Zo vs Mem.ai
Mem.ai is an AI-powered note-taking app that automatically organizes your notes and lets you chat with your knowledge base. It's sleek and focused on capturing thoughts quickly. But it's specifically a notes app—and that's both its strength and its limitation.
As one user described Zo: "I'm so excited about Zo, I've dropped all work on the floor and am building a script to import all my X bookmarks. It seems like the exact Obsidian-in-the-cloud + Claude Code + automation product that I've been looking for."
Notes App vs. Computer
Mem.ai does one thing: notes. You write notes, the AI organizes them, and you can search and chat with your content.
Zo is a complete computing environment. Your notes are just one type of file in a workspace that can also:
Run code in any language
Process and transform data
Build automations with natural language
Store any file type, not just notes
When Your Notes Need to Do Something
Mem's AI can find notes and summarize them. That's useful for reference.
But what if you want your notes to do something? On Zo:
Turn meeting notes into task lists and calendar events
Extract data from notes into spreadsheets
Build a searchable knowledge base with custom interfaces
Generate reports from your collected research
Create automations triggered by your notes
Import your X bookmarks with a custom script (like the user above)
Your knowledge becomes actionable, not just searchable.
File Formats and Portability
Mem stores notes in its proprietary system. You can export to Markdown or JSON, but:
Mem v2 reportedly doesn't support exports at all
Users report needing technical knowledge to convert exports
Your organizational structure may not transfer cleanly
On Zo, your notes are markdown files on a standard filesystem:
Open them with any text editor
Sync to your local machine anytime
Back up however you want
No export process needed—the files are already yours
Reliability Concerns
Mem.ai users have reported several issues:
Sync problems leading to lost notes
Bugs affecting reliability and stability
Limited media handling—can't embed videos, PDFs aren't immediately searchable
No end-to-end encryption for your data
Zo gives you a dedicated server with persistent storage. Your files don't sync through a third-party service—they live on your computer, accessible via SSH, with standard Linux backup options.
Beyond Text Notes
Mem is optimized for text. It has limited handling for PDFs, images, and other media.
Zo handles any file type:
Documents, spreadsheets, presentations
Images, audio, video
Code files in any language
Databases and data files
Applications and services
Your second brain isn't limited to what a notes app can understand.
Pricing Comparison
Mem.ai:
Free: 25 notes/month, 25 chat messages
Pro: $12/month for unlimited notes
Zo Computer:
Plans start at $18/month
Includes 100GB storage, unlimited AI chat
Plus code execution, hosting, automations
No per-note or per-message limits
Mem is cheaper if you only need a notes app. Zo costs a bit more but replaces multiple tools—notes, automation, hosting, development environment.
Voice and Quick Capture
Mem.ai has strong voice capture—speak your thoughts and the AI transcribes and organizes them. This is genuinely useful for quick capture on mobile.
Zo's strength is different: deep integration between your notes and everything else in your workspace. Voice capture is less polished, but your notes can interact with code, automations, and projects in ways Mem can't match.
Who Each Tool Is For
Mem.ai is great if you:
Want a dedicated, focused notes app
Primarily capture quick thoughts and voice memos
Don't need code, automation, or hosting
Value mobile-first quick capture
Zo is better if you:
Want notes that integrate with a broader workspace
Need to run code or build automations
Value standard file formats and data ownership
Want to consolidate multiple tool subscriptions
Plan to build on your knowledge over time
Get Started
Ready for a second brain that can think and act? Try Zo Computer and turn your notes into capabilities.