The Best Are.na Alternatives for Designers in 2026

Are.na has a devoted following among designers, and it deserves it. It has no ads, no algorithmic feed, and it encourages you to connect ideas across channels instead of just hoarding images. For research and slow thinking, few tools are better.

Designers look for an Are.na alternative when they need something it was not designed for: privacy by default, automatic organisation, or finding one specific reference in seconds. Here are the best options, depending on which of those you need. We build GetRef, so read our take on it with that in mind.

1. GetRef: private, searchable design references

GetRef is a design reference manager. It captures screenshots and web pages with their link in one click, reads the text in every image, tags it automatically, and finds anything by description. It is private by default.

• Best for: designers who want a working library of UI and web references they can search in seconds.
• Trade-off: it is not a social or community platform. There is nothing to follow or browse.

2. Cosmos: calm visual discovery

Cosmos is a visual curation app for creatives. Like Are.na, it is ad-free and thoughtful. It leans more visual, with clusters of images and a discovery side for browsing other people's collections.

• Best for: designers who want Are.na's calm with a more image-first experience.
• Trade-off: built for browsing and curating more than precise retrieval.

3. mymind: a private everything bucket

mymind is private, minimal and tags everything automatically. Images, articles, notes and quotes all go into one space you search.

• Best for: people who want Are.na's breadth of content, but private and automatically organised.
• Trade-off: subscription only, and no folders or channels. See the best mymind alternatives.

4. Pinterest: the biggest discovery feed

Pinterest is the opposite of Are.na in spirit, with an algorithmic feed and ads, but unmatched for discovery.

• Best for: finding lots of visual inspiration quickly.
• Trade-off: ads, public boards by default and no search inside images. See Pinterest vs GetRef.

5. Milanote: boards instead of channels

Milanote lets you arrange references freely on boards, with notes and links, and share them.

• Best for: turning research into a presentable direction.
• Trade-off: not a long-term searchable library. See Milanote alternatives.

6. Raindrop: collections of links

Raindrop organises links into collections with tags, previews and full-text page search.

• Best for: research that is mostly articles and websites.
• Trade-off: weak for screenshots, since it cannot read text inside images.

Are.na vs the alternatives at a glance

• Private by default: GetRef, mymind, Milanote, Raindrop. Are.na, Pinterest and Cosmos lean public.
• Automatic tagging: GetRef, mymind.
• Text inside images searchable: GetRef, mymind.
• Community and discovery: Are.na, Cosmos, Pinterest.
• Boards for presenting: Milanote.

Keep Are.na, add a library

You do not have to leave Are.na. Many designers keep it for public research and connecting ideas, and use a private library for the references they need to find quickly at work. Are.na is where you think out loud. A reference manager is where you keep what you will reuse.

For a broader comparison, read the best design reference manager and the best tools to organize design inspiration.