12 Best PKM Apps in 2024
Best Pkm Apps
Nov 24
Personal knowledge management apps are note-taking apps on steroids. They increase the way you can link notes together using networked thought, create backlinks and commonly have a graph view. Let's unpack the best ones for PKM in 2024.
Free Buyer's Guide to Note-Taking Apps
Get the free PDF and report on how to pick the best note-taking apps for 2025 and beyond. Unlock insights from note-taking tool expert Francesco D'Alessio with over 10+ years of insight into one PDF.
TLDR: Quick Summary
- PKM stands for Personal Knowledge Management.
- PKM apps are commonly used by note-takers, researchers, and students.
- They typically come with features like graph view, backlinks & references.
- There are a range of apps like Obsidian, Anytype and Capacities.
Hunting for the best PKM app?
PKM apps have been growing in popularity these last few years.
The rise of PKM tools (personal knowledge management apps) is an interesting trend in the productivity space. PKM apps have become a better way to extract more from your note-taking by allowing you to connect notes using backlinks, create graphs of how notes are connected, and resurface notes for later adoption in practices like Second Brain.
What is Personal Knowledge Management?
PKM stands for Personal Knowledge Management and is a note-taking style. It is an advanced knowledge management system that many people look to as a way to better organize and structure their notes and use them more effectively in the future.
What is a PKM app?
PKM apps are like advanced note-taking apps that connect notes. This is called networked thought in the PKM world and helps to connect notes and build a graph view for exploring note relationships. PKM apps can help improve your knowledge management process.
Our Recommendations
Here are the recommendations we'd have with their breakdowns below:
Recommendation | Popular for | Pricing (approx) |
|---|---|---|
Networked thought | Free, $4 per month | |
Projects, tasks & notes | Free, $14 per month | |
Whiteboards & flashcards | Free | |
AI note-taking | $10 per month | |
Object-based org | Free, $12 per month | |
Research | $8 per month | |
Advanced networks | $15 per month | |
Object-based org | Free, $99 per year | |
Team note-taking | £5.69 per month | |
Sharing & collaborating | Free, $7 per month | |
Flashcards & education | Free, $8 per month | |
Tasks, notes & planning | Free, $6 per month |
Obsidian
Best PKM App
Is Obsidian good for PKM?
Obsidian is a note-taking application that focuses on helping you connect notes using backlinks, graph view, and networked thought.
It comes with plenty of features for PKM, like graph view that you can search within using Obsidian's chosen node-based search, powerful backlink, and block referencing abilities that allow you to reference blocks across your account within notes that exist, and a canvas mode that has been added to help you bring ideas in your Obsidian account onto a canvas view to help you reorganize them, Obsidian might not be for everyone, so there are a wide variety of alternatives to Obsidian, many on this list.
Obsidian is the best free PKM solution on the market. If you're on one device, Obsidian is free forever, meaning you can use it and store those PKM notes on your device without having to worry about upgrading. There is a $4 per month upgrade to link with the cloud and store your notes on one account across devices.
Should I get Obsidian?
If you're budget-conscious, focus on the desktop, and want your notes stored on a device, Obsidian is a healthy choice. With a good free plan and packed with features for PKM, Obsidian is the best PKM app overall.
Tana
Best Advanced PKM
Is Tana a good PKM app?
Tana is one of the more advanced PKM tools and has many powers. Tana is a note-taking app focused on system-based organization. It comes with powerful features like supertags, AI abilities & a growing community of users.
Features like graph view, superstars, and AI abilities help you better organize PKM notes in one place. Supertags are a unique system in Tana that allows you to apply the power of templates to each of the notes you take. They allow you to add critical metadata to notes that you can reuse, which makes things easier with search.
Many people already use the concept of supertags in apps like Capacities; they are object-like tags that help you re-use certain types of notes for powerful resurfacing.
Should I choose Tana?
If you're open to learning something a little more advanced than tools like Obsidian, Tana can offer you a whole load of features along with it. This one is probably the most difficult to learn, but users love it.
Logseq
Best Free PKM
Why Logseq is a good PKM app?
Logseq is a popular PKM tool as it offers great free access & powerful features. Logseq is a note-taking app with a focus on connecting notes. It has features like whiteboards, flashcards, and powerful networked thought abilities.
It allows you to take notes, connect them up, and see them within a graph view. People also like that Logseq also has a powerful way to see your notes as flashcards, perfect for students and researchers. Features like whiteboards allow users to bring ideas together in one and daily notes allow users to journal within the app to express ideas.
Should I get Logseq?
If you're hunting for a similar tool to Obsidian, whiteboards as part of the experience, and a powerful way to connect up notes, then this is an interesting option. Logseq also has flashcards, which don't work as well as RemNote, but it does offer an additional thing that Obsidian does not have natively.
Reflect Notes
Best AI PKM App
Is Reflect Notes a good PKM app?
Reflect Notes is a note-taking app that focuses on handling notes and tasks and organizing your upcoming meetings from Google Calendar as notes for agendas and more. It is also focused on secure note-taking with E2E encryption.
Reflect Notes integrates artificial intelligence to streamline the management of notes, meeting notes, and ideas, making it a smart companion for those seeking efficiency.
Its user-friendly design makes the integration of AI into everyday knowledge management seamless and approachable. The AI's ability to provide smart summaries and insights is a game-changer, offering users the ability to save time while enhancing the overall productivity of their knowledge management efforts.
Should I get Reflect Notes for PKM?
As a PKM tool, Reflect Notes sits between a traditional tool and a PKM app, allowing you to have the traditional feel of Evernote but the power of Obsidian. If you're looking for something that you want to feel secure with, test AI abilities, and add new features like task management and audio notes, then Reflect Notes is an attractive bet.
Heptabase
Best Visual PKM
Is Heptabase good for PKM?
Heptabase is a visual note-taking app designed to help you bring ideas together in a canvas view. It allows you to add and link notes, which is popular with researchers and students. Heptabase is perfect for visual thinkers & those who want to get into PKM.
It balances both worlds very well by having a canvas mode that allows you to add ideas by dragging them together much like apps like Miro and Milanote. Hetpabase even has some project management abilities like Kanban views which people will like if they want more structured ways to manage all their knowledge base. It makes for a different, yet great PKM for visual thinkers and those who like open-plan ways of bringing ideas together.
Does Heptabase have AI?
Heptabase currently does not have AI, but it is a YC-backed company, and many people expect it to introduce AI functionality for note-taking shortly.
Should I get Heptabase?
If you're a researcher, student, or visual thinker, Heptabase is a must-try. The application perfectly bridges the gap between handling notes in a PKM style whilst still being able to express them in a whiteboard fashion.
Roam Research
Popular for Hardcore PKM
Is Roam good for PKM?
Roam Research offers a more traditional and structured way to connect ideas and notes, emphasizing networked thought strongly. Its bi-directional linking feature creates a deep, interconnected web of knowledge, catering to users who prefer a systematic approach to organizing their thoughts.
Roam Research's methodical and thorough knowledge organization style is particularly well-suited for users who seek a meticulous and interconnected system for their ideas and information.
Is Roam Research a cult?
Roam isn't a cult, either; this is a common misconception. They have a strong community of loyal followers who hold opinionated views on their application and software.
Should I get Roam?
Roam Research is less attractive than many of the options on this list but still is very functional and powerful for PKM management. If you're wallet-conscious, Roam is still one of the more expensive note-taking apps on the market.
Capacities
Best Object PKM App
Is Capacities good for PKM?
Capacities is a note-taking tool for PKM that uses object types to organize how you structure your knowledge base. It is popular with busy professionals and those who want to manage their notes using this system.
Capacities introduce an innovative object-based approach to note-taking and PKM, organizing information around distinct knowledge units or 'objects'. This approach allows for a more flexible and intuitive way of handling data, appealing to many knowledge workers.
Capacities' integrated knowledge framework supports a more holistic view of personal and professional knowledge, making it an ideal tool for those seeking an adaptable and comprehensive knowledge management solution.
Fancy learning Capacities?
Our 25-lesson course digs into the powers of Capacities from beginner to advanced.
Learn Capacities from beginner to advanced with our course
Explore all of our courses with Tool School
Should I get Capacities?
Capacities offer a range of features with the feel of Notion. If you're hunting for a tool that looks like Notion, is open to something new, and is open to learning object-based note-taking, then Capacities is a really powerful tool to consider as your next PKM application.
Anytype
Object PKM
Is Anytype good for PKM?
Anytype is a note-taking tool that organizes notes using object types. It is popular thanks to its focus on offline, open-source, and local-first approaches to access. It can be used for project management, note-taking, and journalling.
It is recognized for its focus on graph-based note-taking, offering users a unique way to visualize and manage information. Its object-centric design is tailored to those who conceptualize information regarding networks and relationships.
Anytype's emphasis on graphical representation and versatile data organization makes it an excellent choice for individuals who think visually and seek an innovative way to organize and interact with their knowledge and ideas.
A wide variety of tools like Anytype are popping up on the market, but many are talked about as open-source note-taking applications and are growing in popularity.
Should I get Anytype?
If you're hunting for something offline first, secure, works open source, comes with markdown, and has a generous free offering, then Anytype could be for you. Many people are comparing it to the Notion alternative that can be used offline, with features that are beginning to rival the powers of Notion.
More Recommendations
Additional mentions for PKM management.
Help with choosing your PKM app
Let's help you choose a little further to what PKM app to go with and why:
What is the best free personal knowledge management app?
Logseq and Obsidian serve as the best free PKM apps on the market. They have generous free subscriptions, even Obsidian does not need to upgrade unless you want your data to be synced with the cloud and other devices. Both are brilliant free considerations for managing notes in a PKM style.
What is the best personal knowledge management app on iOS?
For iOS-focused PKM, Reflect and Anytype both have strong iOS apps that people tend to relate to as the best note-taking apps for iOS in a PKM context. They have high App Store ratings and offer a sense of ease of access that many other apps aren't able to bring to their iOS versions. Obsidian does have a good iOS app, too.
What is the best personal knowledge management app on macOS?
For managing PKM notes on macOS, Capacities, and Anytype have a speedy macOS app. All of these solutions have a good macOS app, but the Anytype app's speed on Mac is breakneck and works as an offline-first app, one of the best we've seen.
What is the best personal knowledge management app for students?
Keeping costs down is important for finding a PKM app for students, so our recommendations are RemNote and Logseq, both offer a solid way to create notes for free but also come with student-friendly features like flashcards and daily notes for logging your day-to-day mental health at university or college.
What is the best personal knowledge management app for ADHD?
Getting into PKM for ADHD might be a great way to help take the pressure off yourself remember everything and bring good ideas into your knowledge base for later.
Our recommendations for PKM apps with ADHD are Obsidian and Capacities. Both are good, Obsidian is more complex to learn but free to get started, and Capacities offers a neat system of object-base notes for getting started more easily.
Quick Questions
How to build a personal knowledge management system?
PKM systems can be built by first adopting an approach. Common approaches could be Zettlekasten, second brain, and Cornell note-taking system that can help you start to build a system, however, many people just start bringing notes together in a PKM tool and connecting them using backlinks to start building their PKM system.
What apps can help your PKM system?
Many apps can help with PKM and serve as PKM tools for you including note-taking apps, email apps, social bookmarking apps, bookmarking apps, to-do list apps, and any tool that helps collect knowledge and stores it for re-use.
How to organize a personal knowledge base?
Organizing a personal knowledge base depends on your strategy. Many people use systems like the second brain that adopt concepts like PARA (projects, areas, resources, archives) to organize the structure of their knowledge base. Looking at how you organize your base can help your knowledge flow better for you.
Are PKM apps good for Second Brain?
PKM tools are perfect for the system of Second Brain as they embrace how CODE methodology very well that is embedded in this process. PKM apps typically make good Second Brain apps.
Why consider a PKM app?
PKM apps are allowing many people to connect notes as they've never done before by introducing relationships between notes and allowing you to see how they connect.
Best PKM Features | Reasons |
|---|---|
Networked thought | Connecting your notes allows you to make backlinks, link blocks together, and more. This is very useful for those using PKM apps as they can explore how notes have connections that allow for smoother, more synchronized note-taking. |
Graph views for exploring | Graph view can help PKM users to explore how notes are connected, visually. This is a fan favorite feature as many people use notes and how they connect to use their PKM app in the same manner as knowledge in their brain. |
Offline or encrypted services | Not all in this list will be security-focused, but many use open-source and encrypted notes to help protect users from hacks. Or even use offline abilities to help better store your notes local-first. |
Why is knowledge management important to your personal and professional development?
Knowledge management helps to organize your mind. A lot of people commonly use systems like Second Brain that can help you to organize your brain in note-taking apps like PKM tools and many individuals share that doing this better helps their mental state by relieving stress from remembering things and more focus on task at work.
What are PKM notes?
PKM notes are notes taken within a personal knowledge management system. PKM notes are organized and connected using backlinks and block references allowing you to see the relationship between one note and another.
What is the meaning of PKM app?
PKM app stands for personal knowledge management. PKM apps are tools that those in knowledge management can use to set up a place to remember things and store information they can connect and resurface later.
Free Buyer's Guide to Note-Taking Apps
Get the free PDF and report on how to pick the best note-taking apps for 2025 and beyond. Unlock insights from note-taking tool expert Francesco D'Alessio with over 10+ years of insight into one PDF.
Explore More Productivity Apps & Software
From trending reads, trending tools and beyond
Choose from hundreds of productivity tools
View All