The Best 5 Roam Research Alternatives

What is Roam Research?

Roam Research is a note-taking tool that allows users to link their notes together. If you’re familiar with the Zettelkasten method of knowledge management, then Roam is perfect for you. This is because it excels in linking information together and forming a web of interconnected nodes.

Roam offers a more visual approach to note-taking and knowledge management as it allows you to view your connected notes in a mind-map-like view. 

Although Roam excels as a personal knowledge management tool, it offers only basic collaborative features and also has a steep learning curve. 

Who is Roam Research Best Suited For?

Roam Research can double up as both a note-taking tool and a task-management tool. You can use it to write and organize notes while also managing simple tasks.

Here are some use cases that Roam is best suited for:

• Note-takers
• Researchers
• Students
• Individuals

Ideally, Roam works best as a personal knowledge management tool. Its lack of collaboration features means if you’re looking for team software, then you might have to look elsewhere.

What Are The Disadvantages of Roam Research?

Although Roam is an excellent personal knowledge management tool, there are several limitations that come with it. Here are two of the main disadvantages when it comes to Roam Research.

Lack Of Communication Features

Communication is key for project management. Roam Research does not have powerful communication features to help you collaborate efficiently and get work done. 

Besides sharing and collaborating on your notes, there’s not much you can do when it comes to communication. This makes it underpowered when it comes to communicating and working together on projects 

Steep Learning Curve

Roam research is a powerful tool for personal knowledge management, but only if you learn how to use it the way it’s meant to. 

It’s hard to master Roam quickly as there is a steep learning curve if you want to use it to manage your knowledge properly. There is also a lack of resources to help you with your onboarding process.

Although there is a community that you can turn to for support, there are also paid onboarding resources that you can rely on. The bottom line is, if you’re a beginner note-taker, it’s going to be hard to learn and master Roam Research.

Additionally, Roam Research is also expensive to use when compared to alternative note-taking applications in the market.

If you’re looking for more alternatives to manage your knowledge, have a look at our list of the best second-brain apps you can use today.

The 5 Best Roam Research Alternatives

Taskade

Imagine an application that allows you to take detailed notes with infinite hierarchies, organize and manage projects and tasks, and even collaborate via built-in video chat with your team, and more, via an all-in-one unified workspace. Well, look no further because Taskade is the perfect solution for you.

Taskade is a Y Combinator-backed supercharged online productivity app that both individuals and teams can use to collaborate on projects in real-time. With Taskade, remote teams and individuals can get work done faster and smarter.

Most personal knowledge management apps are built with an offline-first approach for individual use. This is where Taskade differs from the competition.

While Taskade is working towards an offline feature, we do offer advanced collaboration and communication features with full encryption on sync. If you want to get work done together as a team, Taskade is one of the best outliner apps for you.

Looking for the best Logseq alternative? Taskade is the best bet for modern knowledge workers. Get started instantly for free today.

Key Features of Taskade

Taskade is stacked with features to help you take notes and manage your to-do lists and projects. Designed for remote teams, Taskade lets you get work done from anywhere.

Here’s a table containing some of Taskade’s key features.

🗂️ Content Organization	Workspaces, folders and tags
🤖 Markdown Support	✅
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts	✅
👩‍💻 Collaboration	Comments, chat, and unlimited video calls
🔗 Internal Linking Feature	✅
✅ Task Management	✅
📑 Outlining Templates	300+ customizable templates
🔄 Version History	Free 7-day version history
🌓 Dark Mode	✅

What Are Some Pros Of Taskade?

• Free-forever plan is loaded with features
• Real-time collaboration within the same project 
• Free built-in video call and chat function in each project
• Customizable templates to give you a headstart
• Work and chat in the same window, in the same app
• Frequent updates based on user feedback and suggestions
• Tabbed workflow for working with multiple Projects

What Are Some Cons Of Taskade?

• No Gantt view (yet)

Obsidian

What is Obsidian?

Obsidian is a note-taking software that works as a second-brain application for knowledge management. It’s ability to create a web of interconnected notes makes it one of the best note-taking apps out there today.

Created by Erica Xu and Shida Li during the quarantine period of Covid-19 in 2020, the outliner tool has gained traction with over 50,000 members in their Discord community, all while still remaining as a two-man team.

Features of Obsidian

• Markdown support
• Cross-linking and graph view
• Multiple resizable UI panes
• Official and community plugins
• Pre-made UI themes
• Proprietary and external sync
• Bi-directional linking

How Much Does Obsidian Cost?

Free for personal use 

• Doesn’t require an account
• Plugins and API

Catalyst ($25/50/100 one-time purchase)

• Support the development process
• Access to insider builds

Commercial ($50/year per user)

• Ready for commercial use
• Priority support

Sync Add-On ($8/month billed annually)

• End-to-end encryption
• Built-in version history
• Priority email support

Publish Add-On ($16/month billed annually)

• Selective notes publishing
• Graph view and outline

Logseq

What is Logseq

Logseq is an open-sourced outliner note-taking application. Tienson Qin founded the app in 2018 with the aim of helping users create a knowledge base filled with interconnected notes.

We would classify Logseq as an app that helps you create a second brain. If that is something that you’re looking for, here’s our list of the best second-brain apps in the market today.

What’s different for Logseq is that it is a tool that places high importance on user privacy. If privacy is something that you’re focused on, then Logseq is a top alternative note-taking app that you should consider.

You can use Logseq to take notes and manage tasks. As a result, there are many alternatives to Logseq depending on your use case. However, today we will be focusing only on the best alternatives to Logseq.

But first, let’s learn more about what Logseq has to offer.

Features of Logseq

Compared to similar apps such as Obsidian and Roam Research, Logseq is a free alternative that you can use to keep your notes organized.

• Markdown support
• Bi-directional linking
• Search and filter
• Mobile app
• Customizable templates

How Much Does Logseq Cost?

Logseq is completely free to use. Users can choose to donate if they wish.

Workflowy

What is Workflowy?

Workflowy is streamlined outlining software that lets you map out all kinds of projects. The outliner app offers a minimalist, distraction-free outliner environment. You can use Workflowy in a web browser or get it for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices.

Like Taskade, Workflowy was nurtured under Y Combinator’s wings and was designed to address everyday project management problems. Workflowy uses a hierarchical tree structure that accentuates the flexibility of ordinary lists.

Workflowy’s ease of use gives it a spot in our list of the best note-taking apps of 2022.

Features of Workflowy

• Infinite nested lists (in Workflowy Pro)
• Filtering features
• Color-coded tags and highlighting (beta)
• Multi-factor authentication
• Outline backup to Dropbox
• A selection of themes and fonts
• Outline sharing and collaboration

How Much Does Workflowy Cost?

Basic/Free

• All features included
• Limited to 250 bullets/month
• File upload limited to 100 MB
• Only basic sharing

Workflowy Pro ($4.08 billed annually)

• Unlimited bullets
• Unlimited file uploads
• Advanced sharing features
• Backup to Dropbox
• Premium support

Evernote

What is Evernote?

Evernote is a digital note-taking app that was created by Russian engineer Stepan Pachikov to help people organize their thoughts and store information. The app pioneered digital note-taking and remains one of the most popular note-taking apps today. With Evernote, users can create and save notes, tasks, web pages, and more in one centralized location.

If you’re interested in a more in-depth discussion on Evernote’s history from day 1 to what it is today, check out our review of Evernote’s history!

Features of Evernote

• Notes organized in notebooks
• Built-in search function
• Web clipper extension
• Handwriting recognition

How Much Does Evernote Cost?

Free

• Cross-device sync (2 devices)
• 60 MB of storage for notes/month
• Task management
• Search and tagging
• Uploading attachments

Personal ($7.99/month)

• 10GB of storage
• Offline access
• PDF and image search

Professional ($9.99/month)

• 20GB or storage
• Task management features
• Personalized home screen

Teams ($14.99/month per user)

• Best suited for team use

Parting Words

Roam Research is an effective personal knowledge management tool that can be used by individuals, note-takers, researchers, and students. It is designed to excel in linking information together and forming a web of interconnected nodes. However, it has a steep learning curve and lacks collaboration features.

It is important that you consider all other options when choosing a productivity tool to help with organizing information. Alternative software such as Taskade can help you organize content alongside other features to help you improve your productivity levels.

Although Roam Research is a powerful tool for personal knowledge management, it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons of this tool against your specific needs, and consider alternative options.