Most of the references I keep pass through more than one app before I use them. A chair turns up on Pinterest, a paint colour in a friend's photo, a showroom in an article I meant to read, a sample in my own camera roll.
Each of those apps is good at its part. Pinterest is good at showing me more. Photos is good at holding my own pictures. A bookmark app is good at keeping pages, and a desktop archive is good at holding years of work.
The trouble usually starts between them. A reference found in one place is needed in another, and the reason I kept it rarely makes the trip.
This page puts twelve of those tools next to Hive. For each one I describe what it does well, where it stops, and when it works better alongside another tool than on its own. I checked the facts against each tool's own site in September 2026, and the sources are listed at the end.
From Finding to Using
Whichever app holds it, a reference goes through the same few steps. It's found. It's caught before the page closes. It's kept somewhere you can come back to. It's narrowed to the few that matter. Then it's used: shown to a client, laid beside a canvas, or read properly.
No tool on this page is strongest at all five, and that includes Hive. Choose a tool to see where it's strong, where it helps, and where it isn't trying to help at all. Choose a step to see which tools are built for it.
Choose a tool or a step
A longer row means a broader tool, and a broad tool usually does each step less deeply than one built for that step.
Start With What You Do
If you already know how you work, start there. Pick the sentence that sounds most like you.
Worth a look
PinterestDiscovery
The largest stream of images to browse, and it learns what you like.
More on PinterestCosmosVisual discovery
Calmer discovery, with search by colour and by similar images.
More on CosmosAre.naResearch archive
Other people's research, collected by hand and connected.
More on Are.na
Worth a look
PinterestDiscovery
The largest stream of images to browse, and it learns what you like.
More on PinterestCosmosVisual discovery
Calmer discovery, with search by colour and by similar images.
More on CosmosAre.naResearch archive
Other people's research, collected by hand and connected.
More on Are.na
What Hive Is For
Hive is a private reference library for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It's built for the part between finding something and using it.
On iPhone and iPad, you save through the share sheet while the page is still open, so the link comes with the picture. Auto Save keeps it quick. Add Details lets you choose a folder, add tags or write down the reason at the same time. On the Mac, Hive is a native app for Apple Silicon, and you can drag files straight in.
The library holds images, videos, audio, PDFs, links and bookmarks. Folders, tags, stars, notes and Smart Folders narrow it down, and a Slideshow shows a set without exporting it. The library lives in a folder you choose: on the device, in iCloud Drive, or on an external SSD with Pro. With Pro, one library syncs between iPhone, iPad and Mac. Hive's App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected.
That's also the edge of what it does. Hive doesn't help you discover new images, it has no public boards, and it runs only on Apple devices.
- Runs on
- iPhone, iPad, Mac
- Price
- Free; Pro is $3.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $34.99 once
Where Hive Is the Better Choice
Hive isn't the best tool on this page for everything. In five cases I think it's the better choice, and these are the reasons.
The reference is found on a phone.
Most of the tools here save best from a browser on a computer. Hive saves from the share sheet on iPhone and iPad, from Safari, and from apps such as Instagram and Pinterest, and the link comes with the file. Compared with a screenshot in Photos or a message sent to yourself, the source is still there a month later.
The reason matters as much as the picture.
A board or an album shows that you kept something. It rarely shows why. In Hive, Add Details lets you write the reason while the page is still open, and notes, comments, tags and stars stay on the item afterwards. When the set is reviewed weeks later, each reference can still explain itself.
The material is private.
Client work and unreleased projects don't belong on a service built for sharing. A Hive library is a folder you choose, on the device, in iCloud Drive, or on an external SSD with Pro. There's no feed and no public profile, and Hive's App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected.
One project holds many kinds of files.
A real project mixes photographs, a supplier's PDF, a product page, a short video and a few notes. Bookmark apps are built around the page, and Photos holds only photos and videos. Hive keeps images, videos, audio, PDFs, links and bookmarks in one library, so the material for one decision stays together.
The work moves between iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Eagle and PureRef stay on the computer, and several of the discovery tools have no iPad or Mac app. Hive is a native app on all three, and with Pro one library syncs between them: saved on the phone, narrowed on the iPad, and organized on the Mac. Browsing and organizing also work offline.
Outside these cases, another tool on this page is often the better one. Each section below says where that's true, and what Hive does better in return.
At the Desk
These tools are at their best on a computer, with time to arrange things properly. Three are desktop apps, and one is a companion that brings a desktop library to the phone.
Desktop archive
Eagle
Eagle is a desktop app for Mac and Windows, and it's very good at being one. It holds a large collection without strain, and it's built for long sessions at a computer: tidying folders, tagging in bulk, and looking after a library over years.
It organizes with folders, tags and smart folders, and it can narrow a collection by colour, shape, size, file type and rating. It opens a very wide range of files, including design files and fonts, and plugins extend it further. A browser extension saves images from the web, and the library is a folder on your computer, so you decide where it lives. Eagle is a one-time purchase with a 30-day trial.
Where it stops is the phone. There's no official Eagle app for iPhone or iPad, so a reference found away from the desk reaches the archive through a screenshot, a note or another app, and the source often gets lost on the way.
Eagle Compared With Hive
Eagle and Hive organize in much the same way: folders, tags, notes and smart folders, in a library folder you control. The difference is where each one starts. Eagle starts at the desk, and Hive starts on the phone.
That matters most at the moment of saving. On iPhone and iPad, Hive saves through the share sheet while the page is still open, so the picture arrives with its link, and Add Details lets you write down the reason before you forget it. With Pro, the same library is on the iPad for review and on the Mac for longer sessions. Eagle has no step like this away from the computer.
At the desk, Eagle goes deeper. It filters by colour and shape, opens design files and fonts, takes plugins, and runs on Windows. Hive doesn't match that. If your references are both found and used at a computer, Eagle is the better choice.
- Choose Eagle when
- Most of your reference work happens at a computer, you use Windows, or you need design files, fonts and plugins in the same library.
- Choose Hive when
- Your references reach you on a phone, you review them on an iPad, or you want one library on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
With HiveMany people keep Eagle as the long-term archive and use Hive for the part that happens away from it. With Pro, Hive can import an Eagle library, including Eagle Pack files. In the other direction, a Hive library folder can be copied to the computer and opened in Eagle as a library.
- Runs on
- Mac, Windows
- Price
- One-time licence after a 30-day trial
- Official site
- eagle.cool
Eagle companion
Eagle Pocket
Eagle Pocket is a free app for iPhone and iPad that opens an existing Eagle library. It's made by an independent developer, not by the Eagle team.
You point it at the library folder wherever it already lives: iCloud Drive, a network share, Google Drive or the device itself. You can browse and search, play videos, and change tags, ratings and notes, and the changes are written back to the same library. It has no servers of its own, and it caches what you have opened so you can browse offline.
Eagle Pocket depends on Eagle. If you don't already use Eagle, there's nothing for it to open.
Eagle Pocket Compared With Hive
Eagle Pocket and Hive both run on iPhone and iPad, and both can work with a library made in Eagle, so they are easy to confuse. They do different jobs. Eagle Pocket opens the Eagle library where it is and writes changes back to it. Hive keeps a library of its own, and with Pro it can import an Eagle library.
The larger difference is saving. Eagle Pocket doesn't add new references; it shows what Eagle already holds. Hive is built around the save: the share sheet, the Safari extension, Import Center, and the source kept with each item. Hive also has a native Mac app, and Pro syncs one library across the three devices.
If Eagle on the desktop is your one library and you only want to see and tag it from the phone, Eagle Pocket is the simpler answer, and it's free. If new references start on the phone, Hive is the better choice, with or without Eagle behind it.
- Choose Eagle Pocket when
- Your Eagle library is the one place you keep everything, and you want to see and tag it from the phone.
- Choose Hive when
- New references start on your phone, you don't use Eagle, or you want a library that stands on its own on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
With HiveThe two answer different questions. Eagle Pocket shows the archive you already have. Hive is where new references land, with their source, before they reach any archive.
- Runs on
- iPhone, iPad
- Price
- Free
- Official site
- App Store
Reference board
PureRef
PureRef is a small desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux that does one thing very well. It gives you a board of reference images that stays on top of whatever you are working in.
You drag images onto it from a folder or a browser, then scale, crop, flip and arrange them freely. You can desaturate an image to judge its values, add a note, and save the whole board as a file to open again. It's fast, it stays out of the way, and for personal use you pay what you want.
PureRef doesn't keep a library. Each board is a separate file, and there are no tags, folders or search across boards. Finding the right images before a session, and keeping them after it, happens somewhere else.
PureRef Compared With Hive
PureRef and Hive are used at different moments. PureRef is for the session itself: a board on top of the canvas, arranged by hand. Hive is for the time before and after it: saving, keeping, and finding the right images again.
For that second part, Hive is the better choice. Folders, tags, stars, notes, search and Smart Folders work across the whole library, where a PureRef board is a single file with no search across boards. Hive keeps the link each image came from, and it runs on iPhone and iPad, where PureRef doesn't.
During a session at a computer, PureRef is better. Hive has no board that stays on top of other windows, and it doesn't let you arrange images freely on a canvas.
- Choose PureRef when
- You paint, model or draw with references open next to the canvas.
- Choose Hive when
- You need to find the references again after the session, you collect them on a phone, or you work on an iPad.
With HiveA good split is Hive for keeping and narrowing, and PureRef for the session. Gather the set in Hive, then bring the chosen few onto a PureRef board while you paint.
- Runs on
- Mac, Windows, Linux
- Price
- Pay what you want for personal use
- Official site
- pureref.com
Planning board
Milanote
Milanote is a visual board for planning creative projects. Notes, images, links, files, to-do lists and sketches sit together on one canvas, and a team can edit, comment and present from the same boards.
It runs on the web, on Mac and Windows, and on iPhone and Android, with a web clipper for saving from the browser. There's a free plan with a limited number of notes and uploads, and paid plans for more.
The board is where it's strongest, and also where it asks the most of you. Everything lives in the arrangement you make, which suits planning and presenting better than keeping a large collection you want to search years later.
Milanote Compared With Hive
Milanote and Hive both hold images, links and notes, but each is arranged around a different thing. Milanote is arranged around a board that you lay out and share. Hive is arranged around a library that you search and filter.
For a private collection that grows over years, Hive is the better choice. The files sit in a folder you choose rather than on a service, browsing and organizing work offline, and nothing depends on how a board was laid out. A reference saved for one project can turn up in the next through a tag or a Smart Folder.
For planning with a team, Milanote is better. Hive has no shared boards and no tasks. It can share files or export a folder as a copy for someone else, and that's where it stops.
- Choose Milanote when
- The project needs one shared place for the plan, the brief, the tasks and the look.
- Choose Hive when
- You mostly need to keep and find references privately, offline, and on your phone.
With HiveMilanote can hold the plan and Hive the references behind it. The board shows the few images that made the cut; the library keeps the rest, with their sources, for the next project.
- Runs on
- Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android
- Price
- Free plan with limits; paid plans
- Official site
- milanote.com
Finding More
These tools are for the stage when you want more options. They are good at showing you things you wouldn't have found yourself, and each of them also lets you save.
Discovery
Pinterest is the largest place to browse images, and it's very good at showing you more of what you like. Every save teaches the feed, and a few minutes of searching can open a direction you hadn't considered.
You save pins to boards, keep a board secret when you need to, invite collaborators, and save from other sites with the browser extension or the share sheet. It's free, it runs on the web, iPhone, iPad and Android, and it's paid for by ads.
For reference work, the feed gets in the way. A board sits inside a recommended stream, a pin points back to a page that may change, and there's little room for your own note on why you kept it.
Pinterest Compared With Hive
Pinterest and Hive are close to opposites, which is why they work well together. Pinterest is public, online and endless, and it decides what to show you next. Hive is private, works offline, and shows only what you chose to keep.
Once the looking is over, Hive is the better place for what survived. A secret board still lives on Pinterest's service, and a pin points back to a page that may change. In Hive the file itself is in your library folder, with its link, your note, its tags and a star. Material that never came from the web, such as a PDF from a supplier or a photo from a site visit, sits in the same place. Hive's App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected.
For finding new ideas, Pinterest is better, and Hive doesn't compete. Hive has no feed, no recommendations and no search across other people's images.
- Choose Pinterest when
- You are still looking, and you want more ideas rather than fewer.
- Choose Hive when
- The search is over, and the few that survived need to stay private, with their source and your reasons.
With HiveLet Pinterest do the finding. When something survives, share it to Hive from the Pinterest app, and it lands in your library with its link.
- Runs on
- Web, iPhone, iPad, Android
- Price
- Free, supported by ads
- Official site
- help.pinterest.com
Visual discovery
Cosmos
Cosmos is a calmer place to discover and collect images, made for creative people. It's known for its visual search: you can look for images similar to one you like or search by colour, and it credits the artists behind what you find.
You collect into clusters, save from the web with the browser extension or the app, and choose to show, blur or hide AI-generated images. It runs on the web, iPhone and Android. The free plan has a limit on saves, and Premium removes it.
Like any discovery service, it lives online and inside its own account. It's at its best while the search is still open, and less suited to the working set of one project, with notes and files that never came from the web.
Cosmos Compared With Hive
Cosmos and Hive both suit people who find Pinterest too loud, but they answer different halves of the problem. Cosmos makes looking calmer, and Hive is where the chosen images are kept in private.
For the working set of a project, Hive is the better choice. It holds files that never came from the web, including PDFs, audio and your own photographs, next to the images that did. It works offline, and the library is a folder you choose rather than an account on a service. Hive also has apps for iPad and Mac, where Cosmos runs on the web, iPhone and Android.
For discovery, Cosmos is better. It searches by colour and by similar images across work you haven't seen yet, and it credits the artists. Hive searches only your own library.
- Choose Cosmos when
- You want visual discovery with less noise, and search by colour or similarity.
- Choose Hive when
- You need an offline, private library that also holds your own files and notes.
With HiveLook in Cosmos, and keep the few you will use in Hive. Save them with their links, and add the files that never came from the web.
- Runs on
- Web, iPhone, Android
- Price
- Free up to a save limit; Premium
- Official site
- cosmos.so
Research archive
Are.na
Are.na is a place to collect and connect ideas. Images, text, links and files become blocks, blocks go into channels, and the same block can sit in many channels at once. Over time a channel becomes a trail of thinking, and other people's channels are among the best places to find things.
It runs on the web, iPhone and Android, with browser extensions. It has no ads and is paid for by its members. The free plan holds 200 blocks; Premium is $7 a month or $70 a year and adds unlimited blocks, full-text search and a presentation mode.
Are.na rewards slow, open-ended research. It's less concerned with getting from many references to the few a meeting needs on Thursday.
Are.na Compared With Hive
Are.na and Hive both treat a collection as something worth looking after, and both hold images, text, links and files. Are.na is built on connections between channels, many of them other people's. Hive is built around one private library.
Hive is the better choice when the references belong to a client or an unreleased project, and when a decision is close. Stars, filters and Smart Folders take a large set down to the few a meeting needs, Slideshow shows them without an export, and browsing and organizing work offline.
Are.na is better for slow research in the open, for following other people's thinking, and for anyone on Android or the web.
- Choose Are.na when
- The collection is part of your thinking, and you want to follow connections, alone or with others.
- Choose Hive when
- The material is private, and you need it narrowed around one project's decisions, offline.
With HiveThe two sit well together. Keep the open research on Are.na, and bring the references a project uses into Hive, where they can be filtered, starred and shown.
- Runs on
- Web, iPhone, Android
- Price
- Free up to 200 blocks; Premium $7 a month
- Official site
- are.na
Keeping Links
Bookmark and read-later apps are made for pages. They are very good at saving a link cleanly, and each handles images too, but the page is what they are built around.
Bookmark manager
Raindrop.io
Raindrop.io is an all-purpose bookmark manager that runs almost everywhere: the web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android and every major browser. That reach is its great strength.
The free plan already includes unlimited bookmarks, collections, tags and devices. Pro adds full-text search, permanent copies of saved pages, cloud backup, and tools for finding broken links and duplicates.
It treats everything as a bookmark first. Images can be saved and shown as cards, but the tools are shaped around links, which suits research reading more than choosing between twelve photographs of a stair.
Raindrop.io Compared With Hive
Raindrop.io and Hive both save from the share sheet, and both keep the link. What differs is what you see afterwards. In Raindrop the link is the item, and a picture is its preview. In Hive the picture, video or PDF is the item, and the link is attached to it.
For visual references, Hive is the better choice. The file is saved into your library, so it's still there if the page changes, and you can browse it offline. You can star a shortlist, narrow it with a Smart Folder and show it as a Slideshow. The library is a folder you choose, where Raindrop keeps bookmarks on its own service.
For links, Raindrop is better. It runs on Windows, Android and every major browser, the free plan is generous, and Pro searches the full text of saved pages. Hive keeps links and bookmarks, but it isn't a research reading tool.
- Choose Raindrop.io when
- You save many links on many devices, including Windows and Android.
- Choose Hive when
- What you save is mostly pictures and video, and you need to compare and narrow them, offline.
With HiveKeep links and reading in Raindrop, and send the pictures that matter to Hive, where the image comes first and the link stays attached.
- Runs on
- Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android
- Price
- Free; Pro subscription
- Official site
- raindrop.io
Link and file inbox
Anybox
Anybox is a native bookmark app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. It saves links, notes, images and files, and it's built for speed: a quick-save window, a floating dock of favourite links, Spotlight and Shortcuts support, and search that works offline.
It organizes with nested folders, tags and Smart Lists, keeps a PDF or web archive copy when you want one, and syncs through iCloud without collecting personal data. The free plan holds 50 bookmarks; Pro is $1.99 a month, $14.99 a year or $39.99 once.
Anybox is at its best as a fast personal inbox for the web, especially on the Mac. It isn't shaped around looking at pictures side by side.
Anybox Compared With Hive
Anybox and Hive have much in common. Both are native apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac, neither collects personal data, and both organize with folders, tags and saved rules: Smart Lists in one, Smart Folders in the other.
The difference is the material. Anybox is shaped around links and quick access to them. Hive is shaped around images and other visual files, with stars for a shortlist, notes and comments on a single image, and Slideshow for showing a set. Hive also lets you choose where the library lives, including an external SSD with Pro, which suits a library of large files.
For a fast inbox of links on the Mac, with a quick-save window and a dock of favourites, Anybox is better.
- Choose Anybox when
- You want one fast, private place for links and files, mostly on the Mac.
- Choose Hive when
- Your collection is mostly images you judge by eye, or it's too large to keep on the device.
With HiveKeep the links you return to in Anybox, and the pictures you choose between in Hive.
- Runs on
- Mac, iPhone, iPad
- Price
- Free up to 50 bookmarks; Pro from $1.99 a month or $39.99 once
- Official site
- anybox.app
Read-later
GoodLinks
GoodLinks is a read-later app for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It saves links privately, extracts the article from the page, and gives you a clean, calm place to read it.
You can highlight passages, add notes, tag and star links, and search the full text. It syncs through iCloud with no account, and it doesn't track you. It's a one-time purchase.
GoodLinks is built for reading. A picture inside an article comes along with it, but the app isn't meant to keep or compare images on their own.
GoodLinks Compared With Hive
GoodLinks and Hive are both private apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and both start from the share sheet. GoodLinks is for pages you want to read, and Hive is for things you want to look at.
When what you save is visual, Hive is the better choice. It saves images, videos, PDFs and audio as items of their own rather than as parts of an article, and it organizes them with folders, tags, stars and Smart Folders, so a set can be narrowed and shown.
For reading, GoodLinks is better. Hive doesn't extract the article from a page, and it has no reader view and no highlights.
- Choose GoodLinks when
- You save articles to read properly later, on Apple devices.
- Choose Hive when
- What you save is mostly images, video or files rather than articles.
With HiveRead in GoodLinks. When an article shows something you want to keep as a reference, share the page to Hive, and the image keeps its link to the article.
- Runs on
- iPhone, iPad, Mac
- Price
- One-time purchase
- Official site
- goodlinks.app
Already on Your iPhone
Two of the most common reference libraries aren't reference apps at all. They are already installed, and for many people they are enough.
Photo library
Photos
Photos is the best place for your own pictures. It's already on every Apple device, iCloud Photos keeps it in step, and it can search by what is in a picture, sort people and places, and share albums with others.
For references, it's usually the first place things land, because a screenshot goes there by itself. That's where it starts to struggle. A screenshot keeps the pixels and loses the page, and references end up between birthday photos and receipts.
Albums help, but a reference library needs the source, a note and a way to narrow by project. Photos was built for memories, and it does that very well.
Photos Compared With Hive
Photos and Hive both keep pictures on your Apple devices, and Photos is already installed. The difference is what each one knows about a picture. Photos knows when and where it was taken and what is in it. Hive knows which page it came from, which project it belongs to and why you kept it.
For references, Hive is the better choice. Saving through the share sheet keeps the link, which a screenshot doesn't. References stay apart from family pictures and receipts. Tags, stars, notes and Smart Folders narrow a set by project, and the same library holds PDFs, links and audio as well.
For your own photographs, Photos is better. It sorts by people and places, searches by what is in the picture, and shares albums with others. Hive isn't a general photo manager.
- Choose Photos when
- The pictures are your own photographs.
- Choose Hive when
- Your references come from the web and need their source, or they keep getting lost among your own photos.
With HiveKeep your photos in Photos. When one of them becomes a reference, share it to Hive and write down why; references from the web can go to Hive directly, with their links.
- Runs on
- iPhone, iPad, Mac, Web
- Price
- Built in
- Official site
- support.apple.com
Notes
Apple Notes
Apple Notes is a very good notebook that's already there. It handles text, checklists, scanned documents, sketches and attachments, it has tags and Smart Folders, and notes can be shared or locked.
For references that are mostly words, with a picture now and then, it's often all you need.
It becomes harder when the pictures are the point. In a note, images sit inside the text one after another, and a set of fifty references is a long scroll rather than something you can filter, star and show.
Apple Notes Compared With Hive
Apple Notes and Hive both have tags and Smart Folders. In Notes they organize the notes. In Hive they organize the references themselves, so each image carries its own tags, star, note and link.
When the pictures are the material, Hive is the better choice. Fifty references can be filtered, starred, narrowed to ten and shown as a Slideshow, and each one keeps its source.
When the writing is the material, Notes is better. It has checklists, scanned documents and sketches, and a note can be shared or locked. Hive does none of that.
- Choose Apple Notes when
- The idea is mostly writing, and the images support it.
- Choose Hive when
- The images are the material, and you need to compare and narrow them.
With HiveWrite the brief in Notes, and keep the pictures it refers to in Hive, each with a note of its own.
- Runs on
- iPhone, iPad, Mac, Web
- Price
- Built in
- Official site
- support.apple.com
Any Two, Side by Side
Choose any two tools. The rows cover what people ask about most. The apps change over time, so each tool's own site has the final word.
| HivePrivate reference library | EagleDesktop archive | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on |
|
|
| Made for | A private reference library across Apple devices | A large design archive at a desk |
| Saves from | Share sheet, Safari extension, drag and drop, files | Browser extension, drag and drop, screen capture |
| Organizes with | Folders, tags, stars, notes and Smart Folders | Folders, tags, smart folders, colour and shape filters, ratings |
| Holds | Images, videos, audio, PDFs, links and bookmarks | A very wide range of files, including design files and fonts |
| Where it lives | A folder you choose: on the device, in iCloud Drive, or on an external SSD with Pro | A library folder on your computer |
| Price | Free; Pro $3.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $34.99 once | One-time licence after a 30-day trial |
See all thirteen in one table
| Tool | Runs on | Made for | Saves from | Organizes with | Holds | Where it lives | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HivePrivate reference library | iPhone, iPad, Mac | A private reference library across Apple devices | Share sheet, Safari extension, drag and drop, files | Folders, tags, stars, notes and Smart Folders | Images, videos, audio, PDFs, links and bookmarks | A folder you choose: on the device, in iCloud Drive, or on an external SSD with Pro | Free; Pro $3.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $34.99 once |
| EagleDesktop archive | Mac, Windows | A large design archive at a desk | Browser extension, drag and drop, screen capture | Folders, tags, smart folders, colour and shape filters, ratings | A very wide range of files, including design files and fonts | A library folder on your computer | One-time licence after a 30-day trial |
| Eagle PocketEagle companion | iPhone, iPad | Opening an Eagle library on iPhone and iPad | Nothing new; it opens a library made in Eagle | Eagle's own tags, ratings and notes | Images, videos and text files from the Eagle library | Your Eagle library folder, in iCloud Drive, a network share, Google Drive or on the device | Free |
| PureRefReference board | Mac, Windows, Linux | A reference board beside the canvas | Drag and drop, paste | Free arrangement on the board, one file per board | Images and notes | Board files on your computer | Pay what you want for personal use |
| MilanotePlanning board | Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android | Planning creative projects on boards, with a team | Web clipper, mobile app, upload | Boards, columns and links between cards | Notes, images, links, files, tasks and sketches | Milanote's service, with your account | Free plan with limits; paid plans |
| PinterestDiscovery | Web, iPhone, iPad, Android | Discovering ideas | Pins, browser extension, share sheet | Boards and sections, secret boards | Images and videos, linked to their pages | Pinterest's service, with your account | Free, supported by ads |
| CosmosVisual discovery | Web, iPhone, Android | Visual discovery and collecting | Browser extension, apps | Clusters, search by colour and similar images | Images, videos, links and notes | Cosmos's service, with your account | Free up to a save limit; Premium |
| Are.naResearch archive | Web, iPhone, Android | Collecting and connecting research | Browser extensions, apps, upload | Channels, and connections between them | Images, text, links, files and embeds | Are.na's service, with your account | Free up to 200 blocks; Premium $7 a month |
| Raindrop.ioBookmark manager | Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android | Bookmarks everywhere | Extensions for every major browser, apps, share sheet | Nested collections, tags and filters; full-text search with Pro | Links, articles, images, files and videos | Raindrop's service, with your account | Free; Pro subscription |
| AnyboxLink and file inbox | Mac, iPhone, iPad | A fast inbox for links and files | Quick save, share extension, keyboard, Shortcuts | Folders, tags and Smart Lists | Links, notes, images, files and web archives | On your devices, synced through iCloud | Free up to 50 bookmarks; Pro from $1.99 a month or $39.99 once |
| GoodLinksRead-later | iPhone, iPad, Mac | Reading saved articles | Share sheet, Safari extension | Tags, stars and highlights | Links and articles | On your devices, synced through iCloud | One-time purchase |
| PhotosPhoto library | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Web | Your own photos and videos | Camera, screenshots, Save Image | Albums, people and places, search | Photos and videos | On your devices and in iCloud Photos | Built in |
| Apple NotesNotes | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Web | Notes, with attachments | Share sheet, Quick Note | Folders, tags and Smart Folders | Text, checklists, scans, sketches and attachments | On your devices and in iCloud | Built in |
Checked on each tool's own site on September 27, 2026. Prices are US prices and change over time.
Two Tools, One Workflow
Most people I ask use two tools, each for the part it's good at.
Pinterest or CosmosHive
Find widely, then keep the few that survive, with their links.
HiveEagle
Catch and narrow on iPhone and iPad, then archive at the desk.
HivePureRef
Keep the set between sessions, and lay it out beside the canvas during one.
GoodLinks or RaindropHive
Read and bookmark in one, keep the pictures in the other.
MilanoteHive
Plan on the board, and keep the references behind it in the library.
PhotosHive
Keep your own photos in Photos and your references in Hive.
Two tools only work together if moving between them is easy. That's why a Hive library is a folder you can see, in a structure Eagle can read, and why Hive can open an Eagle library folder too.
Where Hive Falls Short
These are the things Hive doesn't do, or does less well.
- Hive runs only on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and Hive for Mac needs Apple Silicon. There's no Windows, Android or web version.
- It doesn't help you discover new images. There's no feed, no public profile and no shared boards.
- It isn't a board to paint beside, a planning canvas for a team, or a reader for long articles.
- The free version is limited. Sync across devices, more libraries, external SSD libraries and Eagle import need Pro.
- It doesn't try to match a desktop archive like Eagle in depth. It has no plugins, and it opens fewer kinds of design files.
Where Your References Are Found
Every tool on this page is good at something, and most people I know use two or three of them. I'd choose by asking where my references are found and where they need to be when I use them.
If they are found on the web and used at a desk, a discovery app and a desktop archive may be all you need. If they are found on a phone and used in a meeting, that middle part is what Hive is for.
So I'd start with where your references come from, and pick the tools from there.