Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Mem VS i3

Compare Mem VS i3 and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Mem logo Mem

Capture and access information from anywhere

i3 logo i3

A dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, inspired by wmii, and written in C.
  • Mem Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-25
  • i3 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-19

Mem features and specs

  • Intuitive User Interface
    Mem offers a user-friendly interface that is simple and easy to navigate, reducing the learning curve for new users.
  • AI-Powered Organization
    Utilizes AI to automatically organize notes and knowledge, allowing users to focus more on content creation rather than management.
  • Cross-Platform Syncing
    Supports cross-platform syncing, enabling users to access their notes on various devices seamlessly.
  • Collaboration Features
    Provides tools for sharing and collaborating on notes, which can be particularly useful for team projects and shared tasks.
  • Integrations
    Integrates with other productivity tools such as calendars and task managers, enhancing its functionality and usefulness in a workflow.

Possible disadvantages of Mem

  • Limited Free Version
    The free version comes with limited features, potentially prompting users to pay for a subscription to access full functionality.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic interface is intuitive, the more advanced features may require additional time and effort to master.
  • Data Privacy Concerns
    As with any AI-powered application, there could be concerns about how data is managed and protected, especially for users sensitive about privacy.
  • Complexity in Automations
    The automation features, while powerful, can be complex for users unfamiliar with setting up automated workflows.
  • Reliance on Internet Connectivity
    Requires a stable internet connection for full functionality, which can be a limitation for users in areas with poor connectivity.

i3 features and specs

  • Efficient Window Management
    i3 allows for highly efficient window management using a tree data structure, making it easy to snap windows into grids and manage multiple applications simultaneously.
  • Lightweight
    i3 is deliberately simplistic and lightweight, which allows it to run efficiently on older hardware or systems with limited resources.
  • Customizability
    Users can extensively customize keybindings and behavior through a plain text configuration file. This allows for a personalized workflow.
  • Keyboard-Centric
    i3 is designed to be used primarily through keyboard shortcuts, which can lead to increased productivity for advanced users.
  • Scriptability
    i3 supports various scripting languages through its IPC (Inter-process Communication) interface, enabling automation of complex workflows.
  • Community and Documentation
    i3 has strong community support and extensive documentation, making it easier for new users to learn and troubleshoot issues.

Possible disadvantages of i3

  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users may find i3 difficult to learn and configure, especially if they are accustomed to traditional desktop environments.
  • Lack of GUI Configuration Tools
    i3 relies heavily on manual edits to text files for configuration, lacking user-friendly graphical interfaces for setup and customization.
  • Limited Out-of-the-Box Features
    i3 does not come with many built-in features available in more comprehensive desktop environments, such as app launchers or system tray support, requiring additional setups.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Some applications may not play well with tiling window managers like i3, requiring workarounds or alternative software choices.
  • Minimal Default Appearance
    Without customization, i3 offers a very minimalistic and barebones visual experience, which may not be appealing to all users.

Analysis of i3

Overall verdict

  • Yes, i3 is considered a very good window manager for users who appreciate its minimalist and efficient approach. Its lightweight design keeps resource usage low, which can improve performance on less powerful machines.

Why this product is good

  • i3wm is known for its simplicity, speed, and efficient use of screen space, making it a popular choice among power users and developers who prefer a keyboard-driven workspace. Its tiling feature allows for the seamless organization of multiple windows, enhancing productivity and multitasking. Furthermore, it is highly customizable, allowing users to tailor their workspace to their specific needs.

Recommended for

    i3wm is recommended for advanced users, developers, and anyone who prefers a keyboard-centric interface. It is ideal for users who like to customize their environment extensively and are comfortable with configuring software via text files. New users with a willingness to learn may also find it rewarding.

Mem videos

Mem: A First Look

More videos:

i3 videos

30k Miles with the BMW i3 - End of Lease Review

More videos:

  • Review - 2016 BMW i3 - Review and Road Test
  • Review - 2018 BMW i3s Range Extender (REx) Review - The Future Of Cars?
  • Demo - Gaming With Intel's Core i3 9100F - The First Turbo Boosted Desktop i3
  • Review - The best EV for the money? Used BMW i3 Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Mem and i3)
Productivity
74 74%
26% 26
Window Manager
0 0%
100% 100
AI
100 100%
0% 0
Linux
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Mem and i3

Mem Reviews

Best Next-Level Note Apps for 2021
Mem is a note-taking app focusing on simplicity, quickness, and collaboration. The app allows users to capture, connect, and share information easily. It combines features such as lightning fast capture, always-on search, and seamless collaboration. Powered by a collaborative graph database, Mem enables diverse organization formats. Sadly, bi-directional linking is currently...
Source: zenkit.com

i3 Reviews

Top 13 Best Tiling Window Managers For Linux In 2022
Sway is a tiling Wayland i3-compatible window manager that dynamically arranges app windows to rationally maximise desktop space. It is free, open-source, and lightweight. By default, it arranges windows in a grid and supports practically all of the i3 commands.
Source: www.hubtech.org
Top 10 Best Desktop Environments in 2020
i3-wm is one of my most loved standalone window managers, qualifying it to easily fit under the desktop environment list! The configuration is just very easy, and you can change everything that you see on screen. This includes what information you see on the bottom panel, how windows behave, and keyboard shortcuts to move, align, and set up windows on the screen.
13 Best Tiling Window Managers for Linux
Sway is a free, open-source, and lightweight tiling Wayland i3-compatible window manager that automatically arranges app windows to logically maximize desktop space. It arranges windows into a grid by default and supports almost all the commands included in i3.
Source: www.tecmint.com
5 Great Tiling Window Managers for Linux
I begun testing i3 just this week. I was always fascinated by the Tiling WMโ€™s as they seem really light on system resources and functional. To my surprise , although i3 is really easy to customize, and works really well (at least for my needs) , I found that it isnโ€™t really that lightweight. I had Mate desktop environment use the same amount of RAM. Maybe I was mislead to...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, i3 seems to be a lot more popular than Mem. While we know about 92 links to i3, we've tracked only 6 mentions of Mem. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Mem mentions (6)

  • Anyone with a great idea how to use LLMs like GPT-3 to embed our Obsidian notes across applications?
    Eg https://get.mem.ai/ approach or https://beta.omnilabs.ai/ But then tailored to Obsidian. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Second Brain App recommendation
    I use Notion but I have heard that the andriod experience is not the best. You may want to try Coda, Obsidian, Mem or Anytype. I know of a few others but I think for the purpose of a second brain these can do the trick itโ€™s just about preference and which experience you like the most. Source: about 4 years ago
  • E-Bullet Journal
    Https://get.mem.ai right now it isa web app they have an iOS app in beta. Source: about 4 years ago
  • Notion alternatives? (and what Iโ€™ve tested so far)
    For supervising the trauma team I've also been playing with "Mem". https://get.mem.ai/. Source: over 4 years ago
  • A second brain, for you, forever
    I really love obsidian. Sure I t has a couple of wrinkles, the mobile app is new still and has a couple more wrinkles, but it scratches so many itches I have around note taking. Currently using it alongside https://get.mem.ai/ and love the pairing for knowledge base and real time notes. Iโ€™m working from n combining the two to come up with my ideal set up. - Source: Hacker News / almost 5 years ago
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i3 mentions (92)

  • Why I traded my custom "Opinionated Linux" for Omarchy
    I've been using Omarchy as my main setup since June 26, 2025, the day DHH released the first version. Before that I had my own custom Opinionated Linux, mclovin-ARCHived: an Arch + i3wm installer set up exactly the way I liked. It was total control over the OS: me deciding what goes in, keeping every piece (i3wm, polybar, picom, kitty, dotfiles) up to date and making sure they all talked to each other for the... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Omarcacca
    Then few years back, in 2015, I got shown i3wm and used it on my ubuntu-netinstall until 2020, then I switched to Budgie and my personal laptop has been using that ever since. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Automatic Visual Feedback for System Volume Change in I3wm via Dunst
    I switched to the i3 tiling based window manager. Because it's a whole different environment and thinking, it was very different from what I was used to. The volume buttons were working on my keyboard, but I didn't get any visual feedback. Furthermore, the volume percentage could go down below zero and increase up to more than hundread percent. There were times when I was confused why the keys stopped working, but... - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • "We understand" ;)
    This is partially why I use tools like i3 (/ sway). I like the tool; it works extremely well for me; the design has stayed the same for 20 years; there's no profit motive to come along and fuck everything up. It just works. It is boring in the best way possible. Source: over 2 years ago
  • what machines have you used for development, and what do you prefer?
    I use MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid-2014) with Manjaro as OS using i3 as a window manager. It isn't perfect, but I'm thrilled with it. I have been a Mac OS user for the last 15 years and wouldn't change what I have now for a Mac OS because I don't need more than what I'm using for development. Source: about 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Mem and i3, you can also consider the following products

Notion - All-in-one workspace. One tool for your whole team. Write, plan, and get organized.

Sway - Sway is a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager, but for Wayland instead of X11.

Obsidian.md - A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.

dwm - dwm is a dynamic window manager for X. It manages windows in tiled, monocle and floating layouts. All of the layouts can be applied dynamically, optimising the environment for the application in use and the task performed.

Tana - Welcome to the future of work. Build anything. Use it for everything. Kill your SaaS subscriptions.

Openbox - Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.