Vellum Assistant vs Totem
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Vellum Assistant
This AI assistant learns your work habits and thought processes to help you stay on top of tasks. It syncs across devices, providing quick summaries of communications and access to past notes. Over time, it becomes an indispensable teammate.
- Learns user work habits
- Syncs across Mac, iPhone, and web
- Summarizes Slack, email, and meetings
- Remembers forgotten tasks and follow-ups
- Accesses past notes and thoughts
- Improves with continued use
Read full descriptionHide full description
vellum is your personal AI for work and life. It learns how you think, remembers what matters, and helps with the things you care about. With vellum, you're always in control: • Choose where your data lives: vellum Cloud or your own self-hosted vellum • Use any model, bring your own API key, or use vellum-optimized models • Decide what your assistant can access and remember Talk, text, or show vellum what you see with your camera, then use it to: • Catch up on email, Slack, and meetings • Remember follow-ups, tasks, and important details • Plan your day, trips, meals, or workouts • Find old notes, files, and saved links • Think through work and personal decisions • Get help with whatever is in front of you One assistant across iPhone, Mac, and web. Always caught up on what matters to you.
Totem
Read full descriptionHide full description
Totem is a high-speed all-in-one workspace that centralizes document creation, task management, and shared wiki organization for individuals and teams. Whether you are managing client work, building a team knowledge base, or simply organizing your thoughts on the fly, Totem keeps your workflow moving without interruption. Built to be lean and fast, Totem uses offline-first design which helps it launch instantly. Documents, databases, and collections feature live collaboration and sync in realtime across all your devices. HANDLE EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE Write documents, manage tasks, and build a team wiki where the information you need is always easy to find—all without switching between apps. Documents: Write and edit in real-time. Instant synchronization across all devices Databases: Flexibly manage tasks, clients, and projects using views tailored to your team's workflow Wikis: Organize team knowledge and keep it searchable so information never gets lost Our in-built AI assistant, Mote, procures accurate answers based on your queries and helps you modify and update your workspace using natural language. FREE FOR INDIVIDUAL USE Whether for work or for yourself, create unlimited documents, databases, and collections. FREE 90-DAY TRIAL FOR TEAMS Unlock all duo or team plan features for 90 days, with no credit card required. Collaborate live with your team, enjoy role-based permissions and granural row-and-column access, with up to 50 seats during the trial. DOCUMENTS & WIKIS Write and organize documents with a clean, elegant editor that doesn't interrupt your train of thought. Organize your work with collection-scoped hierarchical tags anyone in your workspace can create. Cross-search your team's entire knowledge base and instantly access the information you need. TASKS & DATABASES Manage tasks, clients, and projects with flexible, customizable databases, freely building views and properties that match your team's actual workflow. BLAZING FAST PERFORMANCE & FULL OFFLINE SUPPORT Enjoy instant startup, smooth scrolling, and impeccable framerate, even with larger workspaces. Keep working without an internet connection and sync automatically when back online. IT'S YOUR DATA, NOT OURS All your data is stored in open formats: Markdown and SQLite, synced seamlessly across Mac, Windows, iOS, and Web. Export anytime. Pick up right where you left off on desktop when switching to mobile. Have any questions, comments, or concerns? Please feel free to contact us at founders@thinktotem.com. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Vellum Assistant at none against Totem's 4. Vellum Assistant also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Totem sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Vellum Assistant asks for nothing beyond the download.
Vellum Assistant ships an update every 4 days, Totem every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Vellum Assistant | Totem |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (18 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 18 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vocify Inc. | Tripletype |
In-app purchases
Vellum Assistant
No in-app purchases
Totem
- Totem Duo (Monthly)$12.991 Month
- Totem Team (Monthly)$40.001 Month
- Totem Duo (Annual)$129.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Totem Team (Annual)$400.001 Year









