Savepad as an Are.na alternative
Are.na is one of the good ones. Paid for by its members, no ads, and a community of people doing thoughtful research in public. If you want to follow other people's channels, go there. Savepad is private first, built for work references, with a public page when you want one.
Where Are.na wins
Community
Follow people, find channels, and connect your blocks to theirs. Savepad has no social side at all.
Connections
A block can live in many channels and you can follow those links around. Savepad lets a save sit in many folders, and stops there.
How they make money
Paid for by members, with no ads. Savepad works the same way.
Where Savepad wins
Previews that fit the thing
Emails, PDFs, fonts, code, recipes, and places each open the way they should.
Search inside everything
Page text, PDF text, and the words in screenshots.
Private until you say so
Nothing goes public until you switch it on, one space, folder, or tag at a time.
Head to head
| Feature | Are.na | Savepad |
|---|---|---|
| Follow other people | Yes | No |
| Private by default | Per channel | Yes |
| Emails, sequences, and ads | No | Yes |
| Search the text in images | No | Yes |
| Public pages | Yes | Yes |
| AI features | No | No |
Checked against Are.na’s website on . Something out of date? Let me know and I'll fix it.
Which one is for you?
Stay on Are.na
If the public, connected, community side of research is the whole point.
Pick Savepad
If you want a private swipe file for work, with a public page for the bits you choose.
Moving over
Put your links in a CSV, one URL per row is enough, and import it. Savepad fetches every link again and makes a fresh preview.
FAQs
Is Savepad a social network?
Nope. No following and no feed. A public Savepad is a page you share, like a portfolio.
Can I use Savepad and Are.na together?
Sure. Lots of people keep Are.na for what it's best at and use Savepad as their swipe file. You can export everything from Savepad whenever you like, so you're never locked in.
Does Savepad use AI?
Nope. No summaries, no auto-tagging, and nothing gets sent to a model. If you want AI, connect your own over MCP.
From the blog
- mymind alternatives: mymind sorts your saves with AI so you never organise anything. The alternatives if you'd rather pick the folders yourself, or keep AI away from your stuff.
- Pinterest alternatives for designers sick of AI slop: Pinterest added AI labels and a see-fewer setting in 2025. If that's not enough, where to find human-made inspiration, and where to keep yours.
- Savee and Cosmos alternatives: Savee and Cosmos are great for discovering images. If you need a private library for pages, emails, fonts, and screenshots too, these are the alternatives.
Want in first?
Savepad launches soon. Leave your email and I'll let you know when it's live.