I'm blown away by this video describing RemNote's new update (v1.12, posted 3 days ago).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjC5pHw-Ios&t=31s

They implemented tables and tags but it's more than just formatting. It truly is a fusion of database-like tables within your notes, very similar to Tana and what I hope Logseq can be someday when they migrate to a database back-end. Remnote is a fairly mature platform, they've had a good mobile app for a while. I think Tana only has a capture app for iphone right now.

I feel like Remnote is now a top tier option for the infiinite outliner crowd (Logseq/Roam/Tana etc). This video is really impressive throughout. I'm curious to hear other opinions.

nathanb wrote:

I hope Logseq can be someday when they migrate
to a database back-end.

I recently sent someone a link to Logseq's Trello roadmap and he wasn't impressed, saying it was light on technical detail, that there does not appear to be a mention of an alternative querying system, and that from what he could see they're so far just discussing switching to `.edn` from markdown for improved performance and better structured data, with that the example `.edn` looking identical to the current structure of the database queried by datascript.

Maybe there's more there than discussed in the roadmap but maybe they're not even at the point getting deep into a replacement of the back-end.

https://trello.com/c/0hUluTN4/1128-database-version

I have tried the new tables feature in RemNote and I think it's excellent. What's more, unlike Tana, it works fully offline (except for images and plugins). And it is accessible on all devices as well as via the web.

While RemNote doesn't compete with single-OS heavyweights Tinderbox and InfoQube, in my view, and it doesn't have Logseq's whiteboard feature (which is also excellent), I agree that the recent update makes Remnote the one to beat in the cross-platform space.

(* There are still some bugs such as the need to quit and reopen to sync reordering/adding/removing columns between devices)

Probably because I haven't used it enough, RemNote's structure built around the card metaphor feels really fiddly. Did the app start out as a spaced repetition tool that got a lot of other features bolted onto it?

I wouldn't say RemNote has surpassed Tana. Tana is still rough and very much an alpha thing. It seems RemNote and Tana are not on parallel streets. They're more on perpendicular roads heading off in different directions.

I agree -- Tana has a lot of power that puts it in its own category, and it's still in alpha. But to be fair to RemNote, they didn't just start as a spaced repetition app. RemNote emerged at about the same time as Roam (as opposed to all the Roam-inspired apps, which came later), and from the beginning RemNote had the Dynalist-like outlining structure coupled with daily notes. They also focused from the beginning on flashcards, but I wouldn't say that cards form the basis of RemNote.

Well it's 2026 and I continue to double down on RemNote. It just got yet another solid update. Most the updates are performance, it's very mature at this point.

It still hits that sweet spot for me as backlinking outliner like Roam/LogSeq with supertag/database tricks like Tana/Capacites. The development continues to be strong and steady.

What keeps me there is it's already "configured" as a college-oriented learning platform. My college years are waaaay behind, but I'm a knowledge worker, so the education never stops. Therefore, I don't feel the need to continuously customize it like I do with Obsidian/Notion, etc.

Also, as a forgetful ADHDer, I've found that Spaced Repetition is huge for me. It's obviously great for locking in rote facts and definitions....but it's also great for the re-surfacing of intentions, decisions, motivations, jokes, dilemmas to ponder etc. My greatest weakness with any "2nd brain" system is my resistance to reviews, fueled by a silly recency bias. Spaced Repetition, applied broadly, keeps my meat brain and 2nd brain "synced up".

I've been so satisfied with RemNote's philosophy that I haven't been obsessively "CRIMPing" for a while. I have no idea if RemNote is even considered a "top 10" outliner these days. I'm curious what this forum's thoughts are. I feel like I've been shouting "guys, this is THE ONE" since before Tana was even released. :-)

I'm using the free versions of both Tana and RemNote, but neither have quite hit the sweet spot for me as yet. Tana development is obsessed with AI implementation and they're neglecting basic and much requested features such as PDF annotation. I use the flashcards in RemNote for language learning, and I've found that very well implemented - I've never found before that flashcards work for me and that in most programs creating them is slow and painful, but in RemNote it just works and they are very easy to create.

That said, I'm not yet entirely convinced that I can afford yet another subscription (and RemNote seems to price itself in the same way as most similar programs aimed at businesses rather than at students - perhaps American students just have more money than the rest of us), so for the time being I have to use software which I have to pay for anyway (basically MS Office 365). I feel their free version is also a little restrictive - if I had more possibilities to really play about with the more advanced features it might end up being more appealing.

Graham

Do Remnote users find it to be a memory hog? There are some older posts in Remnote Reddit to that effect, and I'm wondering if it is still a current problem. The recent announcement about Tana is leading me to take a hard look at other options, as collaboration-focused programs are not what I need. Thanks.

I noticed in a video about the release of version 1.23 a few months ago that they had reduced memory usage by 40%. The current version is 1.24.

exatty95 wrote:

Do Remnote users find it to be a memory hog? There are some older posts
in Remnote Reddit to that effect, and I'm wondering if it is still a
current problem. The recent announcement about Tana is leading me to
take a hard look at other options, as collaboration-focused programs are
not what I need. Thanks.

(By the way, if you happen to be on Mac, my latest approach to high-memory apps has been to create web apps in Safari via Share-->Add to Dock. Unlike web apps created in other browsers, the Safari-created ones seem to be quite effectively suspended by MacOS when not in use. This doesn't address memory usage while using a given app, but the aggregate effect has been significant on my system.)

It might sound unbelievable, but I was using Remnote Desktop on Windows and found that it was secretly scanning content of my PC and uploading to Remnote in their own cryptic formats, with folders full of random string names IIRC, as well as an "extensionless" database full of content from my browser and local storage. It's been a while and the exact details are fuzzy, but I've kept the files as proof as well as to analyze further when I have more time. I promptly uninstalled it, but kept those folders that were in the process of being uploaded to Remnote. All were cryptic extensionless files that looked like routine app folders but were definitely the result of Remnote scanning device content and uploading content to them secretly. The folder kept getting bigger and bigger and was filled with what looked like random string name files. it was also making "history" and "preferences" extensionless files that were hundreds of MB big - had nothing to do with anything I put in Remnote. It turned out to be an extensionless file that can be read when changing to .sqlite and contains ALL of the file names on my local downloads directory, browsing history, bookmarks, etc and I haven't even looked at it in detail yet. All of this was getting silently uploaded to remnote at the time of removal of the app. I have the files to prove it.

I even found a mention of someone who discovered and was questioning something similar on one of the user forums (they hadn't yet realized the extent of the malicious activity) but their questions were deflected in an expert way by the Remnote team which made me realize they were deliberately doing it and it was no accident. I'm not up to date on computing terminology to explain all this anymore, but it's something you can easily verify if you're actively looking. I recommend you give it a try and let me know what you discover. Believe me or not, I don't care, but I'm never installing that spyware crap on my PC. Who knows how nefarious these people are. I even stopped using the browser app, since I'm not good at detecting when apps are trying shady stuff via webapps.