Obsidian vs TickTick
Obsidian and TickTick are both personal productivity tools. Obsidian is aimed at freelancers and developers, while TickTick is aimed at freelancers. TickTick costs less, from $4.17/mo versus $5/mo for Obsidian. Both have a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium · $5 | Freemium · $4 |
| Starting price | $5/mo | $4.17/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Freelancers, Developers, Creators | Freelancers |
| Platforms | macos, windows, linux, ios, android | web, macos, windows, ios, android |
| Country | CA · 2020 | CN · 2013 |
| 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 TickTick if
Individuals wanting tasks, habits and focus in one app.
- Feature-rich for the price
- Built-in habits and focus timer
- All platforms
Look elsewhere if: Team project management.
Obsidian vs TickTick 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
TickTick
- Free$09 lists, 99 tasks per list
- Premium$4.17/moBilled annually at $49.99; 299 lists, calendar views
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
TickTick · Key features
- Tasks with natural language input
- Calendar views
- Habit tracker
- Pomodoro focus timer
- Eisenhower matrix
- Cross-platform sync
Cons
- UI can feel crowded
- Team features limited
- Fewer integrations than Todoist
Obsidian vs TickTick: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Obsidian or TickTick?
TickTick starts at $4.17/mo and Obsidian at $5/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Obsidian and TickTick have a free plan?
Yes, both Obsidian and TickTick have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.