CompareFacts checked 2026-10
MindMax vs. Heptabase
In Heptabase you build the map: cards on whiteboards, placed by hand, with AI as a helper. In MindMax the AI draws the first map from the document and you grow it from the passages that stop you — and everything it makes is an ordinary file in a folder you already own.
- Heptabase
- Hand-arranged whiteboards of cards, PDFs and AI chat, on every platform, with collaboration.
- MindMax
- An AI-drawn map of a book or paper, every branch citing its sentence, kept as files on your desktop.
Choose one, or use both
Choose Heptabase if
- You think by arranging cards with your own hands.
- You want your boards on a phone or tablet as well as a computer.
- You share boards with other people.
Choose MindMax if
- You want the AI to lay out a book or paper before you read it, each branch citing its sentence.
- Your sources are books and long documents rather than clips.
- You want notes, maps and drafts to stay plain files beside the sources.
Use both if
- You keep hand-built thinking boards in Heptabase, and want long-document work — annotating a whole book, translating it, drafting a report from a folder — done on files you own.
What each one covers
Rows describing Heptabase are drawn from its own website, pricing page, wiki and help centre. Each row says how to check.
| Topic | MindMax | Heptabase | How to check for yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where they differ | |||
| Who draws the map | The AI: a six-card book overview, any line expanded into its own card, a method applied to a branch. Layout is automatic. Read a book as a mind map → | You do: cards placed on whiteboards by hand. AI chat answers can be dragged onto a board. | Open a 300-page book in each and see how long until you have a map of it. |
| Where your notes live | Ordinary files in your folder: Markdown notes, a board file per canvas, annotations beside each document. Your folder, opened in place → | In the app, on your device and synced through its service; its help centre describes a full Markdown export. | Open your notes folder in Finder or Explorer without the app running. |
| Citations | A verbatim sentence, checked against the text before it is shown, opening the page with it highlighted. How quotes are checked → | Its wiki states answers cite specific blocks, pages or timestamps you can click to jump to. | Ask the same question of the same PDF and land on the page in each. |
| A whole book, chapter by chapter | Pick a reading lens; the AI annotates it chapter by chapter, ending in a write-up. AI annotations → | Highlights and AI chat over what you add; whole-book passes are not described on its site. | Hand each a book and ask for notes on every chapter. |
| Sources it reads | PDF, EPUB and Kindle, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Markdown, images. | Its site lists PDFs, YouTube transcripts, web pages, documents and images. | Open an EPUB in each. |
| Translation and long-form writing | Whole-book translation against one glossary; a drafting pipeline up to book length. Document translation → | Not described on its site. | — |
| The basics | |||
| Platforms | macOS and Windows. | Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. | — |
| Collaboration | None — one person on one desktop. | Real-time collaboration; its pricing page lists unlimited collaborator invites. | — |
| Free use | The app is free; reading, annotating and searching your own files never spend credits. | Its help centre states the free plan is only for invited collaborators; paid plans have a seven-day trial. | Try to start each without a card. |
| Which AI models | Several model families on the subscription, or your own API key, including a local model. Bring your own key → | Its pricing page lists Gemini models on the entry plan and GPT, Claude and Gemini on higher plans. | — |
Facts about Heptabase last checked 2026-10 against its public website, pricing page, wiki and help centre. If a row is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
Same material, two different things to hold
Take a dense book you need to understand, not just skim.
- Import the PDF and highlight as you read.
- Turn highlights into cards and arrange them on a whiteboard until the structure is visible.
- Ask the AI along the way; its answers cite the passages.
You end withA map that is yours in the deepest sense — every card is where you put it, and building it is how you came to understand the book.
- Open the book and ask for an overview before chapter one: the question it answers, its core claims, key concepts, how it is built, three routes through it, where it is disputed — each card citing the text.
- Read; when a passage stops you, it becomes a branch.
- When you are done, a branch leaves as a note beside the book, an image, or the outline of something you write.
You end withThe structure laid out for you, so your effort goes into arguing with it — and every card cites the book.
Neither is the better way to read. They suit different readers: people for whom arranging is thinking, and people who want the structure laid out so they can spend their effort arguing with it.
Where Heptabase is genuinely better
- Arranging by hand.
If the act of placing cards is how you think, an automatic layout takes the most valuable part away. MindMax’s canvas has no freehand placement and no drawing.
- Everywhere you are.
Phone, tablet, Linux. MindMax is a desktop app on macOS and Windows only.
- Working with other people.
Shared boards and real-time collaboration. MindMax is for one person.
- Clips from everywhere.
YouTube transcripts, a web clipper, integrations with tools like Zotero and Readwise. MindMax reads the files in your folder.
Questions people ask
Is there a free alternative to Heptabase?
Heptabase’s own help centre says its free plan exists only for collaborators invited by a paid user, and that it offers a seven-day trial of the paid plans. MindMax has a free tier, and reading, annotating and searching your own files never spend credits. It also runs on your own API key with no account.
Does MindMax have whiteboards like Heptabase?
It has a canvas, but a different kind. The AI draws the branches — a book overview, an expansion of one line, a method applied to a card — and the layout is automatic. There is no freehand placement or drawing. If arranging cards by hand is how you think, Heptabase is built for that and MindMax is not.
Do both cite the PDF when the AI answers?
Yes. Heptabase’s documentation states that AI answers carry citations to specific blocks, pages or timestamps that you can click to jump to. MindMax quotes the sentence verbatim, checks the quote against the text before showing it, and opens the page with that sentence highlighted.
Can I use MindMax on a phone or with a team?
No. MindMax is a desktop app for one person on macOS or Windows. Heptabase runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android and supports real-time collaboration.
Starting without giving anything up
MindMax opens the folder your PDFs and books are already in — no import, no conversion. Nothing you have in Heptabase has to move. If MindMax does not earn its place, delete it; your files, and every note and map it made, are ordinary files that stay where they are.
Last verified: 2026-10. Found something inaccurate? Tell us — we would rather fix it than leave it.
Heptabase is a trademark of its respective owner, used here for identification only. MindMax is not affiliated with Heptabase.