Roam Research

The app that made backlinks mainstream, now outrun by its imitators.

By Roam Research · since 2019 · roamresearch.com

6.2

C+ · out of 10

Roam introduced most people to daily notes, block references and the bidirectional link. The ideas were right, and Obsidian, Logseq and Tana all built on them. What Roam kept is a devoted community and an extension ecosystem; what it did not keep is a price that makes sense next to the free alternatives.

How it scores

  • Features25% of score

    7.4

    Depth and breadth of what the app can do.

  • Ease of use20% of score

    6.2

    Speed, polish and how long it takes to feel at home.

  • AI15% of score

    5.0

    Quality and usefulness of the built-in AI, not just its presence.

  • Sync & reliability15% of score

    6.6

    How dependably notes move between devices.

  • Value15% of score

    4.4

    What you get for what you pay.

  • Platform coverage10% of score

    7.4

    How many places you can actually use it.

Pricing

$15/month · $165/year

No free tier.

$15/month or $165/year after a trial. The five-year Believer plan is around $500.

Platforms

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • iOS
  • Android
  • Linux
  • Web

51 tracked features supported

What it does well

  • Block references and queries are still exceptionally good
  • Encrypted graphs are available if you want them
  • roam/js extensions cover a lot of ground
  • Multiplayer graphs work well for small research groups

Where it falls short

  • The most expensive app here, competing against free ones
  • Performance degrades badly on large graphs
  • Sync and offline behaviour lag behind rivals
  • Development has been slow for years

Our take

Historically important, and hard to recommend now at this price. Try Logseq or Obsidian first.

Best for: People already deep in a Roam graph who do not want to migrate.

Linked thinking / PKM

Feature by feature

YesPartlyVia pluginNo

Capture & input

How notes get into the app in the first place.

  • Voice recording
  • Audio transcription
  • Speaker identification
  • Meeting recording
  • Handwriting / stylus
  • Drawing canvas
  • OCR / handwriting search
  • Web clipper
  • Share extension
  • Quick captureVia plugin
  • Images
  • PDF & documents
  • Document scanning

Organization

How notes are structured, linked and found again.

  • Tags
  • Folders / notebooks
  • Multi-level folders
  • Internal links
  • Backlinks
  • Graph view
  • Databases / boards
  • Daily notes / journal
  • Note templates
  • Saved searches
  • Pins / favorites
  • Merge notes

AI

Assistants, generators and meaning-based search.

  • AI chat / writing assistantVia plugin
  • AI agent with tools
  • Custom AI agents
  • Semantic searchVia plugin
  • AI web searchVia plugin
  • Connected apps for AIVia plugin
  • Prompt templates
  • Custom AI instructionsVia plugin
  • AI memory
  • Scheduled AI tasks
  • Flashcard generatorVia plugin
  • Spaced repetitionVia plugin
  • Quiz generator
  • Fill in the blankVia plugin
  • Mind maps
  • AI image generation
  • Infographic generator
  • Slide deck generator
  • AI mini apps
  • Brainrot video generator
  • AI audio overview
  • Bring your own modelVia plugin
  • AI job notifications

Writing & editing

What the editor itself can actually do.

  • Markdown
  • Rich textPartly
  • Code blocks
  • Math / LaTeX
  • TablesPartly
  • Find and replaceVia plugin
  • Version historyPartly
  • Note infoPartly

Sync & data ownership

Where your notes live and how easily they leave.

  • Cloud sync
  • Sync through your own cloud
  • Offline supportPartly
  • Offline-first / own your data
  • Self-hosting
  • End-to-end encryptionPartly
  • Locked notesPartly
  • Daily backup
  • Import
  • Export
  • Public API
  • Command line tool
  • Remote MCP serverPartly
  • Plugins / extensions

Sharing & collaboration

Working with other people inside your notes.

  • Share with people
  • Real-time collaboration
  • CommentsPartly
  • Public sharing

Experience

The everyday polish around the writing surface.

  • Dark mode
  • Custom themes
  • Multi-language
  • Command palette
  • Split view
  • Focus modeVia plugin
  • Home screen widgets
  • Apple Shortcuts

Compare with

All Roam Research alternatives

Roam Research vs Grape

Adds: AI agent with tools, AI memory

9.0

Roam Research vs Obsidian

Plain markdown files on your disk, with a plugin ecosystem bolted on top.

8.4

Roam Research vs RemNote

Take notes and generate the flashcards in the same keystroke.

7.9

Roam Research vs Heptabase

Notes on whiteboards, for when the outline is not the shape of the idea.

7.8