Compass vs Mem
Mem keeps your work on track. Compass keeps your thinking about the company in one place.
Compass is an iPhone app for founders who think out loud, in early access now.
Updated . We make Compass. Here is where each tool fits.
The short answer
Mem is an AI agent that tracks your tasks and projects, briefs you before meetings and works across iOS, Mac, Windows and the web, with plans priced by how many notes and messages you use. Compass is smaller and more specific: a voice-first iPhone notebook for founders that files every note by company topic, surfaces patterns in a weekly review and drafts X and LinkedIn posts.
Choose Compass if
- Most of your thinking happens out loud, away from a desk
- You want notes sorted around fundraising, hiring and product without setting anything up
- You want X and LinkedIn drafts from your notes, with one-tap publishing
Choose Mem if
- You work mostly on a computer and want meeting capture and a web clipper
- You want an assistant that tracks tasks, sends briefings and runs routines
- You want a free plan to start
You can run your week in Mem and do your thinking out loud in Compass.
Mem keeps your work on track. Compass sharpens your thinking.
Join the early access list in seconds
14-day free trial, then $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr.
Price will increase to $19.99/mo after the first 100 founding members.
Compass vs Mem at a glance
| Feature | Compass | Mem |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 14-day free trial, then $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr, early access price. Price will increase to $19.99/mo after the first 100 founding members. | Free (25 notes and 25 messages a month, 3 hours of Voice Mode). Plus $9/mo, Pro $29/mo, then $49, $99, $149 and $199 a month as the note and message allowance goes up. |
| Platforms | iPhone only (iOS 17 or later) | iOS, Mac, Windows and the web |
| Capture | Tap the mic and talk, or type. Conversation mode for conversations. | Write, use Voice Mode, Push-to-Remember on Mac and Windows, a web clipper, email or WhatsApp |
| Meetings | Records a conversation on your iPhone and separates the speakers | Records meetings on your computer without joining as a bot, with calendar integration and pre-meeting briefings on Pro |
| Organizing | Every note filed into founder categories like fundraising, hiring and product | No manual filing. Mem detects tasks and projects from your notes. |
| Proactive help | Insights on patterns and contradictions, plus a weekly review | Heads Up surfaces related notes as you work. Mem Agent reaches out when a nudge will help. |
| People | Memory keeps the people, lessons and commitments from your notes | Timelines of your history with a person, team or recurring meeting |
| Turning notes into posts | Drafts X and LinkedIn posts from your notes and publishes when you tap | Chat drafts a LinkedIn post or an X thread from your notes when you ask |
| Privacy and export | Encrypted at rest, not end-to-end. Export as Markdown, JSON or PDF. | Encrypted at rest (AES-256), not end-to-end. Export as Markdown. |
Why would a founder choose Compass over Mem?
Built for talking, not typing
Compass starts from the mic. Talk for ten seconds between meetings and the note is transcribed, cleaned up and filed before you are back at your desk.
Shaped around a startup
Notes land in founder categories like fundraising, hiring, product and go-to-market, and insights watch for the patterns founders miss, like a plan that contradicts what a customer told you.
Your thinking can become posts
Compass drafts X and LinkedIn posts from your notes in your voice. You edit, then publish to your own account with one tap.
Where Mem is better
It works where your desk work happens
Mem runs on iOS, Mac, Windows and the web, with Push-to-Remember on Mac and Windows and a web clipper. Compass is an iPhone app.
Meeting prep and follow-through
Mem records meetings on your computer without joining as a bot, connects to your calendar, briefs you before a meeting on Pro and tracks the tasks and projects that come out of it.
A free plan and room to grow
Mem starts free and scales from Plus at $9 a month to Pro 20x at $199 a month, with custom routines and connections to tools like Gmail, Slack and Todoist from Pro up. The ladder is metered: each step buys more notes and messages a month.
Mem is a capable product, and it names founders as one of the groups it is built for.
The two tools overlap on remembering what you tell them. They differ on where you are when you tell them and on what they do next: Mem organizes your work, and Compass organizes your thinking about the company. Mem also prices its tiers by how many notes and messages you add each month.
If your day runs on a laptop and you want an assistant that keeps projects moving, Mem is the stronger pick. If your best thinking happens out loud, on a walk or between calls, Compass is built for that.
Common questions
Is Compass a Mem alternative for founders?
For founders who capture mostly by voice on an iPhone, yes. Compass files each note by founder topic, keeps the people and commitments in it, reviews your week and drafts posts. If you want an assistant across your computer that tracks tasks and preps meetings, Mem does more of that.
Does Mem have voice notes?
Yes. Mem Voice Mode records meetings or you thinking out loud on iOS, Mac and Windows and turns it into a structured note. The free plan includes 3 hours of Voice Mode a month, and paid plans include more.
Which one costs less?
Mem, if the free plan's 25 notes and 25 messages a month is enough. Plus is $9 a month and Pro is $29 a month, and the tiers above them buy a bigger monthly allowance. Compass has no free plan. 14-day free trial, then $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr. Everyone on the early access list keeps $9.99/mo for as long as their subscription stays active. Price will increase to $19.99/mo after the first 100 founding members. Join the early access list now and subscribe when Compass is live.
Can I use Mem and Compass together?
Yes. Mem can hold your meetings and tasks while Compass holds the thinking you do out loud about your company. Compass exports your notes and summaries as Markdown, JSON or PDF, and Mem exports to Markdown, so your notes are not locked in either one.
Sources
We checked each claim about Mem against these pages. Features and prices change, so check the latest before you decide.
- Mem homepage (Mem Agent, Push-to-Remember, Web Clipper, Calendar), accessed
- Mem pricing (plans, monthly note and message limits, encryption, export), accessed
- Mem Voice Mode, accessed
- Mem Heads Up, accessed
- Mem for founders, accessed
- Mem for content development (drafting posts in Chat), accessed
- Mem downloads (iOS, Mac, Windows), accessed