Heptabase

Heptabase is a visual knowledge-management and research platform designed to help students, researchers, knowledge workers, and lifelong learners understand complex topics. Its core approach combines structured note-taking with visual whiteboards, cards, mind maps, PDF annotation, research tools, and AI features. Rather than treating notes as isolated documents, Heptabase allows users to arrange information spatially and see relationships between concepts, sources, highlights, and ideas.

The platform is particularly focused on the learning and research process. Users can collect information from different sources, break large topics into smaller concepts, organize those concepts visually, and connect them into a knowledge network. Heptabase describes its target users as students, researchers, and lifelong learners, while its documented workflows also cover knowledge workers, project managers, creators, and professionals working with complex information.

One of Heptabase’s defining features is its visual whiteboard system. Users can place cards on a large canvas and organize them into sections, groups, mind maps, and other structures. Cards can contain notes, highlights, files, images, audio, video, PDFs, tables, tasks, code snippets, mathematical expressions, and other content. The same card can be reused across multiple whiteboards, allowing one piece of information to participate in several different research or learning contexts.

Heptabase also supports nested whiteboards, which allow users to break large subjects into smaller visual areas. This can be useful when researching a broad topic that contains multiple themes, arguments, sources, or subtopics. Whiteboards can be linked together to create a hierarchy while still allowing users to navigate between related information.

The platform provides bidirectional links between cards. Users can connect ideas and then navigate between related cards through backlinks. This creates a connected knowledge base in which notes, sources, highlights, and research findings can be connected rather than stored independently.

Another major capability is PDF annotation and research. Users can upload PDF documents, highlight passages, annotate sections, and turn selected passages into Highlight cards. These highlights can then be moved onto whiteboards alongside notes and other sources, allowing users to visually compare evidence and ideas. PDF parsing can also extract text and OCR content so that Heptabase’s AI features can work with documents.

Heptabase supports Readwise integration, allowing highlights from Readwise to be synchronized into the Heptabase Highlights section. Imported highlights can then be placed on whiteboards and connected with other research material. The synchronization process checks for new or updated highlights regularly, although changes made directly inside Heptabase are not overwritten by later Readwise updates.

The platform also supports Zotero integration, which is particularly useful for academic research. Users can connect their Zotero account and import bibliographic information, PDFs, images, videos, notes, and annotations from selected collections. The integration currently uses manual synchronization rather than continuous automatic syncing, and some limitations remain around mobile access and certain whiteboard functions.

Heptabase includes a web clipper for capturing online information. Users can save web content and incorporate it into their research workspace. The platform also allows users to open web pages directly inside the application through web tabs, making it possible to research a topic and take notes without constantly switching between applications.

Another important capability is multimedia research. Heptabase can work with video, audio, images, PDFs, documents, and YouTube content. Its research workflow can turn uploaded materials into cards and create a new whiteboard around the collected information. YouTube links can also be processed to obtain transcripts that can be used alongside other research material.

Heptabase has increasingly incorporated AI into its research and learning workflows. Its AI capabilities include an AI Agent, AI Tutor, AI-generated insights, video transcription, voice notes, and AI-assisted research. The AI Agent can search and work with content in a Heptabase space, while the AI Tutor is designed around guided learning sessions rather than simply returning answers.

The current subscription structure provides different levels of AI access. The Pro plan includes 100 AI credits per month and access to Gemini-series models through the Heptabase AI Agent. Premium provides 1,800 monthly AI credits and access to supported Gemini, OpenAI, and Anthropic models, while Premium+ provides 8,100 monthly AI credits. AI credits are used for functions including the AI Agent, AI Tutor, video transcripts, Insight Generator, and voice notes.

Heptabase also provides AI Tutor, which is designed to guide users through structured and personalized learning sessions. This makes the platform different from a conventional note-taking application because AI is integrated into the learning workflow rather than being limited to writing or summarization.

The platform supports daily journals and task management. Daily Journals provide a place for users to capture thoughts and tasks, while tasks can be managed alongside research notes and cards. This allows learning and research projects to remain connected to the tasks associated with them.

Heptabase also supports real-time collaboration. Users can invite collaborators to work on whiteboards and cards together. Free collaboration access is available to invited collaborators, although the free collaboration plan has considerably fewer features than a regular subscription.

The application is available across Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and the web. Heptabase has historically emphasized offline access, allowing users to access notes and files without an internet connection while maintaining synchronization across supported devices.

Heptabase also provides MCP support for connecting its knowledge base to external AI applications. The Heptabase MCP can allow compatible AI services such as ChatGPT, Claude, and coding-agent environments to search, read, create, edit, and organize supported content in a Heptabase Space. This provides an increasingly important bridge between Heptabase’s visual knowledge base and external AI workflows.

A notable limitation for developers is that Heptabase does not currently offer a general public REST API covering all application operations. Instead, the company officially supports MCP and its Heptabase CLI as integration interfaces. The CLI can work through the desktop application and provides more detailed whiteboard-layout operations than MCP.

Heptabase was founded in September 2021. The company went through a closed-alpha and public-beta period before officially launching Heptabase 1.0 on August 31, 2023. The company has described its mission as helping people establish a deep understanding of complex subjects.

Heptabase is therefore best understood as a visual research, learning, and knowledge-management platform rather than a conventional note-taking application. Its strongest areas are visual thinking, academic research, PDF reading, knowledge organization, connected notes, AI-assisted learning, and collaborative whiteboards.

Pricing

Heptabase currently offers three main subscription tiers: Pro, Premium, and Premium+. The standard Pro plan costs $11.99/month or $107.88/year, while Premium costs $23.99/month or $215.88/year and Premium+ costs $71.99/month or $647.88/year. Existing early-bird Pro subscribers may retain their historical discounted pricing.

Pro includes 100 AI credits per month and Gemini-series AI-agent models. Premium includes 1,800 AI credits and access to supported Gemini, OpenAI, and Anthropic models. Premium+ includes 8,100 AI credits, with the other major Premium features remaining the same.

All three paid tiers have access to a 7-day free trial. During the trial, users receive Premium-level AI credits and unlimited PDF uploads and parsing for the trial period, subject to the trial credit limit.

Heptabase also has a limited free collaboration plan. A user can access it when invited by a paid subscriber as a collaborator, but the free plan does not include personal whiteboards, the Journal, tasks, highlights, the tag database, or AI features.

Review

Heptabase’s main strength is its combination of visual thinking and structured research. The whiteboard environment provides more spatial freedom than conventional note-taking applications, while cards, backlinks, nested whiteboards, and tags provide structure underneath the visual canvas.

Its PDF workflow is particularly important for research-heavy users. Documents can be annotated, highlighted, parsed, and connected to visual research boards. Zotero and Readwise integrations further extend this workflow by bringing academic references and reading highlights into the same knowledge environment.

The AI features make Heptabase more than a visual note-taking tool. AI Agent, AI Tutor, Insight Generator, video transcription, and voice notes provide several ways to use AI during research and learning. Premium and Premium+ users can also access models from multiple providers, including OpenAI and Anthropic.

Cross-platform availability is another advantage. Users can access Heptabase through desktop, mobile, and web applications, while offline access allows work to continue without an internet connection. Real-time collaboration also allows multiple people to work on shared whiteboards.

There are limitations. Heptabase is subscription-based for normal individual use, and its advanced AI functionality is tied to monthly AI-credit allowances. Heavy AI users may need Premium or Premium+ or additional on-demand usage.

The free plan is also limited because it is primarily intended for invited collaborators rather than unrestricted individual use. Free users cannot access several important personal knowledge-management features or AI functionality.

Developers should also note that Heptabase does not currently provide a full public REST API. MCP and the CLI are the officially supported integration interfaces instead.

Heptabase is particularly suited to students, academic researchers, writers, knowledge workers, lifelong learners, and professionals who need to understand complex information visually. Its combination of whiteboards, cards, research sources, PDF annotation, AI assistance, and knowledge organization makes it particularly focused on deep learning and research workflows.