looking for
an alternative
to Are.na?

focus and vibe

Are.na
Grid layout with a Brooklyn designer energy, making it a great tool for people who primarily collect visual inspiration. Are.na is primarily focused on its core collecting and archiving capabilities.

Sublime
Shines with a more varied media diet—articles, highlights, audio, video, images. On Sublime the goal is not just to collect information but to help you turn that information into insight and meaning, with robust AI search tools as well as tools like Canvas that help you go from curation to creation.

organization style

Are.na
Uses blocks and channels. You must specify a channel when adding a block.

Sublime
Uses cards and collections. You can add a card without immediately assigning it to a collection, or add it to multiple collections. This flexibility allows you to capture now and organize later. Unlike Are.na, you can add notes to cards, allowing you to annotate the internet more easily. Additionally, Sublime offers a Canvas feature that lets you play with your ideas in a more spatial way.

idea capture

Are.na
Handles various media types including text, images, audio, links, and articles.

Sublime
Supports all media types Are.na does, plus:

• Screenshot capture directly from the browser extension.
• Built-in web and PDF highlighter.
• Import from Kindle and Readwise (more apps soon).
• Podcast insight capture via our companion app, Podcast Magic.

connecting and creating ideas

Are.na
Allows grouping of blocks into channels. No AI features for connecting ideas or leveraging the context in your channels for use in AI tools.

Sublime
Sublime is designed to help you turn consumption into creation, and embraces AI for this purpose. When you add an idea, Sublime instantly surfaces related ideas from other people's libraries. It's like having that insightful friend that constantly says “this reminds me of”, available 24-7.

Additionally, Sublime lets you export context from your collections for use in conversations with AI.

search and retrieval

Are.na
Some users report issues with Are.na's search functionality, which is limited to keywords.

Sublime
Sublime uses advanced AI capabilities like embeddings and OCR to allow for intuitive, conversational search, so you can find anything by describing it in your own words.

bottom line

Sublime and Are.na both support multimedia capture, collaboration, communal discovery, export, and privacy modes.

Choose Are.na if your content is primarily visual, you prefer a grid-based interface, and just need basic archiving capabilities.

Opt for Sublime if you work with a mix of text, audio, video, and visual inspiration AND are looking for a more sophisticated tool to help you intelligently retrieve, connect and create with your knowledge, not just collect it.