Obsidian Alternatives

Obsidian is described as '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' 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, Web-based, Windows, Linux and Android apps. The best Obsidian alternative is Logseq, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Obsidian are Zettlr, Joplin, sNotes – Students Notes and Anytype.

filter to find the best alternatives

Obsidian alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools, but if you're looking for Todo List Managers or Task Management Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Windows, Linux, Windows + Open Source, Self-Hosted, Note-taking and Android. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Obsidian.
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Alternatives list

  1. Trilium Notes icon
     113 likes

    The original trilium is transfered to this repo by its owner and the app continues to develop here as stated here: https://github.com/TriliumNext/Trilium

    387 Trilium Notes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • Google Chrome
    • Cloudron
    • Mozilla Firefox
     
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    1
    Trilium Notes vs Obsidian Comments
    Farrukh
    1

    This is a very good candidate to be the Obsidian alternate. However, it has a steep learning curve.

    • Trilium Notes is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Trilium Notes is CustomizableObsidian is not according to our users
  2. Google Docs icon
     955 likes

    Powerful online word processor with real-time collaboration, document conversion from Word, extensive formatting options, revision history, and multilingual capabilities, all integrated within the Google Drive ecosystem, accessible through any internet-connected device.

    118 Google Docs alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
  3. CherryTree icon
     323 likes

    Hierarchical note-taking software that is free, open-source, cross-platform. Features include rich text, syntax highlighting, multi-level lists, embedded files, customizable interface, code execution, PDF export, spell check, images & tables, and comprehensive project management support.

    113 CherryTree alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
     
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    2
    CherryTree vs Obsidian Comments
    student twenty
    Positive
    3

    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.

    Farrukh
    0

    Its not an alternate to Obsidian which is mainly giving you advanced Markdown format, while CherryTree his simply its own format.
    However, its an awesome notes taking software. I really like its Tree structured interface for arranging your notes.

    • CherryTree is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Freemium and Proprietary
    • CherryTree is CustomizableObsidian is not according to our users
  4. Simplenote icon
     605 likes

    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.

    133 Simplenote alternatives

    Cost / License

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
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    6
    Simplenote vs Obsidian Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Mayank-Arora
    -1

    Simplenote 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.

    Top Negative Comment
    Niminae
    3

    The 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.

    Guest
    Negative
    0

    Its too simple and is focused on simplicity unlike obsiidian

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 6 comments
    • Simplenote is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Simplenote is MinimalisticObsidian is not according to our users
  5. AFFiNE icon
     112 likes

    Open-source, privacy-focused workspace combining note-taking, project and task management, Kanban board, interactive whiteboard, Pomodoro timer, Markdown support, offline access, real-time team collaboration with @mentions, goal tracking, subtasks, and customizable features.

    152 AFFiNE alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
     
  6. CryptPad icon
     180 likes

    CryptPad is a private-by-design alternative to popular office tools and cloud services. All the content stored on CryptPad is encrypted before being sent, which means nobody can access your data unless you give them the keys.

    83 CryptPad alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
     
  7. SiYuan icon
     79 likes

    SiYuan is a desktop Markdown Block-Reference and Bidirectional-Link note-taking application. Support fine-grained block-level reference and Markdown WYSIWYG.

    87 SiYuan alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Google Chrome
    • Flathub
    • Docker
    • Docker Hub
    • F-Droid
     
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    4
    SiYuan vs Obsidian Comments
    Mark
    Positive
    3

    I honestly think SiYuan is the closest to Obisdian as an alternative compared to all other apps.

    Guest
    Positive
    2

    WYSIWYG is far more important than I thought. Besides, the data in SiYuan is .json, which allows better redering-performance and Notion-like typesetting.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Randir
    Positive
    0

    WYSIWYG, better rendering performance

    3 of 4 comments
    • SiYuan is Freemium and Open SourceObsidian is Freemium and Proprietary
    • SiYuan is CustomizableObsidian is not according to our users
  8. GNU Emacs icon
     387 likes

    GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing. The features of GNU Emacs include:

    183 GNU Emacs alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Debian
    • MacPorts
    • Homebrew
     
  9. QOwnNotes icon
     96 likes

    Plain text notepad with markdown support and todo list manager for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, that works together with the notes application of ownCloud.

    280 QOwnNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Qt
     
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    1
    QOwnNotes vs Obsidian Comments
    riveravaldez
    Positive
    5

    Pretty similar concept, both deal with plain .md files, both render in real time, both have automatically-generated TOCs, etc., but QOwnNotes is Free Software, no EULA non-sense, you have a tool without restrictions.

    • QOwnNotes is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Freemium and Proprietary
  10. Docmost icon
     46 likes

    Docmost is an open-source collaborative wiki and documentation software. It is an open-source alternative to Confluence and Notion.

    110 Docmost alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Docker
     
  11. Dendron icon
     71 likes

    Dendron is an open-source, local-first, markdown-based, note-taking tool built on top of VSCode. It supports all the usual features you would expect like tagging, backlinks, a graph view, split panes, and so forth.

    210 Dendron alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
     
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    1
    Dendron vs Obsidian Comments
    kpathakota
    Positive
    3

    Still local notes, but way more full-featured since it uses VS Code as the editor and embraces heirarchies so your notes don't get so unwieldly.

    • Dendron is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Freemium and Proprietary
  12. Trudido icon
     18 likes

    Offline in-device task manager and note app featuring smart creation, advanced organization, calendar and list views, Markdown notes, secure SHA-256 encryption, Material You theming, multiple color themes, no tracking or ads, and import/export for total ownership.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
     
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