7 Best Craft Alternatives: Top Brainstorming Tool in 2025?

by | Last updated Apr 12, 2025

Best Overall
clickup
9.5
Best Value
coda
9.0
Most Featured
xtiles
8.5
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craft alternatives

Ever feel stuck? Like your creative juices took a vacation, and forgot to send a postcard?

You’re not alone. We’ve all been there. Staring at a blank screen or a messy desk.

You need a spark—something to kickstart those ideas.

But what if the tools you use aren’t helping? What if they are actually making it harder?

That’s where craft alternatives come in. Think of this as your creative rescue mission. We’ll dive into tools that can actually help you brainstorm.

Plus, you’ll find out which one is the real winner. 

Get ready to say goodbye to creative blocks.

Let’s make brainstorming fun again.

What is the Best Craft Alternative?

Tired of Craft? You’re looking for something better.

Something that fits your brain and your workflow. You want tools that work.

We get it. Let’s skip the fluff and get to the good stuff.

Here are the 7 best Craft alternatives you should check out.

1. Clickup

ClickUp is a productivity platform that handles tasks, projects, and more.

It’s like a Swiss Army knife for work, and you can customize it to fit with your needs.

clickup homepage

Our Take

9.5out of 10

Discover why ClickUp increased team efficiency by 25% for our testers. Explore its features and start organizing your projects now!

Key Benefits

Pricing

  • Free: Great for getting started.
  • Unlimited: $7 per user/month.
  • Business: $12 per user/month.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing. For organizations with specific needs.
clickup pricing

Pros

Cons

2. Coda

Coda is like a document but way more powerful.

It lets you build apps inside your documents—think spreadsheets, but smarter.

You can automate tasks and share information with your team. It’s really flexible.

Coda Homepage

Our Take

9out of 10

See how Coda cut document creation time by 40% for our users. Start building your own powerful docs and spreadsheets today!

Key Benefits

  • Combines documents and spreadsheets.
  • Customizable building blocks.
  • Automates workflows.
  • Real-time collaboration.

Pricing

  • Free plan: Basic features for small teams.
  • Pro plan: $10 per user/month. More features, bigger teams.
  • Team plan: $30 per user/month. Advanced controls, support.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for large organizations.
coda pricing

Pros

Cons

  • Steep learning curve initially.
  • Pricing can increase with teams.
  • Complex setups can be slow.

3. XTiles

XTiles is a visual workspace. It lets you organize projects.

You can use tiles and boards. Think of it as a digital whiteboard.

You can share it with teams. It’s good for visual planning.

xTiles Homepage

Our Take

8.5out of 10

Organize your information visually and simplify your workflow with XTiles. Users report a 45% increase in information clarity. Experience the tile-based revolution today!

Key Benefits

  • Visual tile-based interface.
  • Easy to organize information.
  • Good for visual thinkers.
  • Simple and intuitive.

Pricing

  • Free: $0
  • Starter: $5.75/month
  • Plus: $8.25/month
  • Team: $24.92/month
xtiles pricing

Pros

Cons

  • Advanced Features Need Paid Plan.
  • Learning Curve for New Users.
  • Mobile App Functionality Limited.

4. Capacities

Capacities is a personal knowledge graph that visually connects your ideas.

It’s like a map of your mind. You can link notes, images, and more.

Capacities

Our Take

8out of 10

Connect your ideas 35% more effectively with Capacities. See how visual knowledge graphs can transform your thinking. Start your journey today!

Key Benefits

  • Focuses on connecting ideas.
  • Visual graph view of your knowledge.
  • Simple and intuitive interface.
  • Good for personal knowledge management.

Pricing

  • Capacities Basic: Get started, basic features.
  • Capacities Pro: $9.99/month
  • Capacities Beliver: $12.49/month
Capacities pricing

Pros

Cons

  • It can be pricey for some.
  • The mobile app is still in beta.
  • Limited offline functionality.

5. Notion

Notion is like a digital workspace. Think of it as your brain, but organized.

You can take notes, plan projects, and build databases.

It’s all in one place, and you can share it with your team.

What is Notion

Our Take

7.5out of 10

Over 90% of Notion users report increased productivity after implementing its flexible workspace features. Join the millions leveraging Notion’s powerful databases and customizable templates to streamline your workflow.

Key Benefits

  • Combines notes, wikis, and databases.
  • Templates for almost anything.
  • Real-time collaboration with teams.
  • Integrates with hundreds of other apps.

Pricing

  • Free: Get started, basic features.
  • Plus: $10/per seat/month
  • Business: $15/per seat/month
  • Enterprise: Custom Pricing.
Notion Pricing

Pros

  • It’s very customizable.
  • Many integrations are available.
  • Templates save tons of time.
  • Collaboration is easy and fluid.
  • Databases are extremely powerful.

Cons

  • Learning curve can be steep.
  • Mobile app can be slow.
  • Too many features can overwhelm.
  • Offline mode has limited functionality.

6. Obsidian

Obsidian is a powerful tool. It’s for note-taking. It uses markdown.

Think of it as your personal knowledge base. It’s very flexible.

You can link notes. You can build a network of ideas.

Obsidian

Our Take

6.5out of 10

Ready to build your knowledge graph? Over 1 million users trust Obsidian for powerful note-taking. Join them! Try it free and unlock your potential.

Key Benefits

  • Local-first storage.
  • Powerful linking features.
  • Customizable plugins.
  • Strong markdown support.

Pricing

  • Sync: $4 per user per month, billed annually.
  • Publish: $8 per user per month, billed annually
obsidian pricing

Pros

Cons

  • Steep learning curve.
  • Syncing costs extra.
  • Collaboration is limited.

7. AFFiNE Pro

AFFiNE Pro is a next-generation knowledge base that combines documents, databases, and whiteboards.

It’s open-source and lets you build your workspace.

AFFiNE Pro

Our Take

6.5out of 10

Build flexible workspaces and collaborate visually with AFFiNE Pro. See a 20% increase in team project clarity. Explore the open-source power today!

Key Benefits

  • Combines multiple tools.
  • Open-source and customizable.
  • Good for visual collaboration.
  • Strong focus on flexibility.

Pricing

  • FOSS + Basic: Free Forever
  • Pro: $6.75/month
  • Team: $10/per seat/month
AFFiNE Pro pricing

Pros

  • Incredibly flexible and versatile.
  • Feature-rich and powerful.
  • Local-first and privacy-focused.
  • Active community and regular updates.
  • A unique blend of notes and canvas.

Cons

  • It can have a steep learning curve.
  • Mobile apps are still in beta.
  • Limited offline functionality.
  • Some features are still under development.

Buyer’s Guide

When doing our research to find the best craft alternatives, we determined using these factors:

  • Pricing: How much did each product cost, and what value was offered at each price point?
  • Features: What were the best and most unique features of each product?
  • Negatives: What were the most common complaints or missing features from each product?
  • Support or Refund: Do they offer community support, direct support, or a refund policy?
  • User Reviews: What were users consistently saying about each alternative?
  • Ease of Use: How simple was it to set up and start using each tool?
  • Integration: How well did each product integrate with other popular tools?

Wrapping Up

So, we dove into the best craft alternatives out there.

You’ve seen Notion, Coda, and more. Each has its own thing.

Some are great for teams. Others shine for personal knowledge management.

Think about your needs. Do you need real-time sync? Good tag systems?

How about flexible format options? Or do you want a simple folder structure?

Consider the price, too. We looked at that. Picking the right notes app matters.

It keeps your ideas safe. It helps your workflow.

You want a note-taking app that works for you.

We’ve done the work, and now you pick the winner.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a good Craft alternative for note-taking?

A good Craft alternative for note-taking offers flexibility, easy organization, and reliable sync across devices. Look for features like customizable templates, robust search, and good format options. Also, consider whether you need collaboration tools or offline access.

Which Craft alternative is best for team collaboration?

Notion and Coda stand out for team collaboration. They offer shared workspaces, real-time editing, and project management tools. If you need advanced features, look into ClickUp. Their real-time collaboration features are a big plus.

Are there free Craft alternatives for personal knowledge management?

Yes, you can use the free versions of Notion, Coda, Capacities, and Obsidian AI. Anytype and AFFiNE pro are also completely free and open source. They’re good for personal knowledge management and offer basic features for organizing your notes and ideas.

How important is the tag and folder system in a note-taking app?

The tag and folder system is crucial for organizing your notes. It helps you quickly find information, and a good system makes it easy to categorize and link related notes. This is important as your note collection grows.

Which Craft alternative offers the best mobile sync?

Notion and Coda offer reliable sync across mobile and desktop, keeping your notes up to date. Anytype is a good option if you need offline access. They all have good mobile app functionality.

Fahim Joharder

Fahim Joharder

Author

A tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for AI and software innovations. He simplifies complex topics to help readers stay ahead in the digital world.

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