Compare / Reflect vs SiYuan

Reflect vs SiYuan

Reflect is a fast, minimal networked notes app with end-to-end encryption and a built-in AI assistant; SiYuan is a free, open-source, block-based knowledge base with Notion-style databases and local storage. Here’s how they compare on pricing, platforms, linking, search, capture and collaboration — and how to decide between them.

What is Reflect?

Reflect is deliberately simple: daily notes, backlinks, a calendar and contacts integration, and speed as a feature. Rather than growing into a do-everything workspace, it polishes a small set of ideas — capture your day, link your thinking, find it instantly — and wraps them in one of the cleaner interfaces in the category. Notes are end-to-end encrypted, unusual for a cloud tool.

An AI palette (GPT-based) drafts, summarizes and answers questions over your notes, and voice memos are transcribed with Whisper. Capture comes via a browser extension and Kindle sync. It’s a single plan at $10/month billed annually (14-day trial, no free tier), on web, macOS and iOS — Windows and Android users work through the browser.

What is SiYuan?

SiYuan packs a remarkable amount into an open-source (AGPL) package: block-level bidirectional links, WYSIWYG Markdown, Notion-like database and attribute views, spaced-repetition flashcards, a graph, PDF annotation and a plugin marketplace — all stored locally, with the option to self-host the whole thing in Docker. It’s free for personal and commercial use.

Sync is where money changes hands, modestly: a one-time PRO license (~$64) unlocks third-party S3/WebDAV sync, or you can subscribe to the official encrypted cloud service. The developer is China-based with a very active GitHub, and the app is fully usable in English. It’s single-player — no real-time collaboration — but as a personal all-in-one it rivals tools costing $100+/year.

Reflect vs SiYuan at a glance

Pricing and features as of mid-2026 — check each product’s site for current details.

Where Reflect shines

• Genuinely fast and distraction-free; the tool disappears behind the writing.
• End-to-end encryption on a cloud notes app is rare.
• Calendar and contacts integration make it a natural meeting-notes and journaling tool.
• Built-in AI assistant and Whisper voice transcription without plugin fiddling.

Worth knowing: No free plan, and one fixed $10/month price. Single-player by design — no collaboration or publishing to speak of. No Windows or Android apps, and the minimalism means no databases, queries or heavy structure.

Where SiYuan shines

• An unusually complete free feature set: block refs, databases, flashcards, PDF annotation, graph — no plugins required.
• Open source (AGPL) with local-first storage and Docker self-hosting.
• Sync your own way — one-time license for S3/WebDAV, or the official encrypted cloud.
• Very active development with a plugin bazaar on top.

Worth knowing: No collaboration and no first-party hosted sharing beyond exports and self-hosting. The interface is denser and less polished than Western commercial rivals, and documentation can be rough in translation. Capture from the web, email or feeds isn’t a focus.

Which should you choose?

Choose Reflect if:

• You want the least possible friction between a thought and a saved, linked note.
• End-to-end encryption matters but you still want a polished cloud app.
• Your workflow revolves around your calendar and daily notes.

Choose SiYuan if:

• You want maximum capability for minimum (or zero) money, as open source.
• Self-hosting on your own infrastructure appeals to you.
• You want Notion-style databases and flashcards in a local-first app.

A third option: Dexi

If what you actually want is one searchable place for notes, bookmarks, newsletters and RSS — with tags, @mentions and [[wiki links]] that organize themselves as you write, semantic search that finds ideas even when the words don’t match, and an MCP server so Claude and other AI assistants can work with your notes directly — take a look at Dexi. It’s free for up to 1,000 notes, with no app to install.

• Dexi vs Reflect
• Dexi vs SiYuan

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