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visualOS VS Heptabase

Compare visualOS VS Heptabase and see what are their differences

visualOS

Infinite canvas and moodboard maker that saves real files

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Freemium $12.99 / One-off (Pay once. Use forever.)
Alternatives Is it good?
Heptabase

A note-taking tool for visual learning.

Rating
0 reviews
Alternatives Is it good?
cobwebs.app
Tap a thing and the counter resets. A quiet, local-first day counter for the things you keep meaning to do. No account needed, no spreadsheet. sponsored

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Heptabase seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 2 times since March 2021.

social mentions
0 vs 2
Digital Whiteboard popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
12 vs 211

Base details

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

visualOS
Heptabase
Website visualos.app heptabase.com
Pricing
Freemium $12.99 / One-off (Pay once. Use forever.)
Official pricing
Platforms
MacOS iOS Browser iPad +1
—
Company Startup from Germany · 1 - 9 employees · 2026 —
Listed in
Note Taking Moodboard Digital Whiteboard Productivity Knowledge Management Knowledge Base +3
Note Taking Personal Notes Knowledge Management Productivity +1

About visualOS and Heptabase

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

visualOS
Heptabase

visualOS is an infinite canvas for people who think visually: notes, Markdown documents, to-dos, images, PDFs, colour swatches and freehand drawing, with boards nested inside boards. It is local-first: every board is a real folder on your disk, documents are Markdown files, and sync runs through...

Read more about visualOS

No description of Heptabase yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

visualOS 12 features
Heptabase 4 features
  • Infinite canvas
    Zoomable canvas for notes, images, Markdown documents, to-dos, tables, PDFs, videos, links, shapes, arrows and drawings
  • Boards inside boards
    Nest boards to any depth, with breadcrumbs to keep your place
  • Real files on your disk
    Connect a folder: every board becomes a folder, documents become Markdown files, images stay image files
  • Works offline
    No server; the iPhone, iPad and Mac app works fully offline
  • No account
    Open the web app and start working, no sign-up
  • Sync via your own cloud
    Put the folder in iCloud Drive or Dropbox to sync across devices
  • Moodboard tools
    Drag, drop or paste images, crop and caption them, collect colour swatches with names and codes
  • Apple Pencil
    Pen tray, precise eraser, hold-to-shape and handwriting search in the iPad app
  • Version history
    Automatic rolling versions (about 30) for connected folders, restore with one click
  • Search
    Full-text search across all boards (Cmd/Ctrl+F)
  • Export
    Export any view as a 2x PNG; JSON backup and import
  • Languages
    English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Polish, Swedish
  • Visual Organization
    Heptabase allows users to organize information visually through mind maps and cards, making it easier to understand complex relationships and ideas.
  • Intuitive Interface
    The platform is designed to be user-friendly, with a clean interface that supports effortless navigation and minimal learning curve.
  • Cross-Platform Access
    Heptabase is accessible across multiple devices, enabling users to access and update their notes on the go, whether on a computer or a mobile device.
  • Collaboration Features
    The platform supports collaborative work, allowing multiple users to contribute to and modify shared documents in real-time.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Free Version
    The free version of Heptabase offers limited features, pushing users towards purchasing a subscription for full access.
  • Feature Overlap
    For users already using other productivity tools, Heptabase may introduce redundant features, leading to potential overlap and inefficiencies.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic interface is intuitive, mastering the more advanced features of Heptabase may require a significant time investment.
  • Dependency on Internet Connectivity
    Despite providing offline mode capabilities, optimal performance and access to all features typically require an internet connection.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

visualOS 1 video + Add
Heptabase 3 videos + Add

visualOS - Free Infinite Canvas and Moodboard App

The best of many PKM tools in one | Heptabase First Look

More videos

  • - Note-Taking Evolved: Why Heptabase beats Evernote, Obsidian, Tana, Scrintal, Milanote...
  • - The 3-step knowledge workflow in Heptabase (Outdated 2022 version)

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
visualOS
Heptabase
100% 100%
Digital Whiteboard
0% 0%
7% 7%
Note Taking
93% 93%
8% 8%
Productivity
92% 92%
0% 0%
Knowledge Management
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing visualOS and Heptabase.

What makes your product unique?

visualOS's answer

visualOS stores your work as real files. Connect a folder and every board on the canvas becomes a folder on your disk, every document a Markdown file and every image an ordinary image file. There is no server and no account, so your boards work offline, sync through your own iCloud Drive or Dropbox, and stay readable even if you stop using visualOS.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

visualOS's answer

Choose visualOS if you work alone and want your boards to stay yours. Compared with Milanote, there is no 100-note limit and no subscription: the web app is free and complete, and the iPhone, iPad and Mac app is a one-time purchase. Compared with Miro or Apple Freeform, you get boards nested to any depth, stored as plain files, and the app works offline. If your team needs real-time collaboration, comments or share links, Milanote or Miro fit better.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

visualOS's answer

People who think visually and work on their own: designers, photographers, illustrators and artists who build moodboards and project boards, plus students, writers and researchers who organise ideas on a canvas. Users often come from Milanote, Apple Freeform or Kosmik and want an offline tool without a subscription.

What's the story behind your product?

visualOS's answer

We're Sarah Dorweiler and Gerald Reimertz, a husband-and-wife team from Nuremberg, Germany, who have been building things together for more than 20 years. As creatives we always organised our projects on visual canvas tools, but our files and ideas were tied to cloud services. We wanted the same visual overview for the files on our own devices: offline and private. That became visualOS, launched in 2026. We build it as a two-person team.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

visualOS's answer

The app is written in plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, with no framework and no build step. The canvas is drawn with the Canvas 2D API and stays fast with thousands of elements. Data lives in IndexedDB or, through the File System Access API, in a folder the user chooses. The native iPhone, iPad and Mac app uses Capacitor plus Swift plugins built on UIKit, PencilKit (shape recognition) and Apple's Vision framework (handwriting search).

User comments

Share your experience with using visualOS and Heptabase. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

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

visualOS 0 mentions
Heptabase 2 mentions

Tracking visualOS since Sep 2026.

  • Your Favorite Note Taking App
    Heptabase (https://heptabase.com/). Like Obsidian or Logseq but with streamlined builtin workflows. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Heptabase Official Trial link
    Yes, Heptabase offers a 7-day trial for new users who want to try out its features. You can start your trial by visiting their website here and clicking on the “Start your 7-day trial” button. You will need to create an account and... Source: almost 3 years ago

Alternatives to visualOS and Heptabase

When comparing visualOS and Heptabase, you can also consider the following products.

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