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Comparison · Collab
SiYuan vs Tana
A side-by-side editorial comparison of SiYuan and Tana — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
SiYuan vs Tana: at a glance
What is SiYuan?
SiYuan stabilises 3.8.1 after a seven-build beta run, all of it widening the agent surface it opened in 3.8.0
SiYuan has just cut 3.8.1 stable, the endpoint of a beta chain that ran six builds in five days. The release groups into three areas: AI integration work - custom editor actions syncing across devices, an Agent panel shortcut, user-level skills read from a shared agents directory, nested rerank API formats and OpenAI Responses API support; editing and database throughput, including virtualised grouped-table rendering and faster document loading; and cross-platform reliability covering HEIF/HEIC previews, PDF export and mobile behaviour. A batch of MCP and publishing-service fixes rounds it out.
What is Tana?
The knowledge graph quietly turned itself into a meetings product.
Every release in this window touches meetings. Tana added a pre-meeting hub card, an always-on-top join nudge for internal calls, one-click conversion of a scheduled call into an external capture, a Present palette in the call toolbar, a voice picker for meeting agents, and action cards on Today for starting, scheduling or capturing a meeting. The AI work runs alongside it — chat that costs fewer tokens for the same quality, and an assistant that can pin things or hand you a shareable link to a document it referenced.
SiYuan vs Tana: editorial side-by-side
SiYuan
6.3COLLAB
SiYuan stabilises 3.8.1 after a seven-build beta run, all of it widening the agent surface it opened in 3.8.0
◆ Current state
SiYuan has just cut 3.8.1 stable, the endpoint of a beta chain that ran six builds in five days. The release groups into three areas: AI integration work - custom editor actions syncing across devices, an Agent panel shortcut, user-level skills read from a shared agents directory, nested rerank API formats and OpenAI Responses API support; editing and database throughput, including virtualised grouped-table rendering and faster document loading; and cross-platform reliability covering HEIF/HEIC previews, PDF export and mobile behaviour. A batch of MCP and publishing-service fixes rounds it out.
◆ Where it's heading
This is consolidation of the surface 3.8.0 opened, not an extension of it. The agent, semantic search and MCP endpoint arrived in the 3.8.0 line; 3.8.1 makes them portable and pluggable - skills come from a directory the user controls, editor actions follow the user between devices, and the provider layer now speaks the OpenAI Responses API rather than one bespoke shape. The high beta count against a modest final diff shows a project stabilising a young subsystem rather than building a new one.
◆ Prediction
The next line most likely pushes on the skills directory - discovery, sharing or marketplace distribution of user-level skills - since that is the piece 3.8.1 made user-editable without giving it a distribution path.
Tana
6.3COLLAB
The knowledge graph quietly turned itself into a meetings product.
◆ Current state
Every release in this window touches meetings. Tana added a pre-meeting hub card, an always-on-top join nudge for internal calls, one-click conversion of a scheduled call into an external capture, a Present palette in the call toolbar, a voice picker for meeting agents, and action cards on Today for starting, scheduling or capturing a meeting. The AI work runs alongside it — chat that costs fewer tokens for the same quality, and an assistant that can pin things or hand you a shareable link to a document it referenced.
◆ Where it's heading
Tana is moving from a tool that stores what happened in a meeting to one that runs the meeting. Native Tana calls are now the default path on Today, with Zoom, Meet and Teams demoted to a capture case handled through desktop audio. The agent work points the same way: voices for meeting agents, AI that acts immediately rather than proposing changes for approval. The graph is becoming the substrate rather than the interface.
◆ Prediction
Given the pace of meeting-surface work and the AI moving from proposals to direct action, the next step is most likely deepening what agents can do during a live call. Nothing in these entries indicates how the token optimisation affects the underlying usage limits.
Alternatives to SiYuan and Tana
Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either SiYuan or Tana.
Hive
Hive ships in batches, and this one is all planning accuracy and admin control.
Teable
Teable ships daily, and the work has moved from grid features to platform governance.
Simpplr
Simpplr publishes the research that names the gap, then ships the product that closes it.
NetNewsWire
NetNewsWire's 7.1.3 train has moved from rebuilding sync to sweeping up what the rebuild disturbed.
Document360
Document360 rebuilt its API for agents; now it's turning the AI inward on authoring.
Recent activity from SiYuan and Tana
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 23h agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.1 stabilises the agent, skills and Responses API work
- 2d agoSiYuanSlash menu items become configurable; table column widths distribute evenly
- 2d agoSiYuanTable headers left-align by default; double-click closes tabs
- 3d agoSiYuanUser-level agent skills and virtualized grouped-table rendering
- 3d agoSiYuanAI features move to the OpenAI Responses API
- 4d agoSiYuanAgent panel gains a shortcut; blockquote input fixed
- 15d agoTanaAI chat goes further before hitting usage limits
- 26d agoTanaAsk the AI to pin things for you
- 1mo agoTanaStart, schedule, or capture external meetings right from Today ⚡
- 1mo agoTanaNever miss an upcoming Tana meeting
- 1mo agoTanaPresent and capture, in one click
- 1mo agoTanaA pre-meeting hub
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SiYuan and Tana?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SiYuan and Tana are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is SiYuan better than Tana?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SiYuan and Tana are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to SiYuan?
Top SiYuan alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SiYuan alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siyuan for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Tana?
Top Tana alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Tana alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tana for the full list with editorial commentary on each.