Obsidian vs Things
Obsidian and Things are both personal productivity tools. Obsidian is aimed at freelancers and developers, while Things is aimed at freelancers. Only Obsidian has a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium · $5 | Paid |
| Starting price | $5/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | — | 15 days |
| Built for | Freelancers, Developers, Creators | Freelancers |
| Platforms | macos, windows, linux, ios, android | macos, ios |
| Country | CA · 2020 | DE · 2007 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Obsidian if
Individuals, researchers and writers who want ownership, longevity and deep customization.
- You own your files; works offline forever
- Free for personal and commercial use
- Unmatched extensibility through plugins
Look elsewhere if: Teams needing shared, collaborative documents or users who want a zero-setup tool.
Choose Things if
Apple users wanting a beautiful personal task manager.
- Beautiful, calm design
- One-time purchase
- Fast and reliable
Look elsewhere if: Teams or Windows/Android users.
Obsidian vs Things pricing
Obsidian
- Free$0Full app, personal and commercial use
- Sync$5/user/mo$4 billed annually; E2E encrypted sync
- Publish$10/site/mo$8 billed annually; publish notes to web
- Catalyst$25One-time supporter license, early access
- Commercial$50/user/yearOptional license for organizations
Things
- Mac$49.99One-time purchase
- iPhone & Apple Watch$9.99One-time purchase
- iPad$19.99One-time purchase
Obsidian · Key features
- Local Markdown files with bidirectional links and backlinks panel
- Graph view and Canvas for visual thinking
- Bases: database-style views over notes (2025)
- 2,000+ community plugins and themes
- End-to-end encrypted Sync and one-click Publish
- Daily notes, templates, search with operators, mobile apps
Cons
- No real-time collaboration
- Plugin quality varies; setup can rabbit-hole
- Sync and Publish are paid add-ons
Things · Key features
- Areas, projects and headings
- Today, Upcoming, Anytime, Someday
- Quick entry with natural dates
- Tags and filters
- Calendar events alongside tasks
- Free Things Cloud sync
Cons
- Apple only
- No collaboration
- No web app
Obsidian vs Things: FAQ
Do Obsidian and Things have a free plan?
Obsidian has a free plan. Things has no free plan, a 15-day free trial.