Software Alternatives & Startups

Project Euler VS refern.

Compare Project Euler VS refern. and see what are their differences

Project Euler

Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will...

Project Euler Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
refern.

A visual reference manager for creatives. Organize your reference library and build moodboards on an infinite canvas, all in one desktop app.

refern. organization view
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid Free trial $30 / One-off
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Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Project Euler seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 415 times since March 2021.

social mentions
415 vs 0
Online Learning popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
228 vs 15

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Project Euler
refern.
Website projecteuler.net refern.app
Pricing
Open source
Paid Free trial $30 / One-off Official pricing
Platforms
Desktop Windows Linux MacOS +1
Company Startup from Canada · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in

About Project Euler and refern.

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Project Euler
refern.

No description of Project Euler yet.

refern is a local-first desktop app for collecting, organizing, and working with visual references. The library side gives you folders, hierarchical tags, smart folders, ratings, color labels, color search by hex, image-to-image visual similarity, and more than 14 typed search operators, all...

Read more about refern.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Project Euler 6 features
refern. 31 features
  • Problem-Solving Skills
    Project Euler offers a range of problems that can help enhance your mathematical and algorithmic problem-solving abilities.
  • Programming Practice
    It provides an excellent platform to practice and improve your programming skills across multiple languages.
  • Mathematical Insight
    Many problems require a deep understanding of mathematical concepts, thus helping users to gain and apply advanced mathematical knowledge.
  • Community
    Project Euler has a vibrant community where you can discuss problems and solutions with like-minded individuals.
  • Free Access
    All the problems and resources on Project Euler are freely accessible, making it an affordable way to learn.
  • Self-Paced Learning
    Users can progress at their own pace, making it suitable for learners of all levels.

Possible disadvantages

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The problems can become very challenging quickly, which might be discouraging for beginners.
  • Limited Step-by-Step Guidance
    There is little to no step-by-step guidance or hints available, which might hinder the learning process for some users.
  • Focus on Mathematics
    The heavy focus on mathematical problems may not appeal to those primarily interested in practical programming tasks.
  • Lack of Immediate Feedback
    The platform does not offer immediate feedback on code submissions, which might slow down the learning process.
  • No Built-in IDE
    Users need to use their own development environments, which might be inconvenient for some, especially beginners.
  • Infinite Canvas
    Arrange references on an infinite spatial canvas with layers, text, and groups.
  • Canvas Drawing & Shapes
    Freehand pen with pressure, eraser, 9 shape tools, and color swatches.
  • In-App Image Cropping
    Crop images in place or save as a new copy, with crop provenance tracked.
  • Image Filters
    Adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and hue on images and canvas elements.
  • Never Copies Your Files
    References images from your own folders. No proprietary library, no doubled disk.
  • Relationship Graph View
    Navigate your library as a graph of folders, tags, canvases, and linked images.
  • Visual Similarity Search
    Find similar images locally with a built-in feature vector. No uploads, no API cost.
  • Color Search
    Search your library by hex code or dominant color with fast local scoring.
  • Operator Search
    Full-text search with 16 inline operators like type:, tag:, rating:>=3, and color:.
  • Hierarchical Tags
    Parent-child hierarchies, tag groups, linked tags, and macros for bulk tagging.
  • Smart Folders
    Saved multi-condition searches that stay up to date automatically.
  • Image Grouping
    Stack related references into groups shown as fan cards in the grid.
  • Cross-References & Backlinks
    Link any asset to any other and see backlinks across folders and canvases.
  • Grid Layout Modes
    Masonry, justified, and horizontal layouts, set globally or per folder.
  • Duplicate Detection
    Find duplicate images by perceptual hash with an is:duplicate query.
  • Metadata Management
    Rating, color labels, description, notes, source URL, creator, and custom fields.
  • Directory Metadata Presets
    Auto-apply tags and metadata when files are added to a folder.
  • EXIF / IPTC / XMP Import
    Read embedded tags and ratings from images for DAM interoperability.
  • Import Staging
    Drag, drop, or paste images into a staging area with metadata pre-fill and dedup.
  • Browser Extension
    Save images from the web with hover buttons and batch save (Chrome, Firefox, Safari).
  • Eagle Import
    Migrate an existing Eagle library into refern.
  • Disk Sync
    Detect external file changes and reconcile your library with what is on disk.
  • Timed Study Mode
    Full-screen reference practice sessions with configurable duration and count.
  • Pin Window On Top
    Always-on-top mode keeps references visible while you work.
  • Window Transparency
    Adjustable window opacity for overlay reference.
  • Click-Through Mode
    Interact with apps beneath the transparent window.
  • Desktop Screenshot Tool
    Capture your screen directly into your library.
  • Scales to Millions of Images
    Streaming indexer handles 2M+ file libraries with bounded memory.
  • RAW & HEIC Support
    Decodes camera RAW, HEIC, SVG, and standard image formats into thumbnails.
  • Directory Customization
    Custom folder icons, cover images, and backgrounds in the tree and grid.
  • Local-First & Private
    Works fully offline. No account, no telemetry. Files stay on your disk.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Project Euler
refern.

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Project Euler is considered a beneficial tool for those interested in improving their problem-solving abilities and programming skills. It offers a wide variety of problems that range in difficulty and provide valuable insights into the application of mathematical and computational concepts.

Why this product is good

  • Project Euler is a website dedicated to a series of challenging mathematical and computational problems. It is aimed at people interested in learning more about computer science, mathematics, algorithm design, and programming. The problems encourage you to think deeply about efficient algorithms and solutions. It also fosters the development of problem-solving skills and the enhancement of coding skills.

Recommended for

  • Individuals interested in competitive programming
  • Students studying computer science or mathematics
  • Professionals seeking to improve their algorithmic thinking
  • Anyone interested in challenging themselves with mathematical problems
  • Educators looking for challenging problems to test their students

Overall verdict

  • Refern (refern.app) is a solid referral and networking platform that helps professionals and businesses streamline referrals, connect with trusted contacts, and grow through word-of-mouth. It offers a clean interface and useful tools for managing and tracking referrals, making it a worthwhile choice for those looking to leverage their networks.

Why this product is good

  • Simplifies the process of giving and receiving referrals
  • Helps build and maintain a trusted professional network
  • Offers tracking and management tools to monitor referral activity
  • User-friendly interface that reduces friction for both parties
  • Can drive business growth through word-of-mouth and warm introductions

Recommended for

  • Freelancers and independent professionals seeking new clients
  • Small businesses that rely on referrals for growth
  • Sales and business development teams
  • Professionals looking to expand their trusted network
  • Anyone wanting to organize and track referral relationships more effectively

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Project Euler 2 videos + Add
refern. 0 videos + Add

Project Euler Challenges 1–4 - Coding Challenges with Florin

More videos

  • Review - Project Euler Challenges 5–12 - Coding Challenges with Florin

No refern. videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Project Euler
refern.
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Project Euler and refern..

What's the story behind your product?

refern.'s answer:

I'm an artist, and too often I was frustrated: I couldn't find the right pictures, I struggled to organize and keep track of my reference images, and I was juggling too many apps when all I wanted to do was draw. I wanted one tool that could do it all, with every component well integrated. So I made refern.

What makes your product unique?

refern.'s answer:

The flow of collecting references for art usually goes like this:

find references and inspiration online -> save and organize those images -> use them on their own or in a moodboard -> reuse them for the next project or share them with others

Normally that means a different app for each step. refern does all of it in one place, with every part built to work together.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

refern.'s answer:

Most tools solve only one part of the reference workflow, so artists end up juggling several. refern combines them in one app: Eagle-style organization and search, a PureRef-style infinite canvas, and an Obsidian-style graph of how your references connect. It never copies your files, so it doesn't double your disk usage. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, works fully offline, and is a $30 one-time purchase with no subscription. Built in Rust, it stays fast even on libraries with hundreds of thousands of images.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

refern.'s answer:

Individual artists and creative professionals: illustrators, concept artists, digital painters, designers, and photographers. They collect and organize large libraries of visual references, build moodboards, and study from reference. refern is built for solo creators rather than teams, spanning hobbyists and students through working professionals.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

refern.'s answer:

refern is a Tauri v2 desktop app with a Rust backend and a React 19 (with React Compiler) plus TypeScript frontend. Data is stored locally in SQLite (rusqlite) with FTS5 full-text search. The interface uses Tailwind CSS, Zustand, and TanStack Query, with motion/react for animation. The infinite canvas and graph view are built on react-three-fiber and three.js. Thumbnailing, perceptual hashing, and color and visual similarity run in Rust with rayon and SIMD.

User comments

Share your experience with using Project Euler and refern.. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Project Euler no reviews yet
refern. no reviews yet

We have no reviews of refern. yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Project Euler 415 mentions
refern. 0 mentions
  • Fast Factorial Algorithms
    Let's hope this is going to help me solve some more Project Euler [1] problems! [1] https://projecteuler.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • I Miss Thinking Hard
    Https://projecteuler.net/ for "Thinker" brain food. (it still has the issue of not being a pragmatic use of time, but there are plenty interesting enough questions which it at least helps). - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • A simple leaderboard changed player behavior in my puzzle game
    I have a Project Euler (https://projecteuler.net/) account. Though I do not register at all on the leader board I will sometimes work obsessively on a problem just to make one of the level icons light up for me. There is not really... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago

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Tracking refern. since Mar 2024.

Alternatives to Project Euler and refern.

When comparing Project Euler and refern., you can also consider the following products.