Obsidian is a note-taking & docs tool for Freelancers and Developers, offered as freemium ($5/mo). Founded in Canada in 2020. Popular alternatives include Logseq, Evernote, Microsoft OneNote.
About Obsidian
Obsidian is a local-first knowledge base and note-taking app made by Dynalist Inc., launched in 2020 by Shida Li and Erica Xu. Notes are plain Markdown files in a folder on your own device, linked with wikilinks and shown as a graph, so your notes stay readable by any text editor and nothing reaches Obsidian's servers unless you choose its paid services.
The core app includes backlinks, a graph view, Canvas for visual boards, daily notes, templates, powerful search, Bases for database-style views over notes, and apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. A community ecosystem of more than 2,000 plugins and many themes adds task management, calendars, spaced repetition, Dataview queries, Zotero integration, Kanban boards and much more. Obsidian is free for personal use and, since 2025, for commercial use as well; paid add-ons are Sync for end-to-end encrypted syncing with version history and Publish for turning notes into a website, plus an optional one-time Catalyst supporter license.
Obsidian suits individuals, researchers, students, developers and writers who want long-term ownership of their notes and deep customization. It is single-player by design, with no real-time collaboration, and the plugin ecosystem can tempt users into endless setup. Notion and Outline are better for shared team wikis, Logseq offers a free outliner-based alternative with similar local files, and Apple Notes or Bear suit people who want zero setup.
The introduction of Bases in 2025 brought database views into the core app, reducing reliance on community plugins for structured notes.
Key features of Obsidian
- 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
Pros and cons
Pros
- You own your files; works offline forever
- Free for personal and commercial use
- Unmatched extensibility through plugins
- Fast and lightweight
Cons
- No real-time collaboration
- Plugin quality varies; setup can rabbit-hole
- Sync and Publish are paid add-ons
- Mobile experience depends on plugins used
Obsidian pricing
Obsidian uses a freemium model.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Full 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 | $25 | One-time supporter license, early access |
| Commercial | $50 / user/year | Optional license for organizations |
Source: obsidian.md · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Obsidian compares in Note-taking & docs
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 15
- Starting price
- $5
- Free alternatives
- 3
0 votes from members
50% below the category median ($10/mo)
Free or open-source tools in Note-taking & docs
Obsidian ranks #1 of 15 note-taking & docs tools by community votes and is priced below most tools in the category.
Common use cases
- 1Personal knowledge management and Zettelkasten
- 2Research notes linked to PDFs and citations via Zotero
- 3Daily journaling and task tracking with Tasks plugin
- 4Publishing a digital garden with Obsidian Publish
Best for
Individuals, researchers and writers who want ownership, longevity and deep customization.
Not ideal for
Teams needing shared, collaborative documents or users who want a zero-setup tool.
Integrations
- Obsidian Sync
- Obsidian Publish
- Git (plugin)
- Readwise
- Zotero (plugin)
- Todoist (plugin)
Our take
Obsidian is the best personal knowledge base if you value owning your notes and are willing to tinker. For team wikis, use something collaborative and keep Obsidian for your own thinking.
FAQ
- What is Obsidian?
- Obsidian is a Note-taking & docs tool: Local-first markdown knowledge base.
- How much does Obsidian cost?
- Obsidian uses a Freemium model; paid plans start at $5 per month.
- What are the best alternatives to Obsidian?
- Community-listed alternatives to Obsidian include Logseq, Evernote, Microsoft OneNote.
- What does Obsidian integrate with?
- Obsidian integrates with Obsidian Sync, Obsidian Publish, Git (plugin), Readwise, Zotero (plugin), Todoist (plugin) and more.
- Which platforms does Obsidian support?
- Obsidian is available on macos, windows, linux, ios, android.
- Who is Obsidian for?
- Individuals, researchers and writers who want ownership, longevity and deep customization.
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