Comparison

AFFiNE vs heaper

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AFFiNE

This app combines an infinite whiteboard with notes, documents, and tasks, enhanced by AI. Effortlessly convert visual ideas into text and manage all your projects in one unified workspace. It's designed for visual thinkers and teams to streamline workflows and organize information effectively.

Highlights
  • Infinite whiteboard for visual brainstorming
  • Convert sketches to organized notes/documents
  • All-in-one project, task, and document management
  • AI assistance for writing, summarizing, and answering
  • Real-time collaboration on docs and whiteboards
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

AFFiNE is an open-source, local-first workspace for notes, docs, whiteboards, tasks, knowledge bases, Markdown, and AI. Built in public and trusted by a global open-source community with around 70K GitHub stars and more than 7 million downloads, AFFiNE gives you one place to write, draw, plan, organize knowledge, and keep control of your work. Whether you're capturing personal ideas, organizing class notes, planning a project with a team, building a second brain, or mapping a complex workflow, AFFiNE helps you move from scattered thoughts to structured work without switching between separate note, whiteboard, and task apps. WHY AFFiNE? OPEN-SOURCE AND LOCAL-FIRST AFFiNE started as an open-source project and continues to focus on transparent, user-owned knowledge work. - Work with a product built around openness and data control - Use local-first workflows for personal knowledge and project planning - Choose AFFiNE Cloud or self-hosted workflows for your workspace - Keep Markdown and portability at the center of your writing system NOTES & DOCS Write everything from quick notes to long-form documents. - Capture ideas, journals, meeting notes, class notes, and project plans - Structure information with flexible blocks and connected pages - Use Markdown for clear, portable writing - Turn rough thoughts into organized documents with AI WHITEBOARDS & VISUAL THINKING Switch from structured documents to an infinite canvas whenever ideas need space. - Create mind maps, diagrams, visual notes, and brainstorming boards - Plan product ideas, research flows, study maps, or team workflows - Connect visual thinking with written notes instead of keeping them in separate tools TASKS & PROJECTS Bring planning and execution into the same workspace. - Track to-dos, project notes, decisions, and next steps - Keep tasks close to the documents and whiteboards that explain the work - Organize personal workflows, student projects, creator work, and team planning AI FOR KNOWLEDGE WORK Use AI to help you write, summarize, and structure ideas. - Draft notes and documents faster - Summarize messy information into clearer outlines - Turn brainstorming into structured next steps - Use AI inside the workspace where your context already lives FOR PERSONAL USE AFFiNE works for notes, journals, study planning, research, reading lists, personal knowledge management, and second-brain workflows. FOR TEAMS AND SELF-HOSTED WORKFLOWS Use AFFiNE for shared project knowledge, planning, docs, visual collaboration, and self-hosted workspace needs. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Keep working across iPhone, iPad, desktop, and web. Start with a thought on mobile, expand it on a canvas, and turn it into organized knowledge when you're back at your desk. AFFiNE is for people who want the flexibility of documents, the freedom of a whiteboard, the structure of tasks, and the trust of open-source software in one workspace. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

heaper

This app offers a flexible digital workspace for organizing notes, files, and tasks using a powerful tag-based system instead of traditional folders. It supports offline use with optional cloud syncing and a self-hosting option for enhanced privacy and control.

Highlights
  • Flexible tag system for organizing content
  • Content blocks for adding context
  • Cross-linking for creating knowledge webs
  • Offline-first functionality
  • Optional cloud syncing
  • Self-hosting option for data control
Features
Read full description

Heaper is your flexible digital workspace for managing notes, images, documents, videos, and tasks - all in one place. Whether you’re writing, planning, researching, or organizing a creative project, Heaper lets you throw everything into one heap and organize it later with powerful tags. There are no folders to maintain - just blocks of content that you can freely tag and link. Tags provide a powerful yet simple way to organize even the biggest workspaces. Heaper works offline-first with optional syncing via the cloud and supports self-hosting for full control and privacy. Features • Flexible Tag System: Forget rigid folders. Tag anything - notes, files, images, links - and access it from anywhere. • Each Tag is its own document called a Block, add context to everything. • Cross-Linking: Create a web of knowledge with mentions and tag relationships. • Offline-first: Your data is saved locally and syncs when you’re online. • Self-Hosting Option: Use our cloud or host it yourself - your data, your rules. Ideal for: • Personal knowledge management (PKM) • Creative workflows and project planning • Task and goal tracking • Bookmarking, journaling, and archiving • Managing photos and research libraries Get started for free with no account required to it offline. Heaper is built by a solo developer passionate about organization and freedom, no lock-in, no bloat, just a sane fundament for you to manage your data.

Screenshots

AFFiNE4 screens
heaper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: heaper at 100% against AFFiNE's 42%. heaper also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and ads (none vs shown). AFFiNE's advantage is ratings volume (36 vs 2). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AFFiNE sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and heaper sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

heaper holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AFFiNE has 36 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of AFFiNE's written reviews are positive against 100% of heaper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AFFiNE ships an update every 3 weeks, heaper every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
AFFiNE versus heaper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAFFiNEheaper
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (36 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings36 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.5 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size239 MB184 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperToEverythingJan Vincent Lunge

Customer experience

AFFiNE

All ratings32 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral15.6%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive42.3%
Neutral30.8%
Negative26.9%

heaper

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

AFFiNE

Subscriptions3
  • AFFiNE Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
  • AFFiNE Pro Yearly$81.001 Year
  • AFFiNE AI Yearly$106.991 Year
10 purchases

heaper

Subscriptions10
  • Heaper Core Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Heaper Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Heaper Cloud Pro Monthly$14.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Heaper Ultra Monthly$39.991 Month
  • Heaper Core Yearly$49.991 Year
  • Heaper Cloud Ultra Monthly$59.991 Month
  • Heaper Pro Yearly$99.991 Year
  • Heaper Cloud Pro Yearly$149.991 Year
  • Heaper Ultra Yearly$399.001 Year
  • Heaper Cloud Ultra Yearly$599.001 Year

Questions

Is AFFiNE free?
AFFiNE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is heaper free?
heaper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, AFFiNE or heaper?
heaper is rated higher. AFFiNE averages 4.3 out of 5 from 36 ratings, while heaper averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do AFFiNE or heaper have ads?
AFFiNE shows ads; heaper does not.
Which is updated more often, AFFiNE or heaper?
AFFiNE ships an update every 3 weeks, and heaper every 2 weeks. Most recently, AFFiNE was updated on November 4, 2026 and heaper on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons