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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Desktop App

Obsidian

Local-first markdown notes with a powerful link graph.

Visit Obsidian4.8

  • Rating

    4.8 / 5

  • Pricing

    Freemium

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    macOS, Windows, Linux

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What is Obsidian?

Obsidian stores plain markdown files on your own machine and turns them into a connected knowledge graph. A deep plugin ecosystem lets you build anything from a simple journal to a full personal knowledge management system that will outlive any single app. The built-in Bases plugin adds table and card views over your notes' properties.

Pros: what Obsidian does well

  • Your notes stay yours as plain files
  • Works fully offline
  • Endlessly extensible

Cons: where it falls short

  • Sync costs extra
  • Plugin tinkering can eat time

Who Obsidian is for

Long-term thinkers who want durable, private notes.

Who can skip it

Teams that need real-time collaborative documents.

What people use Obsidian for

  • A private second brain of linked notes stored as plain Markdown files
  • Research and writing with backlinks and a graph of connected ideas
  • Daily notes, journaling and meeting notes kept offline on your own device
  • A custom knowledge system extended with community plugins and themes

How to get started

  1. 1Download the free app and create a vault, which is simply a folder on your computer.
  2. 2Write a few notes and link them with [[double brackets]] to start building connections.
  3. 3Turn on daily notes and templates before adding community plugins.
  4. 4Choose how to sync: Obsidian's paid Sync service or a folder you already sync yourself.

Obsidian pricing

The Obsidian app is free, including for work use. Paid add-ons are optional: Sync for syncing vaults across devices, Publish for turning notes into a website, and Catalyst as a one-time way to support development. See current prices on Obsidian's site

Checked 2026-10-08. Prices change, so double-check before you pay.

Obsidian FAQ: quick answers

Is Obsidian free?
Yes. The app is free on desktop and mobile with no feature limits. You only pay if you want the optional Sync or Publish services.
Where does Obsidian store my notes?
On your own device, as plain Markdown files in a folder called a vault. You can open them with any text editor and keep them even if you stop using Obsidian.
Obsidian or Notion?
Choose Obsidian for private, offline, future-proof notes and deep linking; choose Notion for shared team workspaces and databases with many views.

Compare Obsidian

See how Obsidian stacks up, side by side, plus the lists it made.

Obsidian alternatives

Not sold on Obsidian? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Note-Taking resources

Reflect

Focus: backlinks, encrypted and networked notes. Also in Note-Taking and Personal Knowledge Management, like Obsidian. A web app, not a desktop app. Paid but Affordable (Obsidian: Freemium). Adds Web. Rated 4.5 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Web AppPaid but AffordableWeb, iOS
4.5Visit

Reor

Focus: AI, PKM and Notes. Shares Markdown with Obsidian. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Rated 4.5 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit

zk

Focus: markdown notes, command line and open source. Shares zettelkasten with Obsidian. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.5 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit

Foam

Focus: notes, wikilinks and backlinks. Shares markdown with Obsidian. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Rated 4.4 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

Glyph

Focus: notes, desktop and private. Shares markdown with Obsidian. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Rated 4.3 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS
4.3Visit

Bear

Focus: apple, tags and minimal. Shares markdown with Obsidian. An iOS app, not a desktop app. Rated 4.6 (Obsidian: 4.8).

iOS AppFree planiOS, macOS
4.6Visit

Free alternatives to Obsidian

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

SilverBullet

Focus: wiki, notes and self-hosted. Shares markdown with Obsidian. A web app, not a desktop app. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Adds Web. Rated 4.6 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.6Visit

Alexandrie

Focus: knowledge base, latex and offline-first. Shares markdown with Obsidian. A web app, not a desktop app. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Adds Web. Rated 4.5 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit

TiddlyWiki

Focus: wiki, notebook and single file. Shares zettelkasten with Obsidian. A web app, not a desktop app. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Adds Web and Offline. Rated 4.5 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Web AppFreeWeb, Offline
4.5Visit

SiYuan

Focus: second brain, block editor and backlinks. Also in Personal Knowledge Management and Note-Taking, like Obsidian. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit

Logseq

Focus: Open Source, PKM and Note-Taking. Also in Note-Taking and Knowledge Management, like Obsidian. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Adds Web. Rated 4.6 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

Trilium Notes

Focus: notes, knowledge base and self-hosted. Also in Knowledge Management and Note-Taking, like Obsidian. Free (Obsidian: Freemium). Adds Web and Offline. Rated 4.6 (Obsidian: 4.8).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit
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