Reflect
Verified Oct 16, 2026 ActiveOpen-source Markdown notes with backlinks and daily notes, free on Mac, paid on iPhone and iPad, with AI on your own API key.
Listed on EffectHub ·
Pricing
- Pricing model
- Freemium
The Mac app is free with no subscription; the iPhone and iPad app needs a paid subscription priced only on the App Store, so no USD figure on the vendor's site. AI features use your own provider API key and are billed by that provider; paid Reflect Classic subscribers get a year of the iOS app free.
Use tool ↗About Reflect
Reflect has been rebuilt as Reflect Open, an MIT-licensed note-taking app that keeps notes as plain Markdown files in a folder you choose. Notes link to each other through backlinks, each day starts with a daily note, and audio memos and web clips from a Chrome extension land in the same graph. Sync runs through iCloud Drive or Git rather than through Reflect's own servers. The Mac app is free; the iPhone and iPad app is a paid App Store subscription, and the optional AI assistant (ask your notes, summarise, rewrite, transcribe) needs your own provider API key, billed by that provider. The original hosted app, now called Reflect Classic, is still maintained for existing users.
- Platforms
- macOS · iOS · Chrome extension · Web
- API
- Not confirmed
- Last verified
- Oct 16, 2026
Verified sources
- Home page 'Get access': Mac free, no subscription required; iPhone & iPad paid subscription, 'See local pricing on the App Store'; optional AI requires your own API key; Reflect Classic still maintained (15 October 2026)reflect.app ↗
- Download page offers Reflect Open for macOS, iPhone and iPad and a Chrome extension, plus separate Reflect Classic builds (15 October 2026)reflect.app ↗
- GitHub repository team-reflect/reflect-open, MIT licence, created June 2026, described as an open-source local-first Markdown rewrite of Reflect (15 October 2026)github.com ↗
- Footer: 'Reflect App, LLC. All rights reserved.' (15 October 2026)reflect.app ↗
Is Reflect legit?
We don’t label tools safe or unsafe. Below are the records we checked ourselves, each with the date we read it.
- Domain registered
- Sep 27, 2020 (6 years ago)Registry record (RDAP), registrar Squarespace Domains II LLC., looked up Sep 6, 2026
- TLS certificate
- Issued by Let's Encrypt, valid until Dec 6, 2026Seen in our own connection to the site on Oct 16, 2026
- Last checked
- Oct 16, 2026The site answered
- Operated by
- Reflect App, LLC, United StatesOur research, card verified Oct 15, 2026
Pros & cons of Reflect
Reflect has turned from a $10-a-month hosted notebook into Reflect Open: MIT-licensed, Markdown files in your own folder, sync through iCloud or Git, and free on the Mac. That makes it a credible Obsidian alternative for Apple users who want backlinks and daily notes without lock-in, but there is still nothing for Windows or Android, and the AI works only with your own API key.
Pros
- Free on Mac with no subscription
- MIT-licensed source on GitHub, with notes kept as local Markdown files
- Backlinks, daily notes, audio memos and Chrome web clipping in one app
- Notes marked private are excluded from AI access
Cons
- Apple-only: Mac, iPhone and iPad, with no Windows or Android app
- The iPhone and iPad app needs a paid subscription priced only on the App Store
- AI features require bringing and paying for your own provider API key
Best for
- Mac users who want backlinked daily notes stored as plain Markdown files
- People who prefer syncing notes through iCloud Drive or Git over a vendor cloud
- Existing Reflect Classic subscribers, who get a year of the iPhone and iPad app free
Not for
- Windows and Android users
- Anyone who wants AI included in the price rather than paying a model provider separately
Watch out: Two products now share the name: Reflect Classic, the hosted subscription app, and Reflect Open, the local Markdown rewrite. Moving to Open imports a copy of your notes, so until you switch fully you are keeping two libraries.
Alternatives to Reflect
Reflect head-to-head
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