7 best Milanote alternatives in 2026

Milanote is a capable visual workspace, but artists go looking for alternatives for the same few reasons: the free plan's cap of 100 notes, images or links and 10 file uploads, the individual plan at $9.99/month billed annually, and the fact that it needs an internet connection to view and edit boards.

Yes, Moodis is on this list. This is our site. Every entry also says when you should pick it over Moodis, because a comparison that only flatters its author is no use to you.

Quick comparison

1. Moodis, local-first mood boards

Moodis is a mood board app for artists built around one idea: your boards are files on your machine, not rows in someone else's database.

• Free desktop app for Windows and Linux, for personal, non-commercial use, with unlimited boards
• The desktop app works fully offline; images, notes, to-dos, colour swatches, columns, links and connectors on one canvas
• Solo: one payment of €35 once for one person, with 9 GB of cloud sync, unlimited boards on your disk, and your own commercial work; no sharing
• Pro: cloud sync, the web app, share links and collaborative editing for €5/month or €50/year, with 99 GB of storage; Team adds shared workspaces
• No account needed for the desktop app, and no tracking cookies

Skip it if: you need macOS or a mobile app today.

Download Moodis

2. PureRef, reference while you paint

The long-standing reference canvas for concept artists, on Windows, macOS and Linux. Version 2.1 added grid snapping and shape drawing tools. Personal use is pay what you want; commercial use is $49 one-time for studios of up to 3 users, or per-seat Business licences.

Pick it over Moodis if: you want an always-on-top window beside Photoshop or Blender and little else. Its limits: no sync or web access. See our PureRef vs Moodis comparison.

3. BeeRef, free and open source

An open-source (GPL-3.0) reference canvas in the spirit of PureRef, and genuinely free.

Pick it over Moodis if: you want the simplest free canvas, for any use, and open source matters to you. Its limits: a basic feature set, no sync, and slow development. The latest release, v0.3.3, came out in May 2024.

4. Eagle, huge tagged libraries

Eagle is less a mood board and more a local asset manager: folders, tags, colour search and a browser extension for collecting images. $34.95 one-time for two devices, with a 30-day trial.

Pick it over Moodis if: your problem is finding images in a large archive rather than arranging them into boards, or you're on a Mac.Its limits: no free tier, and freeform board layout isn't its focus.

5. Miro, team whiteboarding

If collaboration is what drew you to Milanote, Miro does team whiteboarding at scale. Its Starter plan is $8 per member per month billed annually, or $10 monthly.

Its limits for artists: it's a cloud product aimed at business teams, and image-heavy reference boards aren't its focus.

6. Notion, all-in-one workspace

Notion replaces Milanote when your boards are really project documents: briefs, databases and task lists with images attached. It has a free plan; see Notion's pricing for paid tiers.

Its limits for artists: it's a document tool, so freeform visual arrangement, the point of a mood board, isn't what it's built for.

7. Kosmik, cloud canvas with extras

A cloud-based canvas with a built-in browser, PDF reader and AI tagging. It has a free plan; see Kosmik's pricing for paid tiers.

Its limits: it shares Milanote's core trade-off: your boards live in the cloud. If that's what you're leaving Milanote to escape, it's a sideways move.

How to choose

Ask one question first: do you want your boards in the cloud or on your own machine?

Cloud

• Whiteboarding and workshops for business teams: Miro
• Project docs with images: Notion
• A solo mixed-media canvas: Kosmik

On your machine

• A reference window while you paint: PureRef or BeeRef
• A big searchable archive: Eagle
• Boards organised across projects, working offline: the Moodis desktop app

Comparing Milanote with Moodis directly? Read Moodis vs Milanote.