Milanote is often where a project's moodboard lives. Notes, images, links and tasks sit on one canvas, and the whole team can work on it.
What people ask about Hive is usually everything that isn't on the board: the references gathered over the years, and the ones that didn't make this project's cut.
This page sets the two side by side: what each one does well, where each stops, and how they work together. I checked Milanote's details against its own site in September 2026.
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
Side by Side
The rows cover what people ask about most, and either side can be switched to another tool. The apps change over time, so each tool's own site has the final word.
| HivePrivate reference library | MilanotePlanning board | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on |
|
|
| Made for | A private reference library across Apple devices | Planning creative projects on boards, with a team |
| Saves from | Share sheet, Safari extension, drag and drop, files | Web clipper, mobile app, upload |
| Organizes with | Folders, tags, stars, notes and Smart Folders | Boards, columns and links between cards |
| Holds | Images, videos, audio, PDFs, links and bookmarks | Notes, images, links, files, tasks and sketches |
| Where it lives | A folder you choose: on the device, in iCloud Drive, or on an external SSD with Pro | Milanote's service, with your account |
| Price | Free; Pro $3.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $34.99 once | Free plan with limits; paid plans |