Obsidian

Private and flexible note-taking

4.4(29 across the web)

What is Obsidian?

Obsidian (documentation): Private and flexible note-taking. Obsidian is a knowledge base that works on local Markdown files. Link notes together to build a personal wiki. Graph view visualizes connections between ideas. Hundreds of plugins extend functionality. Your notes stay in plain text files you own. The second brain that lives on your device, not someone else's server. Obsidian ships a free plan plus paid tiers that unlock as usage grows. Buyers most often compare Obsidian against Logseq, AFFiNE, Bear.

TL;DR - Obsidian

Private knowledge base with markdown
Your notes, fully offline and yours
Extensible with 1000+ plugins

Pricing: Free plan available

Best for: Growing teams

4.4/5 across review platforms

What Users Say About Obsidian

Obsidian is the favorite of researchers, PKM obsessives, and writers who want local-first control over their notes. Users consistently praise the 2,000+ community plugins, the backlinks/graph view, and that the app is 100% free for personal use (including commercial). The complaints cluster around the collaboration story (not designed for it) and the initial setup friction — you're essentially assembling your own note-taking app from plugins.

Highlights

100% free for personal AND commercial use — no feature gates for solo users
2,000+ community plugins mean almost any workflow is buildable
Markdown files on your disk — no lock-in, editable with any text editor
Graph view and backlinks are best-in-class for idea-heavy knowledge work
Optional Sync ($5/mo) and Publish ($10/mo) stay honest add-ons, not feature gates

Limitations

Not built for team collaboration — concurrent editing and sharing are weak
Initial setup requires choosing plugins, themes, and folder structures — blank-canvas fatigue
Mobile app is capable but less polished than Apple Notes or Bear
Web clipper is community-built rather than first-party
No native AI features — everything AI flows through plugins with your own API keys

Best for: Researchers, writers, and knowledge workers who want full ownership of their notes in plain files, and who enjoy customizing their tools. The right pick for anyone who has outgrown Apple Notes/Evernote and wants a PKM system that will still be readable in 20 years.

Editorial synthesis from industry coverage, product docs, and early user reports

Pros & Cons

Pros

Local-first privacy
Extensible plugins
Graph view

Cons

Sync costs extra
Steep learning curve

Ratings Across the Web

4.4(29 reviews)

Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more

Key Features

Markdown notesBacklinksGraph viewDaily notesTemplatesCanvasPluginsThemes

Pricing Plans

Free

Core app unlimited
No sign-up required
Local markdown files
Community plugins
Graph view
Linking and backlinks

Sync

$4/user/month

Sync notes across devices
End-to-end encryption
Version history
Collaborative shared vaults
Priority support

Publish

$8/site/month

Publish notes to the web
No technical knowledge required
Customizable theme
Graph and full text search
Priority support

Commercial

$50/user/year

Development support
Featured organization status
Bulk purchase options

View full pricing

About Obsidian

LCLouis CorneloupUpdated Apr 22, 2026

Obsidian is a knowledge base that works on local Markdown files. Link notes together to build a personal wiki. Graph view visualizes connections between ideas. Hundreds of plugins extend functionality. Your notes stay in plain text files you own. The second brain that lives on your device, not someone else's server.

How we evaluate tools →Source: obsidian.md