# DEVONThink standard vs DEVONThink Pro
**URL:** https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048
**Category:** DEVONthink
**Created:** [October 24, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048 "2020-10-24T00:10:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@grgw](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/grgw)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/1 "2020-10-24T00:10:47Z")
Getting ready to press Buy but not finding it easy to decide on version.
There was a discussion back in Oct '19 there was a discussion “Difference between Devonthink 3 and Devonthink 3 Pro” but it did not reach a satisfactory conclusion. The table (and supporting text) at [https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink/editions](https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink/editions) _really_ makes my head hurt.
Is there a succinct summary somewhere on the forums or elsewhere?
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### Author:  [@pete31](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/pete31)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/2 "2020-10-24T00:30:14Z")
> [@grgw](#):
>
> Is there a succinct summary somewhere on the forums or elsewhere?
I don’t think there is one.
What do you want to do with DEVONthink?
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### Author:  [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/3 "2020-10-24T00:53:47Z")
Welcome @grgw
As noted under the matrix on that page, anything listed is **not** in the Standard edition.
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### Author:  [@grgw](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/grgw)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/4 "2020-10-24T02:22:19Z")
My problem is I don’t know how to “subtract” the matrix items from the free text description on that product page in order to get a clear picture of what’s in the Standard edition. It feels like a Standard vs Pro would be a more useful matrix; the only difference between Pro and Server is a single bullet!
I can’t complain though as there’s the Free Trial so I can work it out. Is the Free Trial for the Pro version?
Thanks for the help.
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### Author:  [@grgw](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/grgw)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 2:24am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/5 "2020-10-24T02:24:18Z")
Nothing exotic. Don’t want to buy Pro if I don’t need it, equally don’t want to create unnecessary workarounds if I end up with standard edition. Think I need to spend time with the Trial!
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### Author:  [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 6:49am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/6 "2020-10-24T06:49:01Z")
The trial version has the features of the Server edition. And commands in DEVONthink with a blue star are only available in Pro or Server.
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### Author:  [@pete31](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/pete31)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 6:59am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/7 "2020-10-24T06:59:01Z")
> [@grgw](#):
>
> It feels like a Standard vs Pro would be a more useful matrix
Indeed. Here’s a matrix of all editions
| Feature | Standard | Pro | Server |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Annotations | X | X | X |
| AppleScript | X | X | X |
| Classify | X | X | X |
| Encrypted databases | X | X | X |
| Feeds | X | X | X |
| Filters (dates, marks, tags, or geolocation) | X | X | X |
| Indexing | X | X | X |
| Item links | X | X | X |
| Reading List | X | X | X |
| Reminders | X | X | X |
| See Also | X | X | X |
| Smart Groups | X | X | X |
| Smart Rules | X | X | X |
| Smart Templates | X | X | X |
| Synch | X | X | X |
| Tags | X | X | X |
| Bookends integration | | X | X |
| Concordance | | X | X |
| Custom metadata | | X | X |
| Download Manager | | X | X |
| Email archiving | | X | X |
| Form views | | X | X |
| Grouping similar items | | X | X |
| Image Capture | | X | X |
| Imprinting PDFs and images | | X | X |
| OCR | | X | X |
| Scanner integration | | X | X |
| Web interface | | | X |
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### Author:  [@chrillek](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/chrillek)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 9:19am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/8 "2020-10-24T09:19:39Z")
> [@grgw](#):
>
> Nothing exotic.
Which lies in the eye of the beholder, doesn’t it? For one it might be OCR for Thai, for someone else it might be synchronization across devices, for a third person something else entirely.
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### Author:  [@grgw](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/grgw)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/9 "2020-11-07T21:38:38Z")
Thanks BLUEFROG,
If I end up purchasing the Pro version, can I just apply the license and keep working on the environment created using the the trial version? Or will I need to re-create my environment (e.g. imports from Evernote)? I saw a previous comment about there not being a direct route between Standard and Pro versions.
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### Author:  [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/10 "2020-11-07T22:01:50Z")
There should be **no interruption** at all. When you use the Pro license, it will just unlock the features of the Pro edition. Nothing more needs to be done.
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### Author:  [@jerwin](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/jerwin)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/11 "2020-11-08T20:48:37Z")
In his book _Taking Smart Notes with Devonthink,_ Kourosh Dini uses Custom Metadata throughout. Of course, he’s trying to bend Devonthink into a Zettelkasten, which might not be the direction you want to go.
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### Author:  [@JC12](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/JC12)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/12 "2022-03-29T17:27:00Z")
Thanks for the matrix, exactly the quick info I was hoping they would have on [DEVONtechnologies | DEVONthink Editions](https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink/editions) but they don’t include the standard one.
Much appreciated.
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### Author:  [@jordanbrock](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/jordanbrock)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/13 "2023-03-30T04:01:36Z")
I know this is over a year old, but this matrix was super helpful. Thank you.
I’d love for it to be on the main marketing website.
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### Author:  [@sourcecodemage](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/sourcecodemage)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2023, 1:15pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/14 "2023-07-12T13:15:34Z")
Ditto. My impression is DT’s marketing team want to position the Pro version as the “standard” edition by barely mentioning that there is a standard version on their site.
When comparing features, the only one I recognize between Standard and Pro is OCR, and my Brother scanner and PDF Pen apps already do that.
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### Author:  [@chrillek](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/chrillek)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2023, 1:22pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/15 "2023-07-12T13:22:31Z")
There’s email archiving and imprinting, too.
> **[DEVONtechnologies | DEVONthink Editions](https://devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink/editions)**
>
> DEVONtechnologies develops DEVONthink, DEVONagent, and other Mac and iOS apps for document and information management and web research.
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### Author:  [@suavito](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/suavito)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2023, 2:27pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/16 "2023-07-12T14:27:01Z")
And not at all to forget Custom Metadata. Never without.
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### Author:  [@BLUEFROG](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/BLUEFROG)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/17 "2023-07-12T16:35:05Z")
And the Concordance, for those who need it.
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### Author:  [@jooz](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/jooz)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2025, 9:26am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/18 "2025-04-21T09:26:35Z")
Are smart rules part of standard or Pro editions nowadays ? They seem to be mentioned twice in the official matrix: [DEVONtechnologies | Editions](https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink/editions)
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### Author:  [@cgrunenberg](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/cgrunenberg)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2025, 9:32am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/19 "2025-04-21T09:32:00Z")
Smart rules are supported by all editions but some actions, e.g. generative AI integration, OCR or impriting, require the higher editions.
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### Author:  [@jooz](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/u/jooz)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2025, 9:42am UTC](https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/t/devonthink-standard-vs-devonthink-pro/59048/20 "2025-04-21T09:42:15Z")
Thanks - thinking about my upgrade to DT4 and what I actually use.