Last Updated on November 11, 2024
Title Variations:
12 Best Note-taking Applications to Use as Your Spare Brain
12 Best Second Brain Apps to Increase Your Knowledge Base?
A spare brain?
Well, that sounds totally made up. And it certainly is, although not in the way that you think.
The reality is that you can have a second brain application. These are basically note-taking tools and software that you use to save all your cool findings on the web in one place for future reference. You can look to them as the digital extension of your natural brain.
Second brain applications can be a lifesaver when your memory fails you. With these software, you won’t need to rack your brains trying to recall crucial information. The tools may also come in handy when you need to create room in your natural brain for more creative endeavors.
And while the concept of digital brains may sound rather new in our collective conscience, it’s surprising to know that these apps have been around for quite some time. They also number in the dozens, making it easy to choose software that serves your needs.
Below is a rundown of the top 12 best note-taking applications to use as your spare brain.
1. Evernote
Pricing: Paid plans start from $10.83/month; a free version also available
Evernote promises to help you “tame your work and organize your life,” a promise it endeavors to fulfill each time. This second-brain application allows you to remember everything by storing it in one massive database. It offers provisions for both note-taking and event scheduling. You can also collaborate seamlessly on tasks with your other team members.
While most second-brain apps are more concerned about long-term goals, Evernote lets you achieve both your long-term and short-term ambitions. You can create tasks and set due dates, allowing you to actively track your performance. You can also schedule recurring tasks and add timely reminders so you never forget them. The app lets you flag specific tasks to locate crucial action points. Even better is that you can view your tasks from different lists.
Evernote also maintains a neat and clutter-less dashboard. The software’s homepage consists of handy widgets designed to display your information in a simple and organized manner.
Seamless integration with Google Calendar is yet another excellent thing to love about Evernote. With this function, you can view upcoming events against related action points. The feature also allows you to schedule new meetings directly from those events on a priority basis.
Just like your natural brain, Evernote is available both online and offline. The software lets you access your notes offline on any mobile device, including Android, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Moreover, you can choose to have your notes displayed in Office Docs or PDFs.
2. OneNote by Microsoft
Pricing: Free to download
Official Website Link: https://www.onenote.com/
Many people consider Microsoft’s OneNote as a top Evernote alternative. That’s because both software provide similar features. The two apps have also earned PCMag Editors’ Choice Awards.
OneNote provides an effortless way to take and store notes for future reference. The software’s relatively high storage capacity lets you keep a library of different media content, including articles and images. You can view the notes and make changes on the go. You can also set reminders to keep abreast of your most important events.
Like Evernote, OneNote is remarkably accessible. That’s due to its compatibility with numerous devices and operating systems. You can access the app on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Besides, there’s a web version that you can readily access provided you have a stable internet connection.
The one area where OneNote appears to excel Evernote is the additional ability to embed multiple media content within the notes, including diagrams and spreadsheets. OneNote is also the better app in terms of affordability. The software is 100% free to download. It doesn’t inherently have premium plans. However, you may need to pay for a Microsoft Office 2019 or Microsoft 365 subscription package to access the typical premium features that come with these packages, including advanced sharing capabilities and cool stickers.
Although OneNote offers many features you’d want in a second-brain app, we highly recommend purchasing a Microsoft 365 subscription plan. The package gives you access to a higher storage capacity and other Microsoft applications like Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
3. Obsidian
Pricing: Paid plans start from $4.99/month; a free version also available
Obsidian is a powerful Markdown-based note-taking application initially launched in 2020. The tool is the brainchild of talented programmers Erica Xu and Shida Li, the duo that’s also credited for creating Dynalist.
Since Obsidian wasn’t exactly a pioneer in the digital brain industry, it was necessary for its developers to give it certain distinguishing features. The first of these features would be a beautiful and highly intuitive interface.
Xu and Li also envisioned a second-brain application that would provide unlimited note-taking abilities. To that end, they developed the software to have ample storage space for different kinds of media content. They also ensured the tool came with a free version and paid plans to cater to users of different budget needs.
The fact that Obsidian uses Markdown files and not proprietary formats is a huge blessing in terms of future-proofing your notes. This feature allows you to move your Markdown notes to another editor. The cross-platform availability means you can export the notes across multiple operating systems – Windows, macOS, and Linux. The software is also available for download to Android and iOS devices. And regardless of the device or system you choose to access your stored info, it’s great to know that you can easily search, browse, and open your notes as plain text.
Thanks to its powerful features, Obsidian has become the preferred digital brain for all manner of online clients. These include programmers, university students, researchers, academicians, and writers.
4. Quip
Pricing: Plans start from $10/month; a free trial available
Official Website Link: https://quip.com/
Quip by Salesforce is the first second-brain application on this list that doesn’t come with a free plan. Users only get to test-drive the software for a few days and then subscribe to its premium bundles, the cheapest of which starts from $10 per month.
However, price should be the least of your worries when looking for the best digital brain application. If anything, this software comes with many advanced features that will have you setting your monthly subscriptions to auto-renewal.
First, Quip specializes in collaborations. The application is a favorite of large teams seeking to collaborate on long-term projects. Its functionality is akin to Google Docs in the sense that many people can contribute to notes and documents. And despite the number of collaborators, the tool neatly organizes all comments and inputs.
Thanks to its powerful collaborative features, Quip can be an excellent brainstorming app. Simply schedule meetings with your team and set reminders for your next brainstorming session.
During live sessions, you can actively track comments to know who’s contributing the most feasible ideas on the topic at hand. There’s also the option of real-time edits to align certain inputs with the subject matter. Even better is that all the information is automatically saved for future reference.
As Quip is owned by Salesforce, it goes without saying that it integrates with the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) software.
5. Google Keep
Pricing: Free
Google Keep shares one fundamental trait with Microsoft’s OneNote – both software are 100% free to download and use. In fact, it would be naïve to expect otherwise, considering the stiff competition between these two tech giants.
Keep works primarily as a note-taking application that comes with Google’s web-based Docs Editors suite, a service that also includes Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, Google Forms, Google Drawings, and Google Sites. That says a lot about the app’s integration with Google’s other productivity software. You can seamlessly import content between Keep and other platforms within the Docs Editors suite.
Keep provides a slew of note-taking tools that make it a go-to digital brain. You can store your info in different media formats, including texts, infographics, audio, and images. The software uses optical character recognition technology that allows you to automatically synthesize text from images and infographics. It also lets you transcribe voice recordings so you can store them in more coherent files. Other cool features of Keep as a digital brain include the ability to color-code and label your notes for easy categorization and real-time note collaboration.
Google Keep works online as a web application. It also comes with a downloadable mobile app that’s compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
And as with most Google products, Keep maintains a simple user interface. You can tweak the dashboard to view your notes in a single column or multiple columns.
6. iCloud Notes
Pricing: Free
Apple, alongside Microsoft and Alphabet (Google’s parent company), is a member of the big five Tech Giants – an exclusive club of global technology corporations that also includes Amazon and Meta. So, it’s unsurprising that the company has also invested heavily in the digital brain industry. One of Apple’s most notable second-brain applications is Notes. The software is hosted on the company’s own cloud system – iCloud.
Notes by Apple supports three major note-taking methods. You can type into the software like you would on your regular word processor. The second provision is uploading content directly from your device or the internet. And the best of the three note-taking methods is using Siri.
The app’s integration with Siri provides a hands-off approach to note-taking. Simply say “Hey Siri, take a note” to activate the software. Once ready, simply dictate your notes and the tool will capture them exactly as they come out of your mouth, but in text form.
But the experience doesn’t stop there.
Apple Note lets you organize your notes into folders for ease of reference. That’s pretty much what you’d do with Google Docs, except that this software offers more capabilities.
Apple Notes supports note sharing with other interested parties. Simply tap on the Share note button from the software’s toolbar. You can invite your other team members using Messages or Mail apps. And if you’d rather not share your information, there’s the option of locking it. The app provides several locking mechanisms, including using a passcode, Face ID, and Touch ID.
7. Bear
Pricing: Paid plans start from $1.49/month; a free trial available
Here’s another digital brain on this list that doesn’t have a free plan! But just like Quip, Bear provides a generous free trial option that gives you a sneak preview of the tool’s capabilities before purchasing a premium plan. It’s also worth mentioning that premium plans start from as low as $1.49 per month.
As a second-brain application, Bear stands out for its clean and intuitive dashboard. The tool allows you to create aesthetically appealing notes using Markdown language. There’s also a tagging system based on hashtags, which you can use to organize your creations for easy reference.
Another thing that makes note-taking on Bear easy is the provision of a three-column layout. The software also uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to convert images and infographics into readable text. No wonder it enjoys the approval of clients drawn from different industries, including academicians, lawyers, engineers, and writers.
Bear provides several ways to export your notes, including Markdown, HTML, DOCX, PDF, and JPG. This can be instrumental for users who wish to upload or export their notes across different operating systems.
The original Bear application is still only available for macOS and iOS. And while that is a glaring drawback, it’s great to know that the app allows you to seamlessly sync notes between your iPhone and Mac.
8. Taskade
Pricing: Paid plans start from $19/month; a free trial available
If you’re looking for a reliable second-brain application that lets you brainstorm seamlessly without leaving your notes, then you might consider Taskade. This software is designed for both single users and large teams. It helps you develop ideas quickly, edit those ideas, and invite your team members to contribute to them. The tool saves all contributions and edits to your work in real-time, an ingenious time-saving feature when brainstorming many ideas.
While many digital brain applications work primarily as notepads, Taskade does you one better. The software allows you to monitor your to-do lists and manage projects, including those that require long-term continuous collaborations.
Taskade is also driven by one of the most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) models – OpenAI’s GPT-4. The tool’s reliance on AI adds an extra layer of efficiency in terms of note-taking speed and accuracy.
Taskade also checks the box as far as content organization goes. The app lets you wrap your notes inside Projects. It accepts storage in text, image, audio, and video formats. Besides, all the information stored in Taskade’s library is linkable and searchable. So, you can quickly zero in on the details you’re looking for without manually skimming or scanning through the documents. The tool supports formatting in multiple styles, including bullets, colors, and emojis.
Taskade is one of the few digital brains that allow content embedding from platforms like YouTube and Soundcloud. The app also supports the web Clipper plugin for quick web capture. And with over 500 templates, you can be sure to find a template customized for your project.
9. Roam Research
Pricing: Paid plans start from $8.33/month; a free trial available
Roam Research functions almost exclusively as a second-brain application and personal knowledge management system. The app’s specialization explains its cult-like online following, known as #roamcult. It’s currently trusted by writers, developers, and product designers from some of the most prestigious institutions, such as Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania.
The first reason to consider Roam Research as your second brain is the incorporation of daily note-taking guides. You can leverage these guides to create a new page for each day, helping you to track your daily to-do lists. The guides also serve as a chronological record of your idea and thought process. And when ideas are chronologically listed, they become incredibly easy to recall.
Roam Research provides bi-directional linking capabilities that let you generate links between notes and ideas through backlinks. This feature allows you to explore related notes and uncover the relationship between them. It’s also instrumental when you need to refine your notes to eliminate repetition or fluff.
Added to Roam’s bi-directional linking function is a graphic database structure. This feature can also be invaluable when you need to identify patterns and relationships between different notes.
Roam Research is also famed for its user-friendly dashboard. Besides, the software provides real-time collaborative tools, making it an excellent fit for large teams.
10. Mem
Pricing: Paid plans start from $8/month; a free version also available
Mem prides itself on being the world’s first AI-driven workspace. The platform provides a self-organizing workspace where users of different needs can deposit all manner of information.
Mem integrates with Calendar, allowing you to create notes and automatically link them to your calendar for easy tracking. The software also supports file uploads in multiple formats. You can take notes in plain text or attach spreadsheets, PDFs, etc. Integration with Zapier and over 3,000 other productivity apps allows you to upload notes, files, and documents from numerous repositories and aggregate them under one roof for easy management.
This digital brain implements one of the most efficient note organization systems. Users can search for information by keywords, facts, or similar details. There are also smart and custom-trained models for more advanced search. You can take notes by yourself or create large teams of collaborators to share your information with others. The tool lets you determine how your team members collaborate on projects using features like admin control.
As at the time of writing, Mem hasn’t developed a version for Android. However, the application works on Windows, macOS, Web, and iOS.
Last but not least, Mem is one of the few second-brain software that have referral programs. Referrers get a 20% commission whenever their friends renew their subscriptions.
11. Workflowy
Pricing: Paid plans start from $4.99/month; a free version also available
According to Workflowy’s website, over 3 million people already use the software as their second brain. A quick overview of the tool’s features explains its ever-expanding clientele.
Workflowy provides four main features, namely:
Capture
Using this feature, you can capture everything at superfast speeds. Simply open the app and start typing or drag-and-drop your files. The tool lets you capture everything, from simple texts to document files, images, audio, and videos. It supports real-time note-taking on both Android and iOS devices.
Organize
This feature lets you organize your notes regardless of how messed up they are. It supports content tagging, allowing you to quickly filter and visually locate the information you’re looking for. You can also convert lists into interactive Kanban boards or live copies to view and update anytime.
Analyze
Once you’ve captured and organized your notes, Workflowy allows you to analyze the content for accuracy and relevance. You can relegate unimportant details to the background and only display the most relevant content. The provision of backlink capabilities helps establish relationships between similar information.
Share
What’s the essence of a second-brain application if it doesn’t let you share your treasure trove of information with the rest of the world? Using Workflowy’s Share feature, you can readily share your notes with other people. Your collaborators won’t need to log into an account to view or edit the notes.
12. Notion
Pricing: Paid plans start from $8/month; a free version also available
Amazon, Uber, Pixar, Pinterest, Toyota, AngelList, and DoorDash are some of Notion’s noteworthy clients. So, you can get a good notion of the tool’s efficacy as a second brain.
Notion allows you to amplify your creativity, automate everyday tasks, and stay organized for enhanced productivity. The software was developed to enable those with fast-paced lifestyles to note down and organize their ideas more effectively than they would with their natural brains.
Whether it’s a work to-do list, a personal to-do list, annual goals, recipes, or grocery lists, you can dump all of them on Notion and refer to them later. The app will help you organize every note into manageable chunks based on your predefined priority list.
Notion provides certain features that make it a perfect fit for beginners and pros alike. For instance, the software allows you to make pages privately or create shared workplaces. Every page comes fully customized for your needs. This app also supports different methods for uploading and viewing stored information. Notes are accessible via texts, lists, tables, images, audios, and videos.
There are dozens of pre-made templates which beginners can take advantage of to start creating their digital storehouse. You also get to customize your notes with banners, photos, and emojis for a more realistic browsing experience. And the best part is that most of these features are available under Notion’s free plan.
Summary
Picking a second-brain application is a critical decision that depends on your personal needs.
While all these tools can help you free up space in your mind for other important information, be sure to familiarize yourself with all the features of each software before designating it as your digital brain.
