Comparison

Vellum Assistant vs Totem

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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.

About

Totem

Features
Read 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

Vellum Assistant4 screens
Totem4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Vellum Assistant versus Totem: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVellum AssistantTotem
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (18 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings18 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB23 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperVocify Inc.Tripletype

In-app purchases

None

Vellum Assistant

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Totem

Subscriptions4
  • Totem Duo (Monthly)$12.991 Month
  • Totem Team (Monthly)$40.001 Month
  • Totem Duo (Annual)$129.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Totem Team (Annual)$400.001 Year

Questions

Is Vellum Assistant free?
Vellum Assistant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Totem free?
Totem is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Vellum Assistant or Totem have ads?
Neither Vellum Assistant nor Totem shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vellum Assistant or Totem?
Vellum Assistant ships an update every 4 days, and Totem every 3 weeks. Most recently, Vellum Assistant was updated on October 28, 2026 and Totem on October 31, 2026.

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