The Best Open Source Obsidian AlternativesTop Note-taking Tools & Todo List Managers like Obsidian

The best open source alternative to Obsidian is Logseq. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Obsidian and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Obsidian are Zettlr, Joplin, Standard Notes and Anytype.

filter to find the best alternatives

Obsidian alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools but may also be Todo List Managers or Task Management Tools. Other popular filters includes Linux + Open Source. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Obsidian.

Obsidian

863

Note-taking Tool
Free Personal • Proprietary

Obsidian is a note-taking app that lets you create a personal knowledge graph with ease. It is designed for non-linear thinking and allows you to easily link your notes together wiki-style.

More about Obsidian

Obsidian alternatives page was last updated Aug 11, 2024

Logseq
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.
112 Logseq alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
Top Logseq Features
1. Bidirectional links
2. Graph view
3. Outliner
4. Backlinks
5. Local Storage
6. Knowledge base
7. Support for MarkDown
8. Knowledge Management
9. Works Offline
10. Note organization
11. Ad-free
12. Full-Text Search
Show all NaN Logseq features ▾
Logseq VS Obsidian
Is Logseq a good alternative to Obsidian?
Comments about Logseq as an Alternative to Obsidian

jchalifour
Logseq is incredibly innovative and it respects my privacy and freedom by providing Free and open source software as opposed to proprietary tools.
Top positive comment •Feb 17, 2021
7
lukorn
A great FOSS alternative with the same paradigm as Obsidian. Allows for many possible workflows.
Top positive comment •Feb 4, 2022
6
Power User
I found Obsidian to be a far more stable application than Logseq, which is important as I am switching platforms frequently and need something which functions properly and reliably on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Windows, and Linux. I decided to pay for Obsidian's sync feature and it has been smooth as butter - probably using a cloud drive would have worked well, but I find that convenience at a reasonable cost for an application I use daily is perfectly acceptable.
Top negative comment •Oct 2, 2023
1
Farrukh
LogSeq is not giving you as Freedom as you may find in Obsidian and Joplin. It is mostly bounded to connecting your notes to a Journal, while in others, you have to freedom to create your notes, journals, etc. independent of each other, in any structure you may like.
Negative comment •Aug 11, 2024
-1
gunaay
For me I can organize my thoughts better due to the amazing link between the journal and the notes it's a very strong PKM solution for me.
Positive comment •Dec 27, 2023
2
Show more comments
5 of 12 comments
- Almost everyone thinks Logseq is a great Obsidian alternative.
- Logseq is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Android & Mac alternative to Obsidian.
- Logseq is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Obsidian.
- Logseq is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Free Personal and Proprietary

Zettlr
From idea to publication in one app: Zettlr accompanies you while writing your blog post, newspaper article, term paper, thesis, or entire book.
155 Zettlr alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Text Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Flathub
+5
Top Zettlr Features
1. Support for MarkDown
2. Zettelkasten note method
3. File Tagging
4. Multiple export options
5. Zotero integration
6. Note organization
7. Link files
8. Ad-free
9. Privacy focused
10. Syntax Highlighting
11. Works Offline
12. Hierarchical Structure
Show all NaN Zettlr features ▾
Zettlr VS Obsidian
Is Zettlr a good alternative to Obsidian?
Comments about Zettlr as an Alternative to Obsidian

Sam Lander
There are better open-source alternatives, like Zim Wiki or Joplin.
Top positive comment •Jan 15, 2024
2
Sometimesa
Offers back-linking just like Obsidian does but it is Open-Source. Obsidian is proprietary software.
Top positive comment •Aug 26, 2020
13
Hibiscus
Very basic application. In no way a competition for Obsidian.
Top negative comment •Jul 27, 2022
3
jrmz
yep anoter stupid markdown app
Negative comment •Sep 25, 2023
-14
ph soft
Zettlr simplicity is a quality. Open source.
Positive comment •Oct 1, 2022
1
Show more comments
5 of 8 comments
- Almost everyone thinks Zettlr is a great Obsidian alternative.
- Zettlr is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Free Personal and Proprietary
- Zettlr is Privacy focusedObsidian is not according to our users

Joplin
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.
60 Joplin alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- AppImageHub
- Snapcraft
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- Cloudron
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
- Termux
- Mozilla Firefox
+3
Top Joplin Features
1. Support for MarkDown
2. Cloud Sync
3. End-to-End Encryption
4. Privacy focused
5. Web Clipper
6. Works Offline
7. Local Storage
8. Android Sync
9. Tagging
10. Ad-free
11. File Sync
12. Encrypted Notes
Show all NaN Joplin features ▾
Joplin VS Obsidian
Is Joplin a good alternative to Obsidian?
Comments about Joplin as an Alternative to Obsidian

Guest
It's open source, allows crypto your md notes on some cloud storage
Top positive comment •Feb 28, 2023
1
vaynagiy
I like Joplin. Convinient for programmers
Top positive comment •Nov 6, 2022
1
andgregorik
Joplin 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.
Top negative comment •Oct 31, 2020
20
Guest
Joplin is free, offline and open source
Positive comment •Jun 14, 2024
0
Niminae
They are too different. They don't link as similarly and have a very different setup. Joplin is a better alternative to Evernote than Obsidian.
Negative comment •Jan 31, 2023
1
Show more comments
5 of 11 comments
- Most users think Joplin is a great Obsidian alternative.
- Joplin is the most popular Android Tablet alternative to Obsidian.
- Joplin is Freemium and Open SourceObsidian is Free Personal and Proprietary
- Joplin is Privacy focusedObsidian is not according to our users

Standard Notes
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.
65 Standard Notes alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
+4
Top Standard Notes Features
1. End-to-End Encryption
2. Privacy focused
3. Cloud Sync
4. Encrypted Notes
5. Support for MarkDown
6. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
7. Clean design
8. Works Offline
9. Encrypted Backup
10. AES Encryption
11. Security focused
12. Sync on many devices
Show all NaN Standard Notes features ▾
Standard Notes VS Obsidian
Is Standard Notes a good alternative to Obsidian?
Comments about Standard Notes as an Alternative to Obsidian

Aaron
Note-linking is a subscription only feature
Negative comment •Oct 23, 2022
4
hex111
i feel better paying for open source user friendlier projects, wysiwyg is just necessary for people to reasonably shift from the data robbery monopolies.
Positive comment •Oct 7, 2021
4
- Most users think Standard Notes is a great Obsidian alternative.
- Standard Notes is Freemium and Open SourceObsidian is Free Personal and Proprietary
- Standard Notes is Privacy focused and Security focusedObsidian is not according to our users

Anytype
E2E encrypted, local-first, p2p and open. A knowledge graph of your ideas, tasks, wikis, projects, and databases. Supported on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android & iOS. Offline access, markdown export, and on-device storage.
100 Anytype alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- Flatpak
+6
Top Anytype Features
1. Works Offline
2. Privacy focused
3. Project Management
4. Synchronization
5. End-to-End Encryption
6. Visual Organization
7. Decentralized
8. Knowledge Management
9. Support for MarkDown
10. Ad-free
11. Local Storage
12. Dark Mode
Show all NaN Anytype features ▾
Anytype VS Obsidian
Is Anytype a good alternative to Obsidian?
Comments about Anytype as an Alternative to Obsidian

jchalifour
It provides a lot of flexibility to organize and arrange information in ways that aren't possible in Obsidian (at least not without many plugins). Its developers commit to open code, respecting their users' rights.
Positive comment •May 21, 2024
0
baozidai
Opensource. Graphview. And a lot of things like Notion.
Positive comment •Mar 23, 2024
0
- Almost everyone thinks Anytype is a great Obsidian alternative.
- Anytype is Freemium and Open SourceObsidian is Free Personal and Proprietary
- Anytype is Privacy focused and DecentralizedObsidian is not according to our users

AppFlowy
AppFlowy is an open source alternative to Notion. You are in charge of your data and customizations.
55 AppFlowy alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
- Rust
- Android
Top AppFlowy Features
1. Note organization
2. Privacy focused
3. Works Offline
4. Kanban Board
5. Dark Mode
6. Project Management
7. Ad-free
8. Support for MarkDown
9. WYSIWYG Support
10. No Tracking
11. Cloud Sync
12. Lightweight
Show all NaN AppFlowy features ▾
AppFlowy VS Obsidian
Is AppFlowy a good alternative to Obsidian?

CherryTree
A hierarchical note taking application, featuring rich text and syntax highlighting, storing data in a single xml or sqlite file.
60 CherryTree alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- PortableApps.com
+3
Top CherryTree Features
1. Hierarchical Structure
2. Tree structure
3. Infinite hierarchical depth
4. Includes images in notes
5. Outliner
6. Tree view
7. Tree Style Tabs
8. Syntax Highlighting
9. Portable
10. Works Offline
11. Support for MarkDown
12. Code Formatting
Show all NaN CherryTree features ▾
CherryTree VS Obsidian
Is CherryTree a good alternative to Obsidian?
Comments about CherryTree as an Alternative to Obsidian

student twenty
Kind 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.
Positive comment •Dec 21, 2021
3
- Most users think CherryTree is a great Obsidian alternative.
- CherryTree is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Free Personal and Proprietary