Guru
Heptabase
| Feature | Guru | Heptabase |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | From $11.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | support-teams, sales-teams, hr-teams, growing-companies | researchers, students, visual-thinkers, phd-students |
| Founded | 2015 | 2021 |
| Knowledge Cards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Verification | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Search | ✓ | ✗ |
| Browser Extension | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Whiteboards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Card System | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mindmaps | ✗ | ✓ |
| Journal | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tags | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pdf Annotation | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Guru Pros
- Knowledge verification
- Browser extension
- AI-powered search
- Slack/Teams integration
✗ Guru Cons
- Unwieldy at scale
- Verification overhead
- Limited formatting
✓ Heptabase Pros
- Visual-first approach to note-taking
- Whiteboards for spatial thinking
- Card-based system is very flexible
- Great for research and learning
✗ Heptabase Cons
- No free plan
- Mobile app is limited
- Steeper learning curve than simple note apps
The Verdict
Guru is built for support teams and sales teams, with a focus on knowledge-cards and verification. Heptabase targets researchers and students and leads with whiteboards and card-system.
Pricing is close: Guru starts at $10/mo versus $11.99/mo for Heptabase — not a deciding factor on its own.
Guru has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Heptabase requires a paid subscription from day one.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.