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Craft logo

Linked notes.
Without the $15/mo.

Looking for a Roam Research alternative? $15/mo for bullet points? Craft gives you beautiful linked documents, offline, and AI — for less.

Try Craft Free

Which one is right for you?

Craft

Free tier available, alongside paid Craft plans; Roam starts with a paid subscription after its trial
Native mobile apps with a document-first experience alongside your desktop and Web workspace
Works fully offline, alongside rich documents and one-click publishing; Roam offline support varies by mode
Beautiful documents with covers, media, and formatting in a document-first workspace
Regular Craft updates across writing, planning, and collaboration

Roam Research

Block-level transclusion and references are non-negotiable
Custom Datalog queries are core to your research workflow
You've built complex graphs over years that can't easily migrate
Daily-note-centric bullet journaling is your primary use case

Roam pioneered bi-directional linking and offers paid plans, mobile and desktop apps, and graph-based workflows. Craft links documents beautifully with native apps everywhere — starting free, with rich document design, collections, and hosted publishing.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

See how Craft and Roam Research compare across key features

Feature
Craft
Roam Research
Performance
Native apps, instant launch on all platforms
Web and desktop/mobile apps; slows down with large graphs
Document Design
Beautiful covers, layouts, rich typography
Block outliner with formatting, tables, media, and embeds
AI Features
Included; limits vary by plan
Basic and poorly integrated
Offline Access
Full offline on all platforms
Offline capabilities vary by graph and app mode
Apple Pencil
Native drawing and annotation on iPad
iPad app available; no comparable built-in Pencil drawing block
Web Publishing
One-click beautiful web pages
Public graph and page sharing
Pricing
Free plan available; see current Plus pricing
$15/month or $165/year; trial available
Organization
Folders, collections, linked documents
Linked pages, tags, block references, and queries
API & Extensibility
API + MCP supportLearn more →
API, extensions, and hosted/local MCP connections

Why users switch to Craft

M

Mikailkraft

“ Craft gets rid of all the noise from Notion while not becoming as barebones as Obsidian. It’s a perfect balance of features – and it’s done seamlessly. Synching is immediate, and the app feels right at home on my Mac and my iPad.”
App Store Award
App Store Award
Mac App of the Year
Apple Design Awards
Apple Design Awards
Finalist
Webby
Webby
Awarded three times in various categories
German Design Award
German Design Award
Excellent Communications Design Interactive UX

What matters most

Craft gets it right

Quick idea capture

Capture ideas on any device — Mac, iPad, iPhone, Windows, or Web — with sync included free

Fast, beautiful writing

Rich formatting with covers, tables, and media in a document-first workspace

Offline access

Keep working anywhere without WiFi, with offline access alongside Craft’s rich documents and publishing

Easy Organization

Spaces, folders, collections, and tags — a document-first alternative to graph-based organization

Task management

Built-in tasks with due dates and daily notes — no third-party app needed

API, MCP & Automations

Connect with Claude, ChatGPT, Apple Shortcuts, and build custom workflows

Why users switch to Craft

J

Jeffb129

“ Craft is way more functional than Apple or Google Notes while being much easier to use than Notion”

Compare the cost

Craft
Roam Research
Free plan or trial
Free — 1,500 blocks, 1 GB storage
Free trial; paid subscription required afterward
Individual
$6.4/month, billed annually
Pro subscription; see current monthly and annual prices
Family
$12.0/month, billed annually; up to 6 people
No dedicated family plan
Team
$5/month, billed annually per member; minimum 3 members
See current team subscriptions
AI Assistant Feature
Included; limits vary by plan
External tools and integrations; availability and costs vary

Craft prices reflect your region and available offers. Competitor $ prices are USD unless stated otherwise; billing periods are shown with each price. Taxes, offers and plan limits may differ. Check Roam Research pricing

See full pricing

Switch From Roam To Craft

Export Your Graph

In Roam, open the export menu and choose Markdown. Download and unzip the export before importing.

Import to Craft

In Craft, import the extracted Markdown files. Review page links, block references, embeds, and formatting after import.

Start Creating

Your knowledge base is in Craft with real offline support. Add formatting, collaborate, and access notes anywhere.

Ready for linked notes at a fair price?

Start for free. No credit card required.

Continue on webDownload on the App Store

Common Questions

For many users, yes – especially if you want a polished native experience with less complexity. Craft offers linking and organization capabilities with a beautiful interface, offline access, and mobile apps that actually work well. If you rely heavily on Roam's query language and graph database, Craft is a simpler but more refined alternative.

Writers, professionals, and thinkers who want structured notes without the steep learning curve. Craft is fully native on Apple platforms with automatic sync and full offline access. Roam is better for power users who want to build complex knowledge graphs.

Yes. Craft supports real-time collaboration, comments, and team spaces. Share documents with anyone via link. Roam's collaboration features are expensive ($15/month per user) and less intuitive.

Roam offers $15/month, $165/year, and a $500 five-year Believer option, with a trial for standard subscriptions. Craft has a free plan and paid upgrades; see current regional pricing. Craft AI assistant: Included; limits vary by plan.

Publish beautiful web pages, use native Apple Pencil support, enjoy true offline access, collaborate in real-time, use AI assistance, and work on polished native mobile apps. Roam also offers mobile and desktop apps, collaboration, AI integrations, and offline capabilities; its strengths are block references, queries, and graph-based work.

Craft provides full offline access on all devices. Create, edit, and search without internet. Roam also has offline capabilities, including offline graphs and mobile capture, with differences between graph types and app modes. Check the mode you use before travelling.

Yes. Export your Roam graph as Markdown, unzip the download, and import the extracted files into Craft. Review page links, formatting, attachments, and block references; Roam-specific structures may need manual adjustment.

Yes. Craft supports bi-directional linking between documents with backlinks. It's simpler than Roam's block-level linking, but covers most knowledge management needs without the complexity.

Craft is significantly faster with native apps and sub-second sync. Roam's web-based architecture becomes slow with large graphs. Many Roam users report multi-second load times that don't exist in Craft.

Yes. Craft has a built-in Daily Notes feature with calendar integration. Capture your thoughts each day, link to documents, and review past entries. Similar concept to Roam's daily pages.

Yes. Craft lets you publish beautiful web pages with one click. Anyone can view without an account. Roam's published graphs are hard to navigate and look unpolished by comparison.

Yes. Craft has native Apple Pencil support on iPad for writing, drawing, and annotating. Mix handwritten notes with typed text. Roam has no handwriting support.

Craft AI assistant: Included; limits vary by plan. Write, edit, summarize, and organize content. Roam offers API and MCP connections for working with external AI tools, with capabilities and access requirements that differ from a built-in assistant.

If you value offline access, native mobile apps, beautiful publishing, and a lower price, yes. Many Roam users switch when they realize they don't need block-level references for their workflow.

Craft offers a free Education plan for eligible students, faculty, and staff, subject to verification and renewal. Roam offers paid subscriptions and a trial; check its current offers directly rather than assuming every student has the same price. Craft's offline access and native apps are perfect for lectures and study sessions.

Craft is better for writers who want to publish and share polished work. Beautiful typography, one-click publishing, and distraction-free writing. Roam is better for researchers building knowledge networks.

Craft syncs in sub-second time across all devices and works offline. Roam supports hosted graphs, offline graph options, and offline capture, with sync behavior that varies by app mode. Craft's approach is faster and more reliable.

Export your Roam graph as Markdown from its export menu, unzip the download, and import the extracted folder into Craft. Review page links, block references, embeds, and formatting; graph-specific behavior may need manual rebuilding.

Why users switch to Craft

Aaron avatar

Aaron

“ Best App for Everyone. It features every features with excellent UI and UX taking note taking to next level and I even replaced Notion with this one.”