Roam Research
Launched 2019
128 features found available
In their words
A note-taking tool for networked thought. As easy to use as a document. As powerful as a graph database. Roam helps you organize your research for the long haul. Read more
Pricing
Our most recent pricing details for Roam Research:
$15/month or $165 yearly - ProfessionalPlan
$500 initial cost for 5 years worth - Believer Plan
Features pertaining to how the app comports itself visually
The app allows note content to be created & viewed with minimal formatting and today's date as the default note title
Display option where the editor shows black background with white text
A mechanism is provided to have more than one note concurrently open for editing in a separate viewing window contained within the application
Custom CSS can be included by the note editor to effect a specific theme via CSS
A note can preview content embedded from another note in the same pane as the note itself
A note can preview a specific block/section embedded from within another note or section
A note can preview and edit content embedded from within another note or section
AI integrations offered by the app or a first-party plugin.
Tasks from notes can be viewed on a calendar
A calendar on which tasks can be viewed is provided in the app
What kind of content can be uploaded or inserted into notes?
Playing and interacting with YouTube videos is possible from within a note
Features that pertain to how the app interfaces with its customers
The company has a specified URL at which users can discuss the product and ask questions in a format where answers can be upvoted to pinpoint the best one
Company has averaged at least one blog post or change log per month over the past year that details recent product updates
Company offers on-site real time chat support, or a chat server in which the company participates
What measures are taken to ensure customer data remains private, even to employees of the companies themselves?
Note data can be encrypted before leaving the user's device such that the decryption key is not shared with the note app provider (sometimes referred to as "end-to-end encryption")
Documented claim that all note data is encrypted at rest, on the server
Documented claim that all note data and their attachments are encrypted on the server
An explicit policy describes how security is implemented, and what access employees have to data.
Note content can be created such that even a user who gained access to the note app's cloud database (employee or intruder) couldn't decrypt content (i.e., they couldn't obtain a usable decryption key even if possessing the database contents)
A documented claim exists that note content will not be accessed by employees
Notes can exist purely on the local file system of the device, without syncing
What options are available for formatting text and related content in a note?
Audio can be placed in a note with embedded controls to start and stop the audio
a vertical bar formatted to the left of the selected text allows for an indented "quote" styling
Bullet items can be "folded," "collapsed" or "contracted" such that their nested content is hidden from view
Multiple languages can be selected to define the code syntax highlighting
There exists a means to recolor the background behind specific text in more than one color
A formatting text style that slants the letters evenly to the right
Numbers are used at the beginning of the line to assemble ordered lists
Text can be explicitly designated as "center"-aligned, "right"-aligned or "justified"
Videos can be placed in the body of a note, with controls to start and stop the video
Does text formatted as code get syntax highlighting?
What functionality specific to images is possible?
An image (such as jpeg, png, gif) can be inserted and viewed in the note editor
What features are provided for interoperability between apps? How much lock-in is there?
Notes can be deleted from an active account en masse without emailing the company
App includes a built in importer for any markdown notes (MD)
App automatically syncs note & image data to the cloud without implementing extensions, and without signing up for a secondary account on a storage provider
A list of different versions of the note from past various points with the ability to revert to any of them
What features does the note provider offer in terms of third-party integrations and utilities adjacent to the note content itself?
A syntax exists to make numeric or date calculations within the app
Date and time can be evaluated and inserted into a note
Addition, subtraction and multiplication is possible within an evaluated expression (not including table formulas)
Hotkeys can be remapped from their default values
Supports syntax allowing diagrams and charts (Mermaid, etc) to be inserted into a note body
A column style view used for dragging text blocks from one section to another
Pre-configured content (instructions, tasks, etc) can be duplicated from an existing source note
The app allows users to develop and package extended app functionality. A directory is provided to help users browse and install plugins
Features specific to the mobile experience
How well can the app function without internet access?
Searching for text inside notes works when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
Any note can be read when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
Note content can be created or updated when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
Quick-searching for notes works when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
How fast is it?
Which platforms are officially supported?
Includes web apps that can be installed via official PWA or Electron
An iPad app (separate from iOS app) has been published to App Store
What options are there for navigating around the app and finding the note you're after?
When entering text into the search field, matching hierarchical tags/directories are offered to help the user filter note content
For any given note, the app provides a way to browse all other notes that contain links pointing to it
It is possible to filter backlinked content, whether by tag, note title, or other means
UX is provided to find references to a note (aka mentions of the note title) and quickly convert them into links
The three keyword operators (AND, NOT, OR) limit or expand search results
It's possible to create a link from one note to another note
A list of all notes containing a word or phrase can be produced
A menu to view available keyboard shortcuts is located within the app
Means provided to link to specific content in another note (be it a heading, paragraph, task, or bullet)
A dialog is provided to look up other notes as link targets while creating a new link in a note
A dialog is provided to look up other specific headers/blocks as link targets while creating a new link in a note
A dialog is provided to lookup and link to a block from any note, without having to type an identifier for the note
Nodes in the note hierarchy can be colored
A note can be pinned to the top of the note list for easy access, and will stay there until unpinned
Notes can have metadata or frontmatter ("properties"), which can be used to locate the note later
A hotkey is available that can be used to access an input box that searches notes, and a note can be selected from that list without using the mouse
The forward slash key can be used to call forth a dialogue with a list of editing & formatting options
What features exist to share notes with the world?
Notes shared via a publicly-accessible link can be edited by any visitor without requiring explicit permissions from the note owner
Enable a specific user or multiple users to view and/or edit one's otherwise private note content
The note owner has options for different levels of permissions when sharing a note with other users who have an account (ex: full access, read only, editable by others)
Does the app support formatting data in tables?
What to-do list and scheduling features does the app support?
There exists a means to view all tasks that have been created across a group of notes
Text can be prefaced with a completable checkbox, but is not removed from the task list when completed
What functionality is offered to capture content discovered on the internet?
Did we miss something?
We are constantly working to make sure this page stays up-to-date with the features available in Roam Research. If there is a feature you think we missed, please email us a screenshot and the URL where the feature is described to [email protected].
Our goal is to respond to all correction submissions within a few business days.