Obsidian Alternatives
Obsidian is described as 'Powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files' and is a leading Note-taking tool in the office & productivity category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Obsidian for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, Android and iPhone. The best alternative is Joplin, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Obsidian are Notion, Standard Notes, Zettlr and Google Keep.
Obsidian alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools but may also be Todo List Managers or Task Management Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Obsidian.- Free Personal • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
Joplin
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
591 alternatives to Joplin- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- AppImageHub
- Snapcraft
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
- Termux
- Firefox
Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. The notes are searchable, can be copied, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor.
Joplin Features
Joplin vs Obsidian
vaynagiyI like Joplin. Convinient for programmers
It's open source, allows crypto your md notes on some cloud storage
Joplin doesn't have the same focus as Obsidian. It's more of an Evernote alternative
NiminaeThey are too different. They don't link as similarly and have a very different setup. Joplin is a better alternative to Evernote than Obsidian.
syberiyxxVery different structure and UI
LongLifeThey focus on different things.
andersmmgJoplin has a very different approach to organization compared to Obsidian
Notion
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free Personal • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Task Management Tool
416 alternatives to Notion- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
With so many tools, it's hard to keep everyone on the same page. Notion is a new tool that unifies them all.
Notion Features
Notion vs Obsidian
arjshivgreat search, excellent native app (used to suck but now it's great), easier to think of written data as a database, better plugin ecosystem.
nftshawnNotion has more interoperability
passawitkaovilaiBecause Notion is online only, it can have high latency when pulling databases of pages which Obsidian have no issues with.
Adam21Easier to use than obsidian, free online storage and the AI ??is really amazing
syberiyxxNo local copy of your notes. Notion can access your notes at any time. No offline support.
g1_infosecAs of the time of speaking, Notion search function won't query data within databases so if you like to have some information organized in Tables you have to search on each database individually to find this data. Nightmare!
Standard Notes
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
466 alternatives to Standard Notes- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
Standard Notes is a simple and private notes app. It allows you to write and sync your notes across all your devices, iOS, Android, Linux, Windows, MacOS, and web browser.
Standard Notes Features
Standard Notes vs Obsidian
hex111i feel better paying for open source user friendlier projects, wysiwyg is just necessary for people to reasonably shift from the data robbery monopolies.
syberiyxxNote-linking is a subscription only feature
Zettlr
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Text Editor
130 alternatives to Zettlr- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Zettlr is a supercharged markdown editor that combines many writing editor features and collect them in one application. It aims at speeding up your workflow and help you write without any interruptions.
Zettlr Features
Zettlr vs Obsidian
ujuamIt is the best open source alternative to Obsidian right now. The only downside (big for many) is that it lacks community plugins
Good alternative to Obsidian but backlinks are not as magic as in Obsidian. If you rename a file it will not modify links. You cannot link to a specific header. You need to use some ID which is a bit troublesome at first. Also you don't have a graph showing you all the links. But as this is Opensource, this is the best alternative to Obsidian which is closed source.
HibiscusVery basic application. In no way a competition for Obsidian.
softphZettlr simplicity is a quality. Open source.
s20Probably the best Open Source alternative to Obsidian, and what I was using for quite some time. Well, a few months anyway. It has backlinking and some other great features that make it more useful as a knowledge base, but if you're looking for a full replacement, you're going to miss a lot of features, not least of which is the graph.
SometimesaOffers back-linking just like Obsidian does but it is Open-Source. Obsidian is proprietary software.
Google Keep
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
330 alternatives to Google Keep- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Google Chrome
- Android Wear
Google Keep has several features including color coding notes, inserting images, creating lists, geo-fencing, shareable notes, and search by color.
Google Keep Features
Google Keep vs Obsidian
HibiscusNothing in common with Obsidian.
Light weight, clean, minimalistic and easy to use. Dead simple
SimplyTolexNot similar. Google keep is like sticky notes + not private and not secure. Obsidian is about internal links and completely offline.
Gregor_zbjkNot an good note taking utility at all... Google Keep is only a digital version of Sticky notes but with the very big contra that Google can steal your personal information Overall you don't have any Organization... you didn't have folders or something that's similar... the only thing you have is a Taging system that is poor.
s20Although it's decent for what it is if you don't mind Google stealing your online soul, of course), Google Keep isn't remotely an Obsidian replacement. Honestly, it's just digital post-it notes, and Obsidian is so much more than that. This is a bad alternative.
Microsoft OneNote
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
471 alternatives to Microsoft OneNote- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Windows S
- Windows Phone
- iPad
- Apple Watch
- Android Wear
- Kindle Fire
Microsoft OneNote, part of the Microsoft 365 (Office), is a digital notebook application that gives people one place to gather notes and information. It also offers shared notebooks, syncing between multiple computers and devices via Windows...
Microsoft OneNote Features
Microsoft OneNote vs Obsidian
s20This is a weird one, because while the two are very different, OneNote and Obsidian do have very similar goals. If Obsidian doesn't work for you, OneNote offers another way to collect notes and thoughts. I personally can't stand it, and it doesn't have a Linux app, but it's really well made software with a long track record, and it's free. So, yeah - good alternative if you don't mind the privacy issues.
Logseq
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Task Management Tool
83 alternatives to Logseq- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
Logseq is a platform for knowledge sharing and management. It focuses on privacy, longevity, and user control. Notice: the backend code will be open-sourced as soon as we’re sure that the backend service meets the security standards.
Logseq Features
Logseq vs Obsidian
lukornA great FOSS alternative with the same paradigm as Obsidian. Allows for many possible workflows.
ujuamGreat open source alternative, it even has plugin extensions. It is an interesting approach, though having to access a separate menu to search for your pages is very uncomfortable. It is a very basic and essential feature and I won't be using this app anymore because of it.
It would also be good if they added more color themes, as the only dark theme is not very dark to say the least.
ekaterina-oLogseq has no usable file manager unlike Obsidian and limits folders you can use.
Lightweight and powerful
NiminaeLogseq has most of the same features of Obsidian, including being able to be used offline. There's a graph mode and dark mode, but there are also included plugins for journaling and flash cards. Only downside is the Android app is still in beta and very finicky.
jchalifourLogseq is incredibly innovative and it respects my privacy and freedom by providing Free and open source software as opposed to proprietary tools.
Evernote
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
549 alternatives to Evernote- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Blackberry
- Android Tablet
- Windows Phone
- iPad
- Apple Watch
- Android Wear
- Kindle Fire
Evernote is a cross-platform, freemium app designed for note taking, organizing, and archiving.
Evernote Features
Evernote vs Obsidian
riveravaldezObsidian claims to keep your data as .md plain files, locally.
s20Don't get me wrong, Evernote is a knowledge base, but it's approach is so wildly different that it's hard to think of it as an alternative to Obsidian. Still, it's functional an had some pretty great features, so if Obsidian doesn't work for you, maybe this will? More comparable to OneNote, but it does the job.
ChrisWaygEvernote has the best web-clipper by far in comparison to any other apps I have used. Formatting can be a mess, as it is a proprietary format and not Markdown. Offline use has gotten worse than a few years ago. The apps have become slower, bloated and overloaded with features. Still using it due to lots of legacy data and the web-clipper, but currently I prefer more lightweight apps like Obsidian and Bear where my data is available in form of Markdown files.
Typora
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Paid • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Text Editor
134 alternatives to Typora- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Electron / Atom Shell
Typora gives you a seamless experience as both a reader and a writer. It removes the preview window, mode switcher, syntax symbols of markdown source code, and all other unnecessary distractions. Instead, it provides a real live preview feature to help you concentrate on the...
Typora Features
Typora vs Obsidian
it complements Obsidian, but not really a replacement.
It's a good alternative because it has Hyperlinking (internal/external), that means we can do backlinks (not automatic though) and it supports Zettelkasten method.
RemovedUserTypora is only a markdown editor, Obsidian is also a markdown editor, but they're not very similar. Typora is also paid, but some months ago it was free, so there are frequent changes that aren't good for users
s20Typora is an excellent tool, and a beautiful one at that, but it's absolutely not an Obsidian alternative. It just doesn't do the same job at all. If you want an outstanding Markdown editor/reader, Typora is for you. But a knowledge base it ain't.
GeorgeReynot really an alternative to Obsidian. More like a complement.
Simplenote
Is this a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
399 alternatives to Simplenote- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Kindle Fire
Made by the company behind WordPress, Simplenote enables users to take notes, lists, and ideas. These notes are stored on the cloud and are accessible across multiple devices.
Simplenote Features
Simplenote vs Obsidian
Mayank-AroraSimplenote is love. You must try it once. I have SimpleNote installed on my Mac, Windows, Linux, Android and iPad. It works on all browsers and all operating systems. It is so easy to take notes and have them sync across all devices and web. It is so easy to quickly get to your notes. I can't live without simplenote as I have so much dependency on this simple tool. Simplenote really makes it simpler to organize 'note taking' task.
syberiyxxStores unencrypted notes as plain-text in their cloud which Wordpress can access. Bare-bones. No simple note linking.
NiminaeThe most prominent feature of Obsidian is bi-directional linking between notes. Simplenote is more akin to sticky notes; they aren't really similar at all.