing features.
SpecialistTurns course materials into interactive AI study tools, but focuses less on handwritten digital notebooks.
SpecialistTurns course materials into interactive AI study tools, but focuses less on handwritten digital notebooks.
SpecialistStronger online PDF editing and AI chat capabilities, but lacks tablet-optimized handwritten note-taking workflows.
SpecialistStronger online PDF editing and AI chat capabilities, but lacks tablet-optimized handwritten note-taking workflows.
SpecialistConverts notes and PDFs into quizzes and flashcards, but lacks stylus-based handwriting and sketching tools.
SpecialistConverts notes and PDFs into quizzes and flashcards, but lacks stylus-based handwriting and sketching tools.
SpecialistThe collaborative whiteboard built for product builders
SpecialistMap the literature around the papers you love—free
SpecialistMap the literature around the papers you love—free
Provides gorgeous structured block-based document editing, but is built for typed text rather than handwritten notes.
Provides gorgeous structured block-based document editing, but is built for typed text rather than handwritten notes.
SpecialistOrganizes notes into connected typed objects rather than visual whiteboards and infinite spatial canvases.
SpecialistOrganizes notes into connected typed objects rather than visual whiteboards and infinite spatial canvases.
Pairs a spatial visual canvas with multi-model chat agents, offering a more agentic research experience than Heptabase.
Pairs a spatial visual canvas with multi-model chat agents, offering a more agentic research experience than Heptabase.
Combines an infinite canvas workspace with an integrated AI assistant to organize projects and generate boards.
Combines an infinite canvas workspace with an integrated AI assistant to organize projects and generate boards.
SpecialistTransforms diverse study materials like PDFs and videos directly into interactive concept maps and flashcards.
SpecialistTransforms diverse study materials like PDFs and videos directly into interactive concept maps and flashcards.
