Alan and Ethan truly know how to give their paid users a voice that matters, making them feel valued. Becoming a part of Heptabase's user community is like embarking on an exhilarating journey of product evolution. BTW the revamped interface design is better than ever. Appreciate the effort to improve the writing experience. Looking forward to the release of new mobile version.
I have been an alpha and beta tester since the very beginning. The developers are responsive, listen to their users, and have made hundreds of improvements since they started. This is not another notetaking app. It is a powerful thinking and notetaking tool which combines linear and visual thinking, including with mind mapping.
I applaud the developers for consistently improving the app and I have decided to subscribe. It is now an indispensable part of my workflow. I recommend everyone who wants to improve their thinking and notetaking to try this app.
Let me explain which note-taking apps I've been using and what I might use in the future.
I started with the commonly used Evernote. Over time, I felt its speed and efficiency didn't meet my needs, prompting a switch. The first app I considered was Notion. Being an early adopter, I bought a membership for over 10 years. Notion's database capabilities are impressive. However, when I needed deeper planning, I turned to XMind—a mind mapping tool I've used for nearly a decade that has significantly benefitted my work and life. I've always sought a tool that combined mind mapping with note-taking. When I came across Heptabase, I immediately gave it a try. Though there are minor issues, the experience is excellent. I particularly resonate with some of Alan's philosophies. After moving away from Notion, Heptabase became my primary note-taking app.
Meanwhile, I also tried Obsidian. Its functions were overly complex. Despite being the fastest of all note apps I've tried, I eventually abandoned it.
I've also used the SiYuan note app—a remarkable piece of software. The developer's integration skills are simply outstanding.
Later, as my work became less complex but required more logging, I sought a quick note-taking tool with efficient block search capabilities. While I still use Heptabase (though less frequently due to its lackluster to-do management), I found Logseq to meet my needs. Its query function is robust, allowing for swift syncing of past notes into new ones, significantly reducing workload.
However, it's essential to understand that any unorganized notes will become a mess over time. Many initially believed that bidirectional linking in notes would reduce organizational effort—an unrealistic expectation. Consequently, I returned to Heptabase. Encouragingly, their updated mind map feature is a fantastic aid in organizing thoughts, and their updated tags function similarly to Notion's.
What's most impressive is their deep understanding of tags. Such a product can only come from profound contemplation of the ultimate form of note-taking. A common challenge users face is the excessive number of tags, making organization difficult. Heptabase integrates tags with its database, addressing its to-do management shortcoming and optimizing tag utilization. Organizing tags allows for deeper project labeling, reminiscent of my experience with Aeon Timeline. Essentially, it means customizing your database deeply while reusing database tags and quickly accessing all your databases—a feat Notion falls short on.
Heptabase's underlying philosophy is that one must organize their notes, offering a clear method through tag marking and optimization.
This approach is innovative; I'd even call it genius. But I hope Alan remains humble and continues his hard work.
Although a couple of friends I introduced to Heptabase didn't renew their subscriptions, I'll continue to support it. Keep it up!
As an early supporter, Hepta Discord mod, and avid user, I can truly say that this app reflects the hard work and dedication of a small and extremely involved dev team. @alanchan1209, @yeefun head up this dream team and are first class in all the right areas and for all the right reasons. The Hepta Discord server has over 900 members and there isn't one bug report, feature request, or question that doesn't get rock star treatment and a response from the founder himself.
I was all-in when it was in Alpha development and two years later, I'm still on the sidelines cheering its innovation and accomplishments. Great stuff!
Heptabase is sick.
Especially for ppl who like to think using physical blackboard, it’s THE app you should definitely give it a try.
It’s not perfect at the moment, but it’s already very powerful and can facilitate both learning and thinking processes.
S/o to @alanchan1209 and the entire team.
Love the product! It's been game changing when brainstorming to be able to put my thinking in a mind map. Also very impressed by the number of new features that are being pushed by the team on a monthly basis!
Heptabase focus is on learning, researching, planning, and writing.
My usage of Heptabase has enhanced both the quantity and quality of my writing (as my final output for my learning and researching). It allowed me to do everything I could in Roam and more, including visual thinking, which significantly improved my process.
Big fan of Heptabase. I've been using it for the last 6+ months for research, deconstructing concepts, and brainstorming. Regular updates, performant, good UI/UX.
Features are consistently buggy. Application performance doesn't seem to be a priority for the team. Many people keep mentioning the performance issues but they keep getting ignored.
The team seems to be in a big rush to introduce collaboration like features (likely for the enterprise money), but the app struggles to perform even for the individual user. Hope they can refocus, because the product has a lot of potential.
