FLOW 2.1 / COMPARE

Bring the work.
Keep your tools.

Moving from a notes app, or pairing Flow with a coding agent or design tool you already pay for. Each page says what moves, what stays, and what Flow is not.

Switch

Notion

Keep your pages as files you own, with AI that can run on your Mac.

Switch

Obsidian

Keep your Markdown files. Add documents that redo their own routine work.

Pair

Claude Code

Use Claude Code for the work. Use Flow to review the documents and keep the record.

Pair

Codex

Run Codex on your plan. Review its edits in Flow before they touch the file.

Pair

Canva

Use Canva for the design. Use Flow for the words and numbers behind it.

SWITCH

Bring your notes.
Keep them as files.

Coming from a notes app. What moves, what stays the same, and what you give up.

Switch from Notion

Notion

Notion keeps your work in its cloud and bills AI by the seat or by credits. Flow keeps each document as a plain Markdown file on your Mac and can run AI on the Mac itself.

Full comparison, 6 topics →
TopicNotionFlow
Where your work lives Notion stores everything in the cloud. Notion is hosted by AWS, and it keeps backups of your pages on its servers.Source: Notion Help: Security practices at Notion, checked 2026-09-28 Each document is a plain Markdown file in a folder on your Mac. Other apps can open the same files. The documents themselves are free to open, edit and save, on any plan.Shown in: The recurring client brief
Where the AI runs Notion AI uses outside AI model providers. Notion says those providers keep no data for Enterprise plan workspaces.Source: Notion pricing, checked 2026-09-28 Flow Runtime runs open models on the Mac itself. In our investor update walk, the founder's metrics never left the laptop, and the model cost was $0.00. You can also use a hosted model with your own key. Flow names the model and the estimated price first.Shown in: The investor update and the watch
What AI costs Full Notion Agent comes with the Business plan, $20 per member a month when paid yearly. Free and Plus get a trial of AI. Custom Agents are free to try, then $10 per 1,000 monthly Notion credits.Source: Notion pricing, checked 2026-09-28 Flow Pro adds the AI for $10 a month or $96 a year. A run on your Mac adds no model cost. Import and Publish are add-ons to Pro, at $10 a month or $96 a year each.Shown in: The investor update and the watch

Switch from Obsidian

Obsidian

Obsidian and Flow both keep your notes as Markdown files on your own disk. Flow adds Jobs that redo the routine parts of a document, and every AI change waits for your yes.

Full comparison, 5 topics →
TopicObsidianFlow
Where your notes live Obsidian stores notes as Markdown plain text files in a vault. A vault is a folder on your own computer, with its subfolders.Source: Obsidian Help: How Obsidian stores data, checked 2026-09-28 The same idea. Flow works on folders of Markdown files on your Mac, with no import step and no private format. Add Folder opens a folder where it sits.Shown in: Docs that stay true to the code
What it costs The Obsidian app is free, with no sign-up. Sync is $4 per user a month paid yearly, or $5 monthly. Publish is $8 per site a month paid yearly, or $10 monthly.Source: Obsidian pricing, checked 2026-09-28 Reading, writing and saving Markdown in Flow is free. Flow Pro adds the AI for $10 a month or $96 a year. Import and Publish are add-ons to Pro, at $10 a month or $96 a year each.Shown in: The recurring client brief
Links between notes Obsidian links notes with double square brackets. Its Backlinks and Graph view plugins show how notes connect.Source: Obsidian Help: Link notes, checked 2026-09-28 Flow also has wiki links and backlinks. We have not yet checked Flow against a real Obsidian vault.

PAIR

Use both.
Each does its part.

Flow works beside the coding agent or design tool you already pay for. It does not replace them.

Pair with Claude Code

Claude Code

Claude Code is a strong agent for code and files. Flow is where the documents it helps write can wait for your review and keep a history. We walked this path with Codex; Claude Code on it is not yet verified by us.

Full comparison, 5 topics →
TopicClaude CodeFlow
What it is for Claude Code is an agentic coding tool. It reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands, and works with git. It runs in the terminal, in code editors, in a desktop app and in the browser.Source: Claude Code docs: Overview, checked 2026-09-28 Flow is a Mac app for documents: pricing pages, READMEs, client memos, briefs. Each one is a Markdown file in a folder you choose, with a review step and a History.Shown in: Review what your agents wrote
Asking before a change Claude Code has permission settings. In its Manual mode it asks before it edits or writes a file, and before most shell commands.Source: Claude Code docs: Configure permissions, checked 2026-09-28 Before an agent run starts, one sheet names the agent, the folder it may work in, and the cost. Its answer comes back as a proposal, shown line by line. In our Codex walk, the file on disk did not change until we approved.Shown in: Review what your agents wrote
Going back Claude Code checkpoints let you rewind its own file edits in a session. They do not track files changed by shell commands, and the docs say to keep using git for lasting history.Source: Claude Code docs: Checkpointing, checked 2026-09-28 History keeps every saved version of a document, with the receipt of the run that made it. It names the model and marks a version written from outside Flow as the work of an outside writer.Shown in: Review what your agents wrote

Pair with Codex

Codex

Codex does the work on the ChatGPT plan you already have. Flow makes its edits to your documents wait for your review, line by line, and keeps a record of every run.

Full comparison, 5 topics →
TopicCodexFlow
What it is for Codex reads, edits and runs code. It works in the ChatGPT desktop app, a command line tool, a code editor extension, on the web and in the cloud.Source: Codex docs: Overview, checked 2026-09-28 Flow is a Mac app for documents. Each one is a Markdown file in a folder you choose, with a review step and a History.Shown in: Review what your agents wrote
What it may do on its own In its default Auto setting, Codex can read files, make edits and run commands in the workspace without asking. It asks before it edits outside the workspace or uses the network.Source: Codex docs: Agent approvals and security, checked 2026-09-28 When Codex runs from a Flow action, its answer comes back as a proposal. The run took 27 seconds. In our walk, the file on disk kept its old version until we approved.Shown in: Review what your agents wrote
What you pay Codex is included in the ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise plans. You can also use an API key, which is charged at API rates.Source: Codex docs: Pricing, checked 2026-09-28 Flow ran Codex on our ChatGPT plan. The consent sheet said Included, and Flow charged nothing for the run.Shown in: Review what your agents wrote

Pair with Canva

Canva

Canva makes things look good. Flow makes sure the words and numbers are right, with a source on every figure and your yes before anything changes. Use both.

Full comparison, 6 topics →
TopicCanvaFlow
What it is for Canva is a design tool with more than 1,000 design types and 1.6 million templates on the free plan. Canva Docs is its visual document editor.Source: Canva pricing, checked 2026-09-30 Flow is a Mac app for the words and numbers: briefs, launch posts, updates. Each one is a Markdown file in a folder you choose, with a review step and a History.Shown in: Campaign with proof
Writing with AI Magic Write writes copy from a prompt. It can also rewrite, shorten, fix spelling or change the voice of text you already have.Source: Canva Help: Use Magic Write to generate text, checked 2026-09-30 Expand with Sources drafts from your own files and puts a footnote on every figure. In our campaign walk, 25 of 25 figures matched their sources, and the draft waited for our approval.Shown in: Campaign with proof
Where your work lives Canva keeps your designs in its cloud: 5 GB of storage on the free plan and 100 GB on Pro. Canva Offline makes designs available without a connection.Source: Canva pricing, checked 2026-09-30 Each document is a plain Markdown file in a folder on your Mac. Other apps can open the same files.Shown in: The recurring client brief

START WITH A PATH

Don’t take our word.
Watch it walked.

Each Compare page names the path that shows Flow’s side. We walked every step on a Mac and wrote down the time and the cost.

All paths →

For Notion users

Founders

The investor update and the watch

Founders

Your numbers from the workbook. The market section drafted from sources Flow checked that day. Published as a deck.

TimeTrust

79 s422 cited words, $0.00

For Obsidian users

Clients

The recurring client brief

Consultants · analysts · fractional operators

A monthly client brief with a source on every sentence, drafted on your Mac. Next month starts from this one.

TimeQuality

43 scited draft, local model

For Claude Code and Codex users

Agents

Review what your agents wrote

Claude Code and Codex users

Run the agent you already pay for inside a Flow folder. Its edits wait in review, line by line.

TrustCost

27 sCodex proofread, in review

For Canva users

Marketers

Campaign with proof

Marketers

A brief and a results workbook in. A cited launch post out, in two languages, as a Word file and a web page.

QualityTime

15 sSpanish version, footnotes kept

WHAT FLOW IS NOT

Know the limits
before you move.

These hold on every page. Each page adds the limits for its own tool.

  1. Flow is a Mac app only. There is no Windows, Linux, phone or web version.
  2. Flow is not a coding agent. It works beside Claude Code and Codex, and does not replace them.
  3. Flow is built for one person reviewing AI work, not for many people editing one page at once.
  4. Flow does not check your docs against your code. It proofreads and drafts prose, and you approve each change.
  5. The AI features need Flow Pro once your 10 Pro Days are used. Reading, writing and saving Markdown stays free.