Reflect vs SiYuan
Reflect
reflect.app
SiYuan
b3log.orgSide by side
| Figure | Reflect | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $8.25/mo | $64/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 5 |
| Spec score · Note-taking apps | 8.8 (#32) | 9.1 (#12) |
| Spec score · Personal Knowledge Management Software | 8.5 (#11) | 8.5 (#12) |
| AI | Optional AI chat works with the user’s own API key, and private notes are blocked from external AI calls. | The AI feature accesses OpenAI and can help continue writing, translate, summarize, brainstorm, and correct grammar and spelling. |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Integrations | Zapier,Readwise,Google Calendar,Outlook,Kindle,Chrome,Safari | Paid options include third-party S3 and WebDAV data sync and backup; users must provide their own storage, and Nutstore is not supported for WebDAV. |
| Note sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Offline access | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Reflect describes the app as open source and links to its source code on GitHub. | The download page says SiYuan is completely open source and that most features are free, including for commercial use. |
| Platforms | The maker provides downloads for macOS Apple Silicon and Intel, an iPhone and iPad app, and a Chrome extension. | Windows,macOS,Linux,iOS,Android,web interface,Chrome/Edge extension,API,Docker self-hosting |
| Privacy | The App Store listing says Reflect has no account, no telemetry, and no Reflect-hosted cloud service. | The privacy policy says SiYuan does not collect user personal information or usage data and that data is kept on the user's device under their control. |
Plans
Reflect
- Reflect$10 a month
- Reflect OpenFree
- Reflect Pro Monthly$9.99 a month
- Reflect Pro Yearly$99 a year
SiYuan
- FreeFree
- PRO Features$64 a month
- Subscription$148 a month
- PRO Features$64, paid once
- Subscription$148, paid once
In their own words
Reflect
Reflect is a note-taking app for daily notes, linked thinking, and private AI using files you control. Reflect Open stores notes as plain Markdown in a folder you choose and maintains a rebuildable local SQLite index. Daily notes, wiki links, backlinks, and full-text search organize the collection, while optional semantic search runs on-device. Optional AI chat uses your own API key, and private notes are blocked from external AI calls. Audio memos can be transcribed through a provider key. Sync works through iCloud Drive or Git with files you own, and a Chrome extension clips web content into notes. Reflect says the app is open source; its App Store listing says there is no account, telemetry, or Reflect-hosted cloud service. It is available on web, macOS, iOS, and as a Chrome extension, with note sharing and integrations including Zapier, Readwise, Google Calendar, Outlook, Kindle, Chrome, and Safari. The annual Reflect plan starts at $10/user/mo; Reflect Open is a free download with in-app purchases available.
SiYuan
SiYuan is a personal knowledge management system for building a linked collection of notes. It supports Markdown, block-level references and bidirectional links, and organizes content into blocks with more than 20 block-level and more than 10 span-level element types. Backlinks can be filtered and searched; relationship graphs are available across a notebook and at block level. Databases support relations, rollups and templates, while flashcards use the FSRS spaced-repetition algorithm. Its AI feature connects to OpenAI for writing continuation, translation, summaries, brainstorming and grammar or spelling corrections. SiYuan supports offline access, and the maker describes multi-device synchronization as incremental and end-to-end encrypted. It is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and the web, with a Chrome/Edge extension, API and Docker self-hosting. The maker says data stays under the user's control on their device. Free access is free; PRO Features is listed at $64 a month with lifetime-use wording, and Subscription at $148 a month with 8GB cloud storage.