Obsidian icon
Obsidian icon

Obsidian

Privacy-oriented note-taking app for non-linear thinking, blending knowledge graph creation with wiki-style linking. Supports Markdown, end-to-end encryption, and plugins for customization. Offers distraction-free mode, tags, themes, syntax highlighting, and operates offline without tracking.

Obsidian screenshot 1

Cost / License

  • Freemium (Subscription)
  • Proprietary

Platforms

  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Android
  • iPhone
  • Android Tablet
  • iPad
  • Snapcraft
  • Microsoft Edge  Web Clipper
  • Google Chrome  Web Clipper
  • Flathub
  • Safari  Web Clipper
  • Mozilla Firefox  Web Clipper
4.7
Excellent167 reviews
1079likes
172comments

Features

Suggest and vote on features

Properties

  1.  Lightweight
  2.  Intuitive Interface
  3.  Privacy focused
  4.  Support for Themes
  5.  Distraction-free

Features

  1.  Support for MarkDown
  2.  Local Storage
  3.  Works Offline
  4.  Graph view
  5.  Bidirectional links
  6.  Mind Mapping
  7.  No registration required
  8.  Personal Information Manager (PIM)
  9.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
  10.  Knowledge Management
  11.  Dark Mode
  12.  Backlink
  13.  Custom themes
  14.  Note organization
  15.  Write files in markdown
  16.  Knowledge Base structuring
  17.  Tagging
  18.  Wiki-like local linking
  19.  Search by tags
  20.  No Tracking
  21.  Backlinks
  22.  Wiki
  23.  LaTeX Math
  24.  Multiplatform
  25.  Markdown preview
  26.  Save as Markdown
  27.  Ad-free
  28.  Syntax Highlighting
  29.  Full-Text Search
  30.  Spell Checking
  31.  Code Formatting
  32.  No Coding Required
  33. LaTeX icon  Support for LaTeX
  34.  Live Preview
  35.  Cloud Sync
  36.  Hierarchical Structure
  37.  Calendar View
  38.  File Tagging
  39.  WYSIWYG HTML Editor
  40.  End-to-End Encryption
  41.  Handwritten Notes
  42.  Portable
  43.  Autocompletion
  44.  Two-factor Authentication
  45.  Web Clipper
  46.  Encrypted Backup
  47.  Folder Hierarchy
  48.  HTML/CSS/JS rendering
  49.  Hyperlinks
  50.  Note Manager
  51.  Cross Linking
  52.  Graphs
  53.  Graph relationships
  54.  PKM
  55.  Split-screen view
  56.  Plain text file
  57.  Electron based
  58.  Backlink-aware editor
  59.  Live editing
  60.  Multitasking
  61.  Query Engine
  62.  Finds unlinked references
  63.  Embedded video
  64.  No Root Required
  65.  Nested tags
  66.  Block reference
  67.  Sort by date
  68.  Dynamic content
  69.  Flow Chart
  70.  RTL support
  71. Zotero icon  Zotero integration
  72.  Built-in player
  73.  Integrated PDF Viewer

Obsidian News & Activities

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Comments and Reviews

   
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Comment summary: Obsidian is highly praised for its local storage and use of Markdown, allowing flexibility and control over data. Users commend its extensive plugin support, vibrant community, and responsive developers. Many appreciate its compatibility across multiple platforms and devices, making it ideal for Personal Knowledge Management (PKM), especially for Zettelkasten methods. While not open-source, it provides significant customizability and features without vendor lock-in. A few find it complex and desire open-source availability.
Top Positive Comment
vacortes
14

Well beyond a simply repository of notes, it really links ideas together and provides knowledge related. Great software.

Top Negative Comment
Nuncio Bitis
3

Still has a way to go. Editing is not intuitive, and it frequently makes formatting mistakes. I constantly have to open the md files in an external text editor to correct the formatting. I had hoped the Draw.io plugins would work, but alas no. There's no way to create a diagram. Apparently you need to make a diagram externally and link it into your document.

Atlantis

I don't want to question your experience with Obsidian, but

bishnusapkota
0

Offline-first, simple and cross-platform

Tsu
0

This is great for note taking and mind mapping. However I add a lot of photos and screenshots from phone/iPad, which I then put into presentation or reports in other apps, Canva, Libre or MS Office. Unfortunately with Obsidian I can't just copy those saved images into other documents, so I am still using OneNote.

RVillgn
0

Backlinks help me spot connections I would’ve missed in a normal notes app.

Review by a new / low-activity user.
gramblo353
0

Has changed the way I think and plan my life, absolute recommend

veddev
0

Great note-taking app that supports MD (Markdown).

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7 of 172 comments

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What is Obsidian?

Obsidian is a note-taking app that encourages non-linear thinking by allowing easy transitions between ideas. It allows connections between notes, creating a wiki-like linkage. Notes are stored locally as Markdown files, giving users control over their data and enhancing security and privacy.

Obsidian also features a customizable plugin system, with options like an in-app PDF viewer and an audio player. It supports embedding multimedia files with the ![[image.png]] syntax.

The software is free for both personal and commercial use, but additional services like Sync and Publish are available for a fee:

  • Sync ($5 per month, $48 per year): Allows sync across devices with end-to-end encryption and version history.
  • Publish ($10 per month, $96 per year): Allows publishing to Obsidian Publish.

There are also optional licenses to help development:

  • Catalyst ($25 one-time payment): Grants early access to beta versions of Obsidian, access to insider channels and community badges.
  • Commercial ($50 per year): Originally required for commercial use, it's meant to support the development and becoming a featured organization.

Obsidian Videos

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Obsidian information

  • Developed by

    CA flagShida Li and Erica Xu
  • Licensing

    Proprietary and Freemium product.
  • Pricing

    Subscription ranging between $4 and $10 per month + free version with limited functionality.
  • Rating

    Average rating of 4.7 (167 ratings)
  • Alternatives

    161 alternatives listed
  • News

    21 news article related to Obsidian
  • Supported Languages

    • English
    • Amharic
    • Arabic
    • Belarusian
    • Catalan; Valencian
    • Czech
    • Danish
    • German
    • Spanish
    • Persian
    • French
    • Hebrew
    • Hungarian
    • Indonesian
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Latvian
    • Malay
    • Sanskrit (Sa?sk?ta)
    • Dutch
    • Norwegian
    • Polish
    • Portuguese
    • Romanian
    • Russian
    • Albanian
    • Thai
    • Turkish
    • Ukrainian
    • Uzbek
    • Vietnamese
    • Chinese

Our users have written 172 comments and reviews about Obsidian, and it has gotten 1079 likes

Obsidian was added to AlternativeTo by dynalist on and this page was last updated .