
PureRef
Milanote
Eagle App
Pinterest
Miro
Allusion
digiKam
A visual reference manager for creatives. Organize your reference library and build moodboards on an infinite canvas, all in one desktop app.

We are excited about solving customer’s complex accounting, distribution, POS, Payroll and mobiles sales application problems.

Which is more popular?
Based on our record, Flex Software seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 3 times since March 2021.
Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.
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| Website | refern.app | flexsoftware.com.my |
| Pricing | — | |
| Platforms | — | |
| Company | Startup from Canada · 1 - 9 employees · 2026 | — |
| Listed in |
In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.


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...
Flex Software is an accounting software company that is developing a software solution for Insurance Agents. Our product is called SAMS (Smart Agent Management System). The software will be cloud based online Customer Relationship Management for Life and General Insurance Agents. The platform...
What each product offers, as listed by its team.


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


Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.


As answered by people managing refern. and Flex Software.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Share your experience with using refern. and Flex Software. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.


Tracking refern. since Mar 2024.
Flex Software is the Best Accounting Software Companies in Malaysia that provides specialised IT services, for individual companies with specialised Hardware or Software product requirements while making every effort to provide the best... Source: over 3 years ago
Flexsoftware is a comprehensive and reliable accounting software based in Malaysia. It provides a range of features to help businesses track their financials more efficiently. Users benefit from intuitive controls and the ability to... Source: almost 4 years ago
Flex Software is the best online Accounting Software in Malaysia for Small, Mid-size and Large Businesses at Best Prices. It is easy and user-friendly accounting software to manage your business. Customers have different needs and Flex... Source: almost 4 years ago
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Pinterest is a visual discovery tool that you can use to find ideas for all your projects and interests.
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Join Millions of users that collaborate from all over the planet using Miro. Experience the power of the #1 visual workspace for innovation. More than 100M users and 250,000 companies are collaborating on the canvas.
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Allusion is a tool to help you organize your Visual Library.
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