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Tool profile · Notes & Knowledge

Obsidian

Local Markdown notes with a huge plugin ecosystem.

78
sovereignty

Obsidian keeps every note as a local Markdown file and layers a powerful linked-notes and plugin ecosystem on top. It is free to use and local-first, though the app itself is closed-source.

SOURCE-AVAILABLEProprietary (free)LOCAL-FIRST
Website ↗Docs ↗
LicenseProprietary (free)
PricingFree for personal use; paid Sync/Publish optional
Open sourceNo
Self-hostableNo
Local-first dataYes

What it does well

  • +Your notes are plain local Markdown
  • +Enormous plugin ecosystem
  • +Fast and offline

Where it falls short

  • −App is closed-source
  • −Official sync is a paid add-on

Obsidian as an alternative to

Where Obsidian shows up in our comparisons, and how it ranked.

Alternatives to Notion

4 options compared · Notion Labs

Obsidian head-to-head

Straight comparisons against the tools people weigh it against.

Obsidian vs Logseq→Obsidian vs AppFlowy→Obsidian vs Anytype→
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