Overview

Recall is a personal AI knowledge base for collecting and connecting articles, videos, podcasts, PDFs and notes. It is best suited to people who want saved material to become searchable, discussable and reviewable, rather than simply filed away.

Its combination of web and saved-content chat, automatic connections and memory tools makes it a strong fit for ongoing research and learning. The Free plan is a useful starting point, but its 10 monthly AI summaries put a clear ceiling on regular use.

Key features

Recall accepts a broad mix of source material, including articles, videos, podcasts, PDFs and notes. AI chat can work across saved knowledge, the open web, or both, and uses models including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. That makes it useful when a question calls for context from a personal library as well as material beyond it.

The knowledge graph automatically connects related saved content and can surface those connections while browsing. Quizzes and spaced repetition offer a more active way to revisit material than relying on search alone. Together, those tools suit people building a durable learning or research archive; they matter less to someone who only needs a place to store documents.

Recall also provides audio transcription, a web clipper, AI note search and Listen Mode on Plus. Its MCP server connects to Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini CLI, giving those tools read access to a user's knowledge base. The current read-only boundary is important: Recall can make stored knowledge available to connected assistants, but the MCP server cannot write back to the library.

Recall says user data is not used for advertising, profiling or AI-model training. It describes augmented browsing as local-first, with processing on the device and no browsing data sent to Recall's servers. Users can access, export or delete their data, including exporting saved content and summaries. These are useful safeguards and portability options for a personal archive.

Pricing

Free: 0.00 USD per free. It includes unlimited saved content and notes, API and MCP access, but only 10 AI summaries per month. This is a reasonable way to build a library and try connected access; the summary cap makes it a poor fit for frequent AI-assisted processing.

Plus: 10.00 USD per month (billed billed yearly). It adds unlimited AI summaries, smart tags, AI chat, Listen Mode, the knowledge graph and spaced repetition, plus bulk import of up to 1,000 bookmarks or 10,000 Markdown notes. This is the practical tier for regular use of Recall's organizing, chat and review features. The listed price is annual billing, so it suits users willing to commit for the billing year rather than those seeking a monthly-priced option.

Max: 38.00 USD per month (billed billed yearly). It includes everything in Plus, 1:1 onboarding, a choice of AI model and bulk AI actions for up to 100 pieces of content at once. The higher tier is aimed at users who need those additional controls or batch operations; individual learners who do not should find Plus more proportionate. Paid subscriptions can be canceled at any time, with access continuing until the current billing period ends.

Platforms

Recall supports web, iOS, Android and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari, as well as API access. Offline access is supported. The range makes it a plausible fit for people capturing material across devices and browsers, while API and MCP access give technically minded users ways to connect their library to other tools.

Who it's for

Recall identifies researchers, founders and operators, students, writers and creators, and lifelong learners among its users. It is most compelling for people who regularly accumulate varied source material and want to connect, query and revisit it. It is less compelling for teams primarily seeking shared project documentation: Recall is framed as a personal knowledge base, and its MCP access is read-only.

Pros and cons

Pro: It brings articles, video, podcasts, PDFs and notes into one library, then supports both search and chat across that knowledge.
Pro: Automatic connections, quizzes and spaced repetition help turn saved material into something users can revisit and learn from.
Pro: Free includes unlimited saved content and notes plus API and MCP access, so the archive itself is not capped by the monthly summary allowance.
Pro: Device-local augmented browsing, stated limits on data use, and export and deletion controls address privacy and portability concerns.
Con: Free's 10 AI summaries per month is restrictive for people who regularly process new material with AI.
Con: MCP access is read-only, limiting workflows that depend on connected assistants changing the knowledge base.
Con: Plus and Max are priced with annual billing, which is a meaningful commitment for someone still deciding whether Recall fits their habits.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see AI Note-Taking Apps, Note-taking apps and AI Knowledge Base Software.

Choose Supernotes instead if a card-based notes option with a 6.00 GBP per month annual Unlimited plan and platforms including Linux, macOS and Windows better fits your setup. Choose TriliumNext Notes if open-source software, self-hosting and no account requirement matter more than Recall's AI summaries and review features.

Fabric is another freemium alternative, with a Plus plan at 8.00 USD per month billed yearly that includes 50GB storage, 50MB file uploads, 100 spaces and light AI usage. HyNote offers a free plan with audio recording and transcription, professional templates and sessions up to 120 minutes. Notability has a free Starter plan with five notes, editing tools, PDFs and documents, and 20,000+ templates. Notion offers a free plan for personal projects and life organization, with pages, blocks, databases and basic collaboration. Audionotes includes unlimited voice notes of one minute per note, unlimited text notes, transcripts and summaries on its free plan. Craft has a free plan with 1,500 blocks, 1 GB storage, 25 MB media uploads, seven days of version history and 15 AI assistant credits.

Verdict

Recall is a strong choice for individual researchers and learners who want one library for mixed media, AI chat across saved and web knowledge, and structured ways to revisit what they collect. Its main reason to choose it is that combination of connected knowledge and review tools; its main reason to look elsewhere is the Free summary cap or the read-only MCP boundary, depending on the workflow. Plus is the sensible fit for regular AI use, while Max makes sense only when its model choice, onboarding or larger batch actions are worth the annual commitment.

	Bear	Recall
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$2.99/mo	$10/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	iOS, macOS, Web	Android, api, extension, iOS, Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$2.99/user/mo	—
Offline access	Yes	Yes
Supported platforms	web, macos, ios	—
Note sharing	Yes	—
Integrations	iCloud, Apple Shortcuts, AirDrop	—

Bear vs Recall

Bear

Recall