Heptabase

What it is for

Heptabase is a visual knowledge desk: put a PDF or a YouTube on a whiteboard, break it into cards, then ask an AI agent to organize or tutor the pile. Use it when the job is understand a hard topic on a map, not when you need a meeting notetaker.

What makes it unique: the cover is Heptabase’s own PDF + AI-notes workspace — Hume’s Treatise pages, a highlight pane, and a Gemini notes column (Key conclusions / Why does Hume say…) — not a marketing orb.

Key features

• Whiteboards + cards — place atomic notes on a spatial map, then section / arrow / reuse them from the card library (Fundamentals 101; wiki). A map, not a chat.
• PDF reader + highlights — open the PDF on the board, OCR/parse it, and make Highlight cards from passages (cover; Plans). Parsing does not spend AI credits. Reading, not a generate.
• AI Agent — set instructions, then let it file sources/notes onto whiteboards or Q&A the knowledge base (Organize with AI). An organizer, not a highlighter.
• Video cards + transcripts — YouTube or uploads become cards the agent can read (help: transcripts use AI credits; pricing “YouTube transcripts”). Media in, not a PDF.
• AI Tutor — a teaching pass over the same cards (help: credits cover Agent, Tutor, Insight generator, voice notes). Pedagogy, not filing.

Collaborator invites and tags/properties sit on the same board. Unused monthly credits do not roll. On-demand usage and your own OpenAI/Anthropic key are the meter / BYO bill. Model names are SKU.

Who it's for

Best fit: students and researchers who will pay Premium so OCR, GPT/Claude agents, and more than 100 Gemini-only credits sit on one whiteboard.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) from heptabase.com/pricing with the Yearly (Save 25%) toggle on. Official pricing cards win over help-center monthly list.

• Pro — $8.99/month on the yearly toggle. Unlimited notes, whiteboards, tags, image uploads, collaborator invites; PDF highlights; YouTube transcripts; AI agent (Gemini models only); 100 AI credits / month.
• Premium — $17.99/month on the yearly toggle. Unlimited PDF parsing (OCR); unlimited Q&A with basic AI models; AI agent (GPT, Claude, Gemini); 1,800 AI credits / month.
• Premium+ — the yearly card was truncated in the fetch. Help Plans and pricing prints $647.88/year and $71.99/month, 8,100 credits — same features as Premium, more credits. Confirm the live yearly card at checkout.
• 7-day trial — help: Premium credit allowance + unlimited PDF uploads/parsing. No on-demand during trial.

Help-center monthly list (if you leave yearly): Pro $11.99 (early-bird $9.99); Premium $23.99; Premium+ $71.99. Yearly totals on help: Pro $107.88; Premium $215.88; Premium+ $647.88 — that matches $8.99 / $17.99 / $53.99 per month billed yearly. We copy the pricing page yearly cards we opened.

Limitations / costs

• $8.99 / $17.99 are yearly-billed cards. Monthly list on help is $11.99 / $23.99.
• Pro’s agent is Gemini-only + 100 credits. Premium is the first GPT/Claude card.
• Visual KB, not a meeting inbox. For call notes that file tickets, see Granola.

Alternatives

• Mem — another AI notes desk without Heptabase’s PDF whiteboard.
• NotebookLM — source-grounded Q&A when you do not need a spatial map.
• Elicit — paper tables and systematic review, not a lifelong whiteboard.

Official tutorial

Official Heptabase channel video: Heptabase Fundamentals 101: Sense-making with whiteboards (Alan; oEmbed author: Heptabase). The wiki’s first recommended lesson.

Written path: Video tutorials plus Pricing.

Website

https://heptabase.com

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Heptabase’s official PDF + AI-notes workspace (Treatise pages + Gemini conclusions). Dollars checked on heptabase.com/pricing yearly toggle (Pro $8.99; Premium $17.99 / mo). Tutorial oEmbed author: Heptabase.

Last verified

2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.