The Best mymind Alternatives for Designers in 2026

mymind is a lovely product. It is private, calm, ad-free and it tags everything you save automatically, so you never file anything. For many people it is the best "everything bucket" there is.

Designers look for mymind alternatives for three common reasons. The price, since it is subscription only. The lack of folders or manual structure, which some people find freeing and others find unsettling. Or wanting a tool built around design references, rather than one that treats a Dribbble shot, a recipe and a quote the same way.

Here are the best alternatives for designers. We build GetRef, so read our take on it with that in mind.

1. GetRef: the closest match, built for designers

GetRef keeps the parts of mymind people love: private by default, automatic tagging, text recognition in every image and search by description. The difference is focus. GetRef is built for UI, web and product designers, so capture is centred on screenshots and web pages with their links, tags describe design (login screen, pricing table, dark landing page), and collections group references by project.

• Best for: designers who mostly save screenshots and web pages.
• Price: free for 50 references, paid above that.
• Trade-off: less suited to saving articles, notes and quotes.

2. Eagle: if you want folders and local files

Eagle is the opposite philosophy. Everything lives on your disk, organised with folders, tags and smart folders that you control. It handles nearly any file type and scales to huge libraries. One-time purchase.

• Best for: designers with big local asset collections who like manual structure.
• Trade-off: you do the organising, and syncing across devices is up to you. See the best Eagle alternatives.

3. Raindrop: if most of what you save is links

Raindrop is a very good bookmark manager with previews, collections, tags and full-text search of saved pages. It has a generous free tier.

• Best for: articles, tools and links.
• Trade-off: it cannot search text inside screenshots, so a screenshot library in Raindrop is a gallery with filenames. See bookmarks are not a reference library.

4. Are.na: if you want to collect in public

Are.na organises blocks into channels that you can connect and share. It is thoughtful, community-driven and ad-free.

• Best for: open research and collaborative collecting.
• Trade-off: public by default, and no automatic tagging. See the best Are.na alternatives.

5. Cosmos: if you want a calmer Pinterest

Cosmos is a visual curation app for creatives, closer to a quieter, ad-free Pinterest. You save images into clusters and browse others' collections.

• Best for: visual discovery and collecting mood.
• Trade-off: built around browsing and curation more than finding a specific reference quickly.

6. Milanote: if you think on boards

Milanote replaces mymind's endless grid with boards you arrange yourself. Good for exploring a direction and presenting it.

• Best for: moodboards and project planning.
• Trade-off: not built as a long-term, searchable library. See Milanote alternatives.

mymind vs the alternatives at a glance

• Automatic tagging: mymind, GetRef. Partly in Eagle and Raindrop. Not in Are.na, Cosmos or Milanote.
• Text inside images searchable: mymind, GetRef. Eagle with setup.
• Folders or manual structure: Eagle, Raindrop, Milanote. GetRef has collections. mymind has none by design.
• Private by default: mymind, GetRef, Eagle, Raindrop, Milanote.
• Free option: GetRef, Raindrop, Are.na, Cosmos, Milanote (limited).

Which one to pick

• You liked mymind but want it built for design: GetRef.
• You want files and folders on your own disk: Eagle.
• You mostly save links: Raindrop.
• You want to share and connect in public: Are.na.
• You want calm visual discovery: Cosmos.
• You need boards: Milanote.

For a direct three-way comparison, read Eagle vs mymind vs GetRef.