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Roam Research

A note-taking tool for networked thought

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Overview

What Roam Research does

Roam Research is a note-taking application that implements a new approach to organizing and connecting information. It uses bi-directional linking to create a web of knowledge, making it ideal for researchers, writers, and knowledge workers who need to connect complex ideas.

What people use it for

  • Research notes
  • Writing projects
  • Personal knowledge management
  • Academic work
  • Creative thinking

Related searches

The honest half

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Roam Research.

  • Cloud-dependent: no local-first option, all data stored on Roam servers
  • Offline sync issues: offline databases experience slow startup and synchronization problems
  • No native Android app
  • Requires internet connection for most functionality

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Roam Research

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

  • Roam Research logo
    Roam Research    vs
    Obsidian logo
    Obsidian

    Obsidian: Local-first markdown notes with bidirectional linking, 1000+ plugins, and free tier for personal use, but no cloud collaboration.

  • Roam Research logo
    Roam Research    vs
    Logseq logo
    Logseq

    Logseq: Free and open-source outliner with bidirectional block linking and local storage, resembling Roam's interface but without the cloud sync.

  • Roam Research logo
    Roam Research    vs
    Notion logo
    Notion

    Notion: Cloud-based alternative with real-time collaboration, relational databases, and polish but no local-first option or end-to-end encryption.

Pricing

What Roam Research costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Pro

$15 /mo

  • Unlimited graphs
  • Unlimited blocks
  • Daily notes
  • Bidirectional links
  • Block references
  • Queries

Believer

$500 /5 years

  • All Pro features
  • Cost effective long-term subscription

Capabilities

Features

  • Bi-directional linking

    Bi-directional linking capability

  • Block references

    Block references capability

  • Daily notes

    Daily notes capability

  • Graph visualization

    Graph visualization capability

  • Sidebar navigation

    Sidebar navigation capability

  • Version history

    Version history capability

  • Markdown support

    Markdown support capability

  • TODO management

    TODO management capability

  • Readwise

    Integration with Readwise

  • Kindle

    Integration with Kindle

  • Browser extensions

    Integration with Browser extensions

  • Encryption

    Encryption security feature

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Does Roam Research have a free plan?

No, Roam Research does not offer a free plan. However, it includes a 31-day free trial before requiring a subscription to either the Pro plan ($15/month) or Believer plan ($500 for five years).

Source
Can I use Roam Research offline?

Roam Research has limited offline support. Offline databases have significant performance issues, including slow startup times and sync problems. The platform is cloud-dependent and requires internet connectivity for most functionality.

Source
What platforms does Roam Research support?

Roam Research is available as a web app and native mobile apps for iOS and macOS. Windows users access it through the web app or Electron desktop wrapper. Android support is limited.

Source
Can I export my data from Roam Research?

Yes, you can export your entire database or individual pages as JSON or Markdown format by clicking the three-dot menu. However, block references do not translate perfectly, and migration to other tools may require manual cleanup.

Source
Does Roam Research integrate with Slack?

Roam Research integrates with Slack through Zapier, allowing you to send Slack messages to Roam or add Slack messages to your Roam daily notes. No native Slack integration is available.

Source

Behind it

Who makes Roam Research

Company
Roam Research Inc
Based in
San Francisco, CA
Founders
Conor White-Sullivan
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Keep looking

Where to go from Roam Research

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    Obsidian

    A powerful knowledge base on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files

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    Mendeley

    The free all-in-one reference manager

  • NVivo logo

    NVivo

    Easy-to-use, collaborative qualitative analysis software

  • Zotero logo

    Zotero

    Collect, organize, annotate, cite and share your research

Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Roam Research, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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