Comparison
| Tool | Price from | Free plan | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| OOpen Notebook | not listed | ? | Productivity & notes |
 Recall | 10 USD/mo | yes | Productivity & notes |
 NotebookLM | 23,99 PLN/mo | ? | Research & science |
 Readwise Reader | 5.59 USD/mo | trial | Productivity & notes |
 Granola | 14 USD/mo | yes | Productivity & notes |
 Notion | 9.50 EUR/mo | trial | Productivity & notes |
 MindMap AI | 3.99 USD/mo | yes | Productivity & notes |
 Slashspace | 89 USD/yr | trial | Productivity & notes |
 Smallpdf | 1 USD/mo | trial | Productivity & notes |
Each alternative in short
1. Recall
Personal AI knowledge base: save articles, videos, podcasts and PDFs, then summarize and chat with them using AI.
Yes, there is a free plan. Free forever: unlimited saving of read-later content and unlimited notes, 10 AI summaries per month, and API and MCP access.
2. NotebookLM
AI research and note-taking assistant that answers from your own files, turning them into summaries, slide decks, mind maps and audio or video overviews.
The vendor does not state this clearly on the homepage or pricing page.
3. Readwise Reader
Read-it-later app with advanced highlighting, RSS, PDF and newsletter support, for people who read a lot and want to remember it.
There is a free trial. 30-day free trial of Readwise. The page says Reader is available to start for free.
4. Granola
AI notepad that takes meeting notes, action items and follow-ups without joining the call as a bot, for people in back-to-back meetings.
Yes, there is a free plan. Basic plan: AI meeting notes, AI chat within and across meetings, shared folders, custom templates, multi-language support, limited meeting history (30 days).
5. Notion
AI-powered workspace combining notes, databases, search across apps, and AI agents that automate work for teams.
There is a free trial. Free plan for individuals includes a trial of Notion AI capabilities and basic forms and sites.
6. MindMap AI
Generates mind maps from a prompt, PDF, video, audio, or webpage, with chat-based editing and a free manual editor, for teams, students and professionals.
Yes, there is a free plan. Free plan with 50 AI credits per month, unlimited manual maps, and export to PDF, PNG and Markdown.
7. Slashspace
Desktop AI canvas for branching chats with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and local models, for researchers, students and business owners.
There is a free trial. 3-day free trial of the yearly plan, cancel before it ends and pay nothing.
8. Smallpdf
Web and mobile platform for converting, compressing, editing, signing and managing PDF files, with an AI PDF assistant for chatting with and summarizing documents.
There is a free trial. 7-day free trial with unlimited access to all Smallpdf tools; the homepage describes a free solution for basic PDF tasks.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Open Notebook?
The most popular option in the same category is Recall. See the comparison table above.