Anytype Review  – The Ultimate Guide to Object-Based Note-Taking

In recent years, note-taking apps have evolved far beyond simple text editors. Enter Anytype Review, a modern, open-source, local-first note-taking application that combines the best features of Notion and Obsidian while keeping your data secure. With object-based note-taking, offline-first storage, and end-to-end encryption, Anytype has quickly become a favorite among personal knowledge management enthusiasts and privacy-conscious users.

I’ll explore Anytype’s features, pros and cons, pricing, comparisons with other popular apps, and who will benefit the most from using it. I’ll also provide examples and a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

What is Anytype?

Anytype is an open-source note-taking app designed for those who want a structured, secure, and offline-first approach to their notes. Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and with a Chrome extension for web clipping, Anytype covers almost every device platform.

Object-Based Note-Taking

Unlike traditional note-taking apps, Anytype creates notes as objects. Each object can represent anything: a meeting, a book, a person, or even an idea. You can define relations for each object to store additional information, such as the date of a meeting or the author of a book. This structured approach makes organizing and linking notes more intuitive over time.

For example, when creating a note for a book, you could connect it to the author object, link it to the person who recommended it, or relate it to a previous meeting where you discussed it. This forms a networked knowledge system that feels more like a personal brain than a folder.

Local-First & Secure

Anytype emphasizes privacy. Your notes are stored locally on your device, encrypted with a recovery phrase that only you control. There’s end-to-end encryption, which means the Anytype team cannot access your data. This is particularly appealing for users who care deeply about data privacy and security.

Top Benefits of Anytype

1. Complete Data Control & Privacy
   Anytype is built for users who care deeply about control. It stores your data locally on your device and uses end-to-end encryption, so only you have access. There’s no “big tech” company holding your private notes — your recovery phrase is your key.
2. Object-Based Organization
   Instead of just writing plain notes, you can create objects (like “Book,” “Person,” “Project,” etc.) with custom relations. This structure allows you to build a knowledge base that reflects how you think, and makes it easy to connect ideas meaningfully.
3. Rich Visual Connections with Graph View
   With Anytype’s Graph View (and Flow View), you can see how all your objects are linked visually. This helps you discover hidden relationships, build a “map” of your ideas, and explore your notes in a non-linear way.
4. Offline-First With Syncing Capability
   You don’t have to rely on the internet to access or edit your notes — Anytype works fully offline. When you’re back online, it syncs neatly via peer-to-peer (P2P) using your recovery phrase, keeping your data private and available across devices.
5. Flexible Database (“Sets”) System
   Anytype’s “Sets” act like powerful databases: you can filter, sort, and view your objects in Grid, Gallery, List, Kanban, Calendar, or Graph layouts. This makes it easy to manage tasks, books, projects, or any object type you define.
6. Custom Templates & Types
   You can create and reuse templates, which is super helpful when you often make similar kinds of notes (like meeting notes, book summaries, or habit trackers). Combined with types, you can tailor each object to your own workflow.
7. Unlimited Attachment Size
   You can attach large files — images, videos, audio, PDFs — without worrying about size limits. This is rare for a free note-taking app and hugely helpful when working with rich media or research documents.
8. Cross-Platform Support
   Anytype works on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, so you can access your notes on all your devices. Plus, there’s a Chrome web clipper, which makes clipping web pages and ideas even easier.
9. Team Collaboration (Optional)
   Through shared workspaces, you can collaborate with others. While the free plan limits membership, it’s still powerful enough for small teams or joint projects, making it a hybrid PM + PKM tool.
10. Open-Source & Transparent
    Anytype’s open-source nature means you can inspect its code, contribute, or even host parts yourself. This builds trust — you know exactly how your data is handled, and you’re not locked into a proprietary ecosystem.

How Anytype is Different from Other Note-Taking Apps

Anytype stands out from traditional note-taking apps like Notion, Evernote, and Obsidian in several key ways:

1. Object-Based Notes vs Traditional Notes

Unlike traditional note-taking apps that rely on simple text pages or blocks, Anytype organizes notes as objects. Each object can represent a book, meeting, person, or idea, complete with relations to store metadata. This structure allows you to connect your notes like a personal knowledge graph, making it easier to find relationships and insights over time.

For instance, a “Book” object could link to the Author object, the person who recommended it, or a meeting where it was discussed. In contrast, traditional apps like Notion or Evernote usually require manual linking or tagging, which can be cumbersome as your notes grow.

2. End-to-End Encryption & Privacy Features

Anytype is local-first and highly privacy-focused. Your notes are encrypted locally and can only be accessed with a recovery phrase you control. This differs from cloud-first apps like Evernote or Notion, where your data is stored on third-party servers.

This feature is especially appealing for privacy-conscious users, researchers, or anyone handling sensitive information. No external server can read your notes, giving you full ownership and control.

3. Peer-to-Peer Syncing & Recovery Phrase

Anytype uses peer-to-peer syncing, which means your devices communicate directly to update your notes. Unlike cloud services, there’s no central server storing your data. Your recovery phrase acts as a key to decrypt your notes across devices.

This system ensures offline access, seamless syncing, and strong security. Even if Anytype’s servers go down, your notes remain safe and accessible.

Who Should Use Anytype?

Anytype is best suited for:

• PKM enthusiasts who enjoy structuring and connecting knowledge.
• Researchers and students who need to organize notes with interlinking objects.
• Privacy-conscious users who value offline storage and encryption.
• Note-takers who like modern databases integrated with tasks and projects.

However, if you primarily need canvas-based or heavily collaborative apps, Anytype may feel limited unless you upgrade to a paid plan.

Who Might Struggle with Anytype

While Anytype is a powerful tool for personal knowledge management (PKM) and secure note-taking, it may not be the best fit for everyone.

1. Users Needing Canvas-Based Apps

Anytype currently does not offer canvas or free-form spatial layouts like some other PKM tools (e.g., Notion’s canvas, Miro, or Milanote). Users who prefer visual organization of notes, mind maps, or draggable blocks might find Anytype limiting in this regard.

2. Heavy Collaboration-Focused Teams

Collaboration in Anytype is available via shared workspaces, but the free plan restricts access to three members per workspace. Teams that require real-time editing for large groups may find Anytype less suitable compared to apps like Notion, Coda, or Google Docs. The paid plans expand these limits but still may not match the flexibility of dedicated team collaboration platforms.

3. Users Expecting Fully Intuitive Learning Curves

Because Anytype uses object-based note-taking and relations, there is a learning curve for new users. Those accustomed to linear note-taking apps or simple checklist tools might initially struggle to understand types, sets, collections, and graph views.

Despite these challenges, Anytype excels for users who value offline-first PKM tools, secure note-taking apps, and structured knowledge organization. It’s especially appealing for individuals or small teams who want privacy, encryption, and deep organizational capabilities.

Getting Started with Anytype 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. Setting up Your Vault

When you first launch Anytype, you’ll create a vault, an encrypted storage box for your notes. Each vault comes with a recovery phrase, which you must store securely. This phrase allows you to sync notes across devices without relying on Anytype servers.

2. Creating Spaces

Spaces are sub-sections of your vault. They are where your notes, databases, and collections live. On the free plan, you can create up to 3 shared spaces, but paid plans allow more.

3. Creating Objects

Objects are the foundation of Anytype. They are notes with structure, allowing you to predefine templates and relations. For example:

• Book Object: title, author, genre, recommendation.
• Author Object: bio, list of books, links.
• Person Object: contact info, notes from meetings.

By organizing your notes as objects, you can create a network of interconnected ideas, similar to a personal knowledge graph.

4. Using Sets and Collections

• Sets: Dynamic databases based on object attributes, like “All Tasks” or “All Book Notes.”
• Collections: Static folders where you group related objects, similar to traditional file folders.

5. GraphView & FlowView

These views visualize the relationships between your objects:

• GraphView: See all connected notes in a bird’s-eye view.
• FlowView: See the connections from one note to others, ideal for exploring chains of ideas.

6. Adding Attachments

Anytype supports:

• Images (resize only, no cropping/rotation)
• Videos (picture-in-picture, full-screen, speed control)
• Audio (limited playback options)
• PDFs (embedded in notes, with navigation)
• Web bookmarks

Notably, there’s no file size limit, which is rare among free note-taking apps.

7. Offline Access & Sync

Your notes are accessible offline, synced via a peer-to-peer network using your recovery phrase. While Anytype mentions local-only or self-hosted backups, these are not clearly accessible in the app yet.

Key Features of Anytype Review

Feature	Description	Rating
Object-Based Note-Taking	Structured notes with templates and relations	A+
NoteTaking & TextFormatting	Bold, italics, inline code, headings, dividers	B+
Databases & Sets	Six views:  Gallery, Kanban, Calendar, Graph	B-
Networked Thought	GraphView & FlowView visualize connections	B
Widgets & Layouts	Customizable sidebar widgets for live data	B+
Security & Privacy	End-to-end encryption, local-first storage	A+
Collaboration & Shared Workspaces	Real-time collaboration, free plan limits to 3 members	B

 

Small Features Worth Noting

• Templates: Pre-structure notes for recurring tasks, meetings, or projects.
• Custom Widgets: Live updates for tasks and objects.
• PDF Export: Maintain formatting for notes across apps.

Anytype vs Competitors

Notion vs Anytype

• Notion: All-in-one productivity platform, cloud-first, collaboration-focused.
• Anytype: Focused on structured object-based notes, local-first, offline-ready.

Obsidian vs Anytype

• Obsidian: Markdown-focused PKM tool with plugins, cloud optional.
• Anytype: Visual graph of connected objects, templates, and relations built-in.

Capacities vs Anytype

• Capacities: PKM with minimalistic task management.
• Anytype: Rich object-based notes with relational database and visualization features.

Pricing & Plans

Plan	Storage	Shared Spaces	Members per Space	Price
Free	1 GB	3	3	$0
Builder	128 GB	3	10 editors	$99/year
Co-Creator	256 GB	3+	10+ editors	$299/3 years
Business	Custom	Custom	Unlimited	Contact sales

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Works offline
• Unlimited attachment sizes
• PDF export
• End-to-end encryption
• Object-based, visualized knowledge graph

Cons

• Confusing feature names
• Collaboration & backup options limited in free plan
• Search tool is basic
• Limited heading & font options

Alternatives to Anytype

1. Obsidian
   • A powerful, markdown‑based PKM tool with bidirectional linking and graph view. ClickUp+1
   • Ideal for users who like deep customization, plugins, and working with local files.
2. Logseq
   • Open‑source, outliner-style note-taking app with great support for Markdown, research, and graph-style linking. Wikipedia
   • Works well for structured note-taking, academic work, and PKM.
3. Joplin
   • Free, open-source, and supports markdown; has client-side encryption and many sync options. Wikipedia
   • Good for users who want a simple, secure, and offline-friendly note solution.
4. QOwnNotes
   • Lightweight, plain-text note app with markdown support and AES-256 encryption. Wikipedia
   • Works well with Nextcloud/ownCloud if you want self-hosted syncing.
5. AppFlowy
   • Open-source workspace similar to Notion, combining notes, tasks, and blocks. ClickUp
   • Great for users who want a flexible “everything workspace” that’s local-first.
6. AFFiNE pro
   • A local-first workspace that supports docs, whiteboards, and structured notes. Affine+1
   • Excellent for visual thinkers and those who like combining writing with sketching or planning.
7. Capacities
   • Focused on a graph-based PKM model, letting you build a network of ideas with relational data. Primary Goals+1
   • Useful for deep thinkers who want structured but flexible linking of notes.
8. ClickUp (Docs)
   • All-in-one work tool: tasks, docs, wikis, and notes in one place. ClickUp
   • Perfect for teams or individuals who want to manage work and knowledge in the same app.
9. Dynalist
   • Hierarchical outliner — great for creating nested lists, tasks, and outlines. ClickUp
   • Ideal for users who think in bullet points and outlines rather than pages.
     

Conclusion

Anytype is an innovative note-taking application that blends object-based note-taking, offline-first access, and top-notch security. While it has a learning curve, its structured approach to notes, graph visualization, and open-source nature make it a compelling option for PKM enthusiasts and privacy-focused users.

The free plan is generous, and the paid plans offer enhanced collaboration and storage options. If you’re ready to explore a new way to organize your notes beyond traditional apps like Notion or Obsidian, Anytype is worth a try.

FAQs

1. Is Anytype secure?
   Yes. All notes are encrypted locally with a recovery phrase. The Anytype team cannot access your notes.
2. Does Anytype work offline?
   Yes. Notes are stored locally and can sync across devices without internet.
3. Can I collaborate in Anytype?
   Yes, but the free plan limits collaboration to 3 members per space. Paid plans allow more.
4. How does object-based note-taking work?
   Objects are structured notes with attributes (relations), allowing you to interconnect your notes like a knowledge graph.
5. Is Anytype better than Notion for PKM?
   For users prioritizing structured knowledge, offline access, and privacy, Anytype offers a stronger PKM approach than Notion.