Roam Research
Standard Notes
| Feature | Roam Research | Standard Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $15/mo | Free / from $7.5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | researchers, writers, academics, knowledge-workers | privacy-focused-users, journalists, professionals, researchers |
| Founded | 2019 | 2016 |
| Bidirectional Links | ✓ | ✗ |
| Block References | ✓ | ✗ |
| Daily Notes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Graph View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Queries | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Version History | ✓ | ✗ |
| Encryption | ✗ | ✓ |
| Themes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Editors | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tags | ✗ | ✓ |
| File Attachments | ✗ | ✓ |
| Two Factor Auth | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Roam Research Pros
- Bidirectional links surface unexpected connections
- Block-level referencing for atomic notes
- Daily notes workflow reduces friction
- Graph view reveals knowledge structure
✗ Roam Research Cons
- Steep learning curve for new users
- No free tier (expensive for note-taking)
- Mobile experience is poor
- Performance issues with very large graphs
✓ Standard Notes Pros
- End-to-end encrypted
- 100-year company promise
- Cross-platform
- Open-source
✗ Standard Notes Cons
- Basic free version
- Fewer features than Notion
- Limited formatting
The Verdict
Roam Research is built for researchers and writers, with a focus on bidirectional-links and block-references. Standard Notes targets privacy focused users and journalists and leads with encryption and themes.
On pricing, Standard Notes is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $7.5/mo compared to $15/mo for Roam Research. That $7.5/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Standard Notes has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Roam Research requires a paid subscription from day one.
Feature-wise, Roam Research offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Standard Notes takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for researchers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
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.