Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system inspired by Roam Research, built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub.

Foam vs Obsidian Comments

- Foam is Free and Open Source
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, Windows, Web-based, 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.
Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system inspired by Roam Research, built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub.


A note-taking tool that gives you memory superpowers. It automatically generates flashcards from your notes and figures out the optimal time to practice each flashcard.



Flexible note-taking and writing tool featuring advanced markdown with in-line images, cross-note links, live preview, hashtags, Focus Mode, plain text storage, iCloud sync, one-tap formatting, smart data recognition, and multiple export formats for portability.




I have over 5,000 notes in Bear which were easy to export to Obsidian (except for creation date order). Bear is still easier to use for non-technical users and has a WYSIWYG editing experience, which is lacking in Obsidian. I am currently testing Obsidian, as it is cross platform, has more features and free sync options.
Bi-directional linking and tags might be the only thing that relate these two, but it's more relation that every other entry on this list.
A note taking application isn't the same as a knowledge management application, even if both allow you to take notes. Bear works great as an editor, but it's not an Obsidian alternative.

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.




Collaborative platform for real-time note-taking, documentation, and wikis, featuring offline editing, granular permissions, AI-assisted writing, multiple export formats, user-friendly formatting, scalable team support, customizable templates, and open-source licensing.




Capacities offers a revolutionary note-taking experience by utilizing a network-based structure for knowledge capture and organization. Users create unique entities like ideas and questions in a graph view, fostering personalized and interconnected know-how beyond traditional folders.




DeepNotes is an open source, end-to-end encrypted visual note-taking app with deep page navigation and live collaboration. Create mind maps, diagrams, kanban boards, among others. Infinite nesting of infinite canvases.




Reor is an AI-powered desktop note-taking app: it automatically links related ideas, answers questions on your notes and provides semantic search. Everything is stored locally and you can edit your notes with an Obsidian-like markdown editor.

EasyNotes: Jetpack Compose MVVM for seamless note-taking. Effortless creation, editing, and organization.



Lightweight, self-hosted app for managing personal checklists and notes with drag and drop, progress bars, Kanban boards, Markdown WYSIWYG editor, file-based data, user management, sharing options, themes, open source, and API access.




Nuclino is a unified workspace where teams can bring all their knowledge, docs, and projects together in one place. It’s a modern, simple, and blazingly fast way to collaborate, without the chaos of files and folders, context switching, or silos.



Craft offers document creation with stunning visuals, seamless navigation, and effortless sharing. Nest notes, use AI for summaries, and export in multiple formats.




Org mode came first (open standard), then Roam (open standard), then Obisdian (propretiary app on the open standard). So anything built on Roam is a good Obsidian alternative.