Open Source Obsidian Alternatives
The best open source alternative to Obsidian is Zettlr. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Obsidian and 17 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Obsidian are Logseq, Standard Notes, Simplenote and CherryTree.
Obsidian alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools but may also be Todo List Managers or Project Management Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Obsidian.Zettlr
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Text Editor
- File Organizer
145 Zettlr alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Zettlr is a one-stop publication workbench that combines many writing features and collects them in one application. It aims at speeding up your workflow and help you write without any interruptions.
- - Zettlr is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Obsidian.
- - Zettlr is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Obsidian.
Zettlr Features
Comments about Zettlr as a Alternative to Obsidian
ph softZettlr simplicity is a quality. Open source.
2SometimesaOffers back-linking just like Obsidian does but it is Open-Source. Obsidian is proprietary software.
13HibiscusVery basic application. In no way a competition for Obsidian.
-1ujuam ba kIt is the best open source alternative to Obsidian right now. The only downside (big for many) is that it lacks community plugins
8student twentyProbably 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.
3Logseq
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Task Management Tool
92 Logseq alternatives- 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 is the most popular Web-based, Android, iPhone, iPad & Self-Hosted alternative to Obsidian.
Logseq Features
Comments about Logseq as a Alternative to Obsidian
jchalifourLogseq is incredibly innovative and it respects my privacy and freedom by providing Free and open source software as opposed to proprietary tools.
4lukornA great FOSS alternative with the same paradigm as Obsidian. Allows for many possible workflows.
4Gregor ZobjakLoseq is very similar to Obsidian.md the only difference is that Loseq is more a short-form editor while Obsidian is a Long-form editor
0psychoidiot123I like that it has similar features to Obsidian and that it's free and open source!
1ekaterina-oLogseq has no usable file manager unlike Obsidian and limits folders you can use.
3Standard Notes
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
30 Standard Notes alternatives- 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
Comments about Standard Notes as a Alternative to 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.
3AaronNote-linking is a subscription only feature
3Simplenote
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
15 Simplenote alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
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
Comments about Simplenote as a Alternative to Obsidian
AaronStores unencrypted notes as plain-text in their cloud which Wordpress can access. Bare-bones. No simple note linking.
2NiminaeThe 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.
1Mayank-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.
-1CherryTree
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
21 CherryTree alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- PortableApps.com
A hierarchical note taking application, featuring rich text and syntax highlighting, storing data in a single xml or sqlite file.
CherryTree Features
Comments about CherryTree as a Alternative to Obsidian
student twentyKind of the same thing? More of a hierarchical note taker, but it runs locally, is super stable, and keeps you organized, so if you don't need all the bells and whistles, this'll get the job done.
1AppFlowy
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Task Management Tool
31 AppFlowy alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
- Rust
AppFlowy is an open source alternative to Notion. You are in charge of your data and customizations.
AppFlowy Features
Trilium Notes
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
343 Trilium Notes alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
- Google Chrome
- Cloudron
- Firefox
Trilium Notes is a hierarchical note taking application.
Trilium Notes Features
Opinions about Trilium Notes as a Alternative to Obsidian
Joplin
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
23 Joplin alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- AppImageHub
- Snapcraft
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- Cloudron
- 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
Comments about Joplin as a Alternative to Obsidian
vaynagiyI like Joplin. Convinient for programmers
1It's open source, allows crypto your md notes on some cloud storage
0andgregorikJoplin has a fracture of the features of Obsidian which is no wonder since Obsidian aims to become a powerful desktop knowledge base, unlike Joplin. For one thing, Joplin focuses on mobile<->desktop syncing and not on effective internal linking. They're similar at first glance only.
17NiminaeThey are too different. They don't link as similarly and have a very different setup. Joplin is a better alternative to Evernote than Obsidian.
0AaronVery different structure and UI
1