Obsidian Pricing 2026
Plans, hidden costs, and alternatives compared
Prices last confirmed on Oct 26, 2026 on obsidian.md. Same data as Markdown or JSON.
Cite this data: Toolradar, Obsidian pricing verified Oct 2026, toolradar.com/tools/obsidian/pricing
Obsidian starts at $4/user/month on the Sync plan.
Verified Oct 2026 from the official pricing page.
Is Obsidian worth the price?
Obsidian core app is genuinely free with no feature gating, every note-taking and knowledge management feature works without paying.
The optional paid services (Sync at $4-5/month, Publish at $8-10/month) are the only revenue sources. This makes Obsidian one of the most honest pricing models in productivity software: you own your data (plain Markdown files stored locally), and you pay only for convenience services.
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
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Sync ($4-5/month) is almost mandatory for multi-device users. While you can use free alternatives (iCloud, Google Drive, Git), they introduce sync conflicts that Obsidian Sync solves with end-to-end encryption and proper conflict resolution. Most serious users end up paying for Sync
Publish ($8-10/month per site) has no free tier, if you want to publish notes to the web through Obsidian, you pay. Alternatives like Quartz (free, open-source) can publish Obsidian vaults but require technical setup
The Commercial license ($50/user/year) is required for companies with 2+ employees using Obsidian for work. Many small teams overlook this requirement. It unlocks no additional features, it is purely a licensing compliance cost
No built-in collaboration beyond Sync shared vaults. Real-time multiplayer editing requires third-party solutions. Teams needing Google Docs-style collaboration will find Obsidian inadequate without significant workarounds
Mobile app (iOS/Android) is free but less capable than desktop. Complex plugins often do not work on mobile, and the editing experience is more limited
Educational discount (40% off Sync and Publish) requires verification for students, faculty, and nonprofit employees. The discount is generous but not automatically applied
Overage & Usage Pricing
catalyst
$25 one-time, early beta access, community badges, VIP channel. Non-refundable.
educational Discount
40% off Sync and Publish for students, faculty, and nonprofits
additional Publish Sites
$8-10/month each
How Obsidian compares
4 of 6 direct competitors offer a free plan.
| Tool | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | $4/user/month | Yes |
| Logseq | Free | Yes |
| Notion | $10/member/month | Yes |
| Evernote | $14.99/month, billing unit not specified | Yes |
| Roam Research | $165/year, billing unit not specified | No |
| Craft | $5/month, billing unit not specified | Yes |
| Joplin | $3.22/month, billing unit not specified | No |
Obsidian Pricing FAQ
How much does Obsidian cost?
Obsidian starts at $4/user/month on the Sync plan. It offers 3 paid tiers ranging from $4/user/month to $8/month flat for the whole organisation. A free plan is also available.
Does Obsidian have a free plan?
Yes. Obsidian offers a free plan called "Free". It includes: Core app unlimited, No sign-up required, Local markdown files.
What is the cheapest Obsidian paid plan?
The cheapest paid plan for Obsidian is "Sync" at $4/user/month. Key features include: Sync notes across devices, End-to-end encryption, Version history.
What are alternatives to Obsidian?
Alternatives to Obsidian include Logseq, Notion, Evernote, Roam Research. Logseq is fully free. Notion starts at $10/member/month; Evernote starts at $14.99/month, billing unit not specified; Roam Research starts at $165/year, billing unit not specified.
How much does Obsidian cost for a team of 10?
For 10 users on the Sync plan, Obsidian is $40/month, or $480/year, at the published per-user rate.
Obsidian alternatives
Direct competitors. Starting prices match the table above.
Sources
- Official Obsidian pricing: obsidian.md/pricing (verified Oct 2026)
- Cite this data: Toolradar, Obsidian pricing verified Oct 2026, toolradar.com/tools/obsidian/pricing
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