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 Web-based, Mac, 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, Anytype and sNotes – Students Notes.

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, Self-Hosted, Free + Ad-free + No Tracking + Privacy focused, Android + Open Source, Windows, Linux and Free. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Obsidian.
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Alternatives list

  1. Dendron icon

    Dendron

     72 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.

    237 Dendron alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
    Dendron screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Discontinued

    It seems the development has stopped: https://github.com/dendronhq/dendron/discussions/3890

    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
  2. Deta Surf icon

    Deta Surf

     36 likes

    Workspace fusing browsing, file management, and AI with local-first data; offers note-taking, applet creation, offline media storage, YouTube and PDF interaction, customizable AI-powered notes, citation tools, split views, sidebar navigation, and privacy features.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Deta Surf screenshot 1
     
  4. Bear icon

    Bear

     101 likes

    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.

    295 Bear alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Online
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Bear screenshot 1
     
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    4
    Bear vs Obsidian Comments
    ChrisWayg
    Positive
    2

    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.

    sCojQE5
    Positive
    1

    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.

    Power User
    Negative
    0

    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.

    3 of 4 comments
    • Bear is Freemium and ProprietaryObsidian is also Freemium and Proprietary
    • Bear is LightweightObsidian is not according to our users
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  6. Trudido icon

    Trudido

     21 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.

    56 Trudido alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    Trudido screenshot 1
     
  8. HelixNotes icon

    HelixNotes

     20 likes

    HelixNotes is a local markdown note-taking app built with Rust, Tauri 2.0, and SvelteKit. Your notes are standard .md files on your filesystem - sync with whatever you want or nothing at all.

    146 HelixNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • F-Droid
    HelixNotes screenshot 1
     
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    1
    HelixNotes vs Obsidian Comments
    Aleksandr Dikov
    Negative
    0

    I was hoping Helix Notes would turn out to be a lightweight alternative to Obsidian, but unfortunately I have to say it doesn’t even come close.

    In essence, it’s more like a super-light and fast Markdown editor with navigation, strongly reminiscent of Joplin. But it runs way too unstably. Even something as basic as adding an attachment with relative paths is a real pain; I simply couldn’t do it. Worse, I couldn’t even set them manually because the program kept forcing absolute paths on its own. You can’t view the Markdown source and the document preview at the same time, and every time you switch between those modes the app insists on inserting unnecessary comments into the code and rewriting the links. From the metadata side, all you get is tags. There's no tabs.

    For all its drawbacks, Obsidian still gives you fine-grained control over every little detail of your data structure, whereas Helix Notes just brings chaos. It’s incomplete for any real data-organization purposes and far too unstable as an editor. Its only real advantage is the super-small size, but that's all.

    • HelixNotes is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Freemium and Proprietary
    • HelixNotes is LightweightObsidian is not according to our users
  9. RemNote icon

    RemNote

     87 likes

    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.

    329 RemNote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Google Chrome
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    RemNote screenshot 1
     
  10. Foam icon

    Foam

     55 likes

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

    269 Foam alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Visual Studio Code
    Foam screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Foam vs Obsidian Comments
    Benjamin Lupton
    Positive
    2

    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.

    • Foam is Free and Open SourceObsidian is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Foam is LightweightObsidian is not according to our users
  11. Clearly Markdown icon

    Clearly Markdown

     22 likes

    Clean, native Markdown editor for macOS with syntax highlighting, real-time GitHub Flavored Markdown and Mermaid diagram preview, KaTeX math support, synchronized side-by-side editing, QuickLook integration, PDF export, format shortcuts, and no subscriptions.

    71 Clearly Markdown alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Clearly Markdown screenshot 1
     
  12. jotty·page icon

    jotty·page

     17 likes

    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.

    149 jotty·page alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    jotty·page screenshot 1
     
  13. DeepNotes icon

    DeepNotes

     53 likes

    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.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Family tree
     
  14. Marknote icon

    Marknote

     29 likes

    Marknote lets you create rich text notes and easily organise them into notebooks. You can personalise your notebooks by choosing an icon and accent color for each one, making it easy to distinguish between them and keep your notes at your fingertips.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Marknote screenshot 1
     
  15. Capacities icon

    Capacities

     46 likes

    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.

    131 Capacities alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • Linux
    • iPad
    Capacities screenshot 1
     
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