Tana vs Reflect
Tana is an AI-native outliner where “supertags” turn notes into structured, queryable objects; Reflect is a fast, minimal networked notes app with end-to-end encryption and a built-in AI assistant — two different takes on personal knowledge management. Here’s how they compare on pricing, platforms, linking, search, capture and collaboration — and how to decide between them.
What is Tana?
Tana’s big idea is the supertag: slap #meeting or #person on any outline node and it gains fields, views and behavior — your notes become a queryable database without leaving the outline. Live queries collect matching nodes anywhere in your workspace, which makes Tana feel like Roam and Notion fused together.
Since 2025 Tana has pivoted hard into AI: a meeting agent that transcribes calls without a bot, voice capture that structures itself, semantic search, and a local MCP server so AI assistants can work with your workspace. In March 2026 the company split in two — the notes tool became Tana Outliner (outliner.tana.inc, the product compared here), while the plain “Tana” name moved to a separate agentic meeting platform. Outliner pricing as of September 2026: Free with 500 AI credits a month, Plus at $8/month and Pro at $14/month (22% off billed yearly; students, academics and NGOs get 50% off). It’s cloud-based with web, desktop and capture-focused mobile apps.
What is Reflect?
Reflect is deliberately simple: daily notes, backlinks, a calendar and contacts integration, and speed as a feature. Rather than growing into a do-everything workspace, it polishes a small set of ideas — capture your day, link your thinking, find it instantly — and wraps them in one of the cleaner interfaces in the category. Notes are end-to-end encrypted, unusual for a cloud tool.
An AI palette (GPT-based) drafts, summarizes and answers questions over your notes, and voice memos are transcribed with Whisper. Capture comes via a browser extension and Kindle sync. It’s a single plan at $10/month billed annually (14-day trial, no free tier), on web, macOS and iOS — Windows and Android users work through the browser.
Tana vs Reflect at a glance
| Tana | Reflect | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Plus $8/mo; Pro $14/mo (22% off yearly) — Tana Outliner, Sep 2026 | $10/mo billed annually ($120/yr) |
| Free plan | Yes — 500 AI credits/mo, 3 workspaces, 0.5 GB | No — 14-day trial |
| Platforms | Web, macOS, Windows; iOS/Android capture apps | Web, macOS, iOS (no Windows/Android apps) |
| Storage model | Cloud | Cloud, end-to-end encrypted |
| Editing model | Outliner with supertags (typed nodes, fields, live queries) | Daily notes and documents with backlinks |
| Backlinks & wiki links | Yes — references and backlinks | Yes — backlinks |
| Graph view | No traditional graph view | Yes — simple graph |
| Search | Full-text, structured queries, semantic AI search | Instant full-text + AI Q&A over notes |
| Web capture | Mobile capture apps, voice capture | Browser extension, Kindle sync |
| Email-in capture | No | No |
| RSS / feeds | No | No |
| Team collaboration | Yes — real-time shared workspaces | No |
| Publishing & sharing | Shared/published nodes | No |
| AI assistant access | Deep native AI (credit-metered) + local MCP server in the desktop app | Built-in GPT-based assistant; voice transcription |
| Offline access | Partial — desktop app, personal workspaces | Partial |
| Open source | No | No |
| End-to-end encryption | No | Yes — end-to-end |
| Data export | Markdown or JSON workspace export (supertags flatten) | Markdown, HTML, JSON |
Pricing and features as of mid-2026 — check each product’s site for current details.
New to personal knowledge management? Start here: choosing a second brain app — every tool on this page, with a pick for each kind of thinker.
Where Tana shines
- Supertags are the most elegant structure system in the category — schema, views and queries grow naturally out of plain outlining.
- The AI feature set is the deepest here: botless meeting transcription, voice capture, agents, and semantic search.
- A local MCP server inside the desktop app makes it one of the few tools built for AI-assistant workflows.
- Real-time multiplayer workspaces work well for teams.
Worth knowing: AI usage is credit-metered on every plan and the free tier is thin (500 AI credits, 3 workspaces, 0.5 GB); serious use means Plus at $8/month or Pro at $14/month. Cloud-only and proprietary: no local files, no end-to-end encryption; export is Markdown or JSON, and supertags and fields flatten on the way out. The structure-first approach has a real learning curve; casual note-takers may find it over-engineered.
Where Reflect shines
- Genuinely fast and distraction-free; the tool disappears behind the writing.
- End-to-end encryption on a cloud notes app is rare.
- Calendar and contacts integration make it a natural meeting-notes and journaling tool.
- Built-in AI assistant and Whisper voice transcription without plugin fiddling.
Worth knowing: No free plan, and one fixed $10/month price. Single-player by design — no collaboration or publishing to speak of. No Windows or Android apps, and the minimalism means no databases, queries or heavy structure.
Which should you choose?
Choose Tana if:
- You want notes with fields, views and queries — a database that emerges from writing.
- Meeting transcription and voice capture are core to your workflow.
- You’ll actually use enough AI to justify the price.
Choose Reflect if:
- You want the least possible friction between a thought and a saved, linked note.
- End-to-end encryption matters but you still want a polished cloud app.
- Your workflow revolves around your calendar and daily notes.
A third option: Dexi
If what you actually want is one searchable place for notes, bookmarks, newsletters and RSS — with tags, @mentions and [[wiki links]] that organize themselves as you write, semantic search that finds ideas even when the words don’t match, and an MCP server so Claude and other AI assistants can work with your notes directly — take a look at Dexi. It’s free for up to 1,000 notes, with no app to install.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between Tana and Reflect?
Tana is an AI-native outliner where “supertags” turn notes into structured, queryable objects, while Reflect is a fast, minimal networked notes app with end-to-end encryption and a built-in AI assistant. In practice, Tana is best for structured-thinking power users who want their notes to behave like a database, with AI doing the heavy lifting; Reflect is best for people who want frictionless daily notes with backlinks — and will pay for polish over power.
Which is cheaper, Tana or Reflect?
Tana: Plus $8/mo; Pro $14/mo (22% off yearly) — Tana Outliner, Sep 2026 (free plan: yes — 500 ai credits/mo, 3 workspaces, 0.5 gb). Reflect: $10/mo billed annually ($120/yr) (free plan: no — 14-day trial). Prices as of mid-2026 — check each product's site for current rates.
Is Tana or Reflect better for teams?
Tana — team collaboration: yes — real-time shared workspaces. Reflect — team collaboration: no. If neither fits, Dexi's Team plan ($10/member/month) offers per-note sharing with team-wide search.
Which is better for personal knowledge management, Tana or Reflect?
It depends on how you work rather than on feature count. Tana is the stronger personal knowledge management tool for structured-thinking power users who want their notes to behave like a database, with AI doing the heavy lifting; Reflect for people who want frictionless daily notes with backlinks — and will pay for polish over power. Start with whichever matches your habits — both let you export if you change your mind.
Can I switch between Tana and Reflect?
Both tools let you get your data out — Tana exports via markdown or json workspace export (supertags flatten), and Reflect via markdown, html, json. Markdown is the common ground for most migrations, though block references, properties and other tool-specific structure typically need manual cleanup after import.
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