Obsidian Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to Obsidian for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac alternative is Joplin, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Obsidian and loads of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Obsidian are Logseq, Anytype, Notion and Notesnook.

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Most Obsidian alternatives are Note-taking Tools, but you can also narrow the list to Task Management Tools or Todo List Managers. Other popular filters are Open Source, Windows, Android and Self-Hosted.
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Alternatives
Obsidian alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1.  Like

    An AI-first workspace that unifies your knowledge base, files and workflows. It runs AI agents 24/7 on your data, stores everything as plain Markdown files on disk & supports bring-your-own AI keys.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  2. Ritemark icon
     Like

    Ritemark is a free, open-source Markdown editor for Mac and Windows. It turns a folder on your computer into a workspace where ChatGPT or Claude work with you. You write in plain Markdown files with a visual editor, and the AI reads, writes and edits the same files when you ask...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  3. Grasmere icon
     Like

    Grasmere is a calm Mac app for writing in plain markdown. It keeps track of the links between your documents, your research and your tasks.

    15 Grasmere alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  4. Handwrite and type in one note, then search what you wrote by hand. Oaklet Notes keeps everything encrypted on your own device, with no account, on desktop and mobile.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Good alternative?
     
  5. Antalogy icon
     Like

    Native desktop Markdown word processor that stores plain-text files locally, offers a Word-style ribbon and separate document windows, imports and exports .docx with formatting, renders Mermaid diagrams, and includes an optional assistant for local or OpenAI-compatible LLMs.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  6. Edmund icon
     Like

    Our goal is to be the CotEditor of Markdown editors, i.e. elegant, powerful, configurable, and native inside out.

    Cost / License

    Since

    • Since 2026

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  7. Open a project folder and work on everything in tabs: WYSIWYG Markdown with Mermaid and math, Word and Excel edited in place, PPT, PDF, images and archives previewed. Optional AI chat (your own OpenAI-compatible key) can edit Markdown and Excel files; spreadsheet edits show a...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Visual Studio Code
    Good alternative?
     
  8. Flowplan icon
     Like

    Open-source workspace combining documents, databases, whiteboards, a daily journal and project tools in a page-tree structure. It supports collaborative editing, flexible database views, self-hosting with Docker and SQLite, imports from popular tools, and exports to Markdown, CSV, ZIP, S3 or Git.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Online
    Good alternative?
     
  9. monthlet icon
     Like

    monthlet is an AI-native note app where you speak your mind in plain language and the AI writes the whole note — layout and all — as a local, plain-HTML file you own.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2026

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  10. A task and notes app for Mac, Windows, and iPhone, with quick capture from the desktop screen edge and optional cloud sync.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • iPhone
    Good alternative?
     
  11. DayApp icon
     1 like

    A native macOS to-do list and notes app in one window: Today, Daily, Backlog, notes, goals, timers and analytics — all over one timestamped log. no cloud, no accounts. Open source on GitHub.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  12. Fernanda icon
     1 like

    Fernanda is a desktop writing app for long-form prose. Like Obsidian, a vault is just a folder on your computer, but Fernanda is built for writing projects rather than note-taking: everything you write stays in plain-text files you own and can open in any editor.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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