Acres is our first pick for a personal visual workspace that grows into a useful note archive. Your cards are Markdown files, your boards are readable JSON, and AI agents can help build in that workspace through bundled MCP. The app is $59 once at the current early-adopter price.
Milanote is a strong alternative when a board needs other people’s input. It has a clear job: collect creative material, organize a project and share it with colleagues or clients. Its collaboration and presentation-friendly templates are advantages a lower app price can’t replace.
Acres Plus is also available for $9/month, including app access, Sync, and Publish with no upfront purchase. The $59 lifetime option covers local use.
The paid-plan saving is real, within its scope
Milanote’s individual paid plan is $9.99 per month billed annually, or $119.88 for a year. Acres is $59 once, which is $60.88 less than one year of that plan before taxes and promotions.
Milanote also has an ongoing free tier: 100 notes, images or links, 10 file uploads and unlimited shared boards. If that covers your work, it costs less than Acres. We don’t assume how many projects those limits can hold; an image-heavy board and a set of short notes use the allowance differently.
Acres’ price covers the desktop app. Optional cloud services and paid AI-provider usage are separate. Milanote’s subscription includes the shared cloud workspace, so a license-only calculation isn’t a like-for-like comparison of every service.
Keeping notes as files
Milanote stores the working boards in its cloud workspace. Its export options are useful: Markdown and plain text for notes, PDF or PNG for visual copies, and a ZIP for uploaded files. The Home board needs its content moved into another board before exporting.
Acres keeps the working notes in a folder from the start. A card can appear on several boards while its Markdown content remains in one file. You can search it with another tool, keep it in your existing backup or let an agent read it with the app closed.
An exported Milanote document doesn’t automatically become an editable board in another app. Acres avoids the export step for its own cards and boards, though its connections and acres:// links still use app-specific formats. The files remain readable without promising that another program can render the entire workspace.
For research you intend to keep building on, we prefer that direct access.
Offline work and AI agents
Acres’ local notes and boards work offline. A supported local model through Ollama or LM Studio can also run on your machine; a cloud AI provider still needs internet and bills its own usage.
Milanote is cloud-based. Its mobile help explicitly says you need internet to view and edit boards. If offline access is a requirement, check your exact Milanote client before committing to it.
With Acres, MCP can connect Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other supported clients to the vault. An agent can find cards, create notes and arrange connections or sections. Activity history records supported changes for review and guarded revert. The in-app assistant presents card rewrites and larger layouts for approval, while some additive actions apply immediately.
We found no documented first-party Milanote MCP connection in the public product and help pages reviewed for this comparison. That doesn’t establish that no third-party tool exists. Acres’ advantage is an official connection supplied with the desktop app. Read the local MCP guide for the practical steps.
What makes Milanote worth keeping
A moodboard sent to a client is different from a private research map. Milanote supports real-time collaboration and comment threads, even on the free plan. Its templates cover briefs, storyboards and other creative work, and browser/mobile access lowers the friction for everyone who needs to respond.
Its cancellation policy also deserves credit. You can keep viewing, editing and exporting existing content after downgrading. If you’re over the free cap, you lose the ability to add new cards rather than the work you’ve already made.
Acres is newer and less mature. It has no real-time shared editing, mobile app or web app. You can publish a board through its optional service, but publishing a view is not the same as inviting people to edit and comment. If client review is central to your day, Milanote may earn its subscription.
Our infinite canvas guide helps choose among personal knowledge tools and shared creative boards. Acres vs Scrintal covers another collaboration-focused option.
Trying a move
There is no Milanote importer in Acres. Export a small set of boards as Markdown, download their files separately and bring the notes into a new Acres vault. Check the text, references and source files before rebuilding the active layouts.
Keep the original boards during the 14-day trial. Acres is worth choosing if those ideas become easier to find, connect and work on with an agent. If the move mainly adds friction to feedback with your team, keep Milanote for that job.