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Most buyers should pick Obsidian.
Choose Heptabase for visual research: its cards, whiteboards, PDF workflow, and AI tools are built around learning and organizing sources. Choose Obsidian for a free, local Markdown vault with links, graph view, Canvas, plugins, and themes. Heptabase Pro costs $8.99/month with annual billing or $11.99 monthly, and has no free plan listed. Obsidian is free; optional Sync starts at $4 per user/month billed annually.
01Side by side
| Heptabase | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $8.99/month annually; $11.99 monthly | Free; Sync starts at $4/user/month annually |
| Free plan | No free plan listed | Free without limits; no sign-up required |
| Best for | Visual research, learning, and connected knowledge | Personal knowledge management and local notes |
| Core strength | Whiteboards, cards, PDF annotation, and AI | Local Markdown, links, Canvas, and plugins |
| Learning curve | Review ease-of-use score: 7.5/10 | Review ease-of-use score: 7/10 |
| Integrations/data | Integrations and data portability not specified | Plain-text Markdown files; plugins and open API |
| Team/seat costs | Unlimited collaborator invites; seat pricing not published | Sync: $4/user/month annually; Commercial: $50/user/year |
| Support | Support details not published; review score 7/10 | Priority support on Sync and Publish; review score 6/10 |
Heptabase Choose Heptabase if
- Choose Heptabase if visual whiteboards suit your research workflow.
- Choose Heptabase if you want AI tools alongside notes and sources.
- Choose Heptabase if PDF annotation belongs in your knowledge base.
Obsidian Choose Obsidian if
- Choose Obsidian if you want a free personal notes app.
- Choose Obsidian if local Markdown files matter to you.
- Choose Obsidian if you want plugins, themes, and an open API.
02Pricing compared
Obsidian is free for personal note-taking, with no sign-up required, according to its pricing page. Its optional Sync plan costs $4 per user per month with annual billing or $5 monthly. Publish costs $8 per site per month annually or $10 monthly. Commercial is listed at $50 per user per year; Catalyst is a $25 one-time payment.
Heptabase has no free plan listed. Pro costs $8.99 per month with annual billing or $11.99 monthly, and includes 100 AI credits per month. Premium is $17.99 annually or $23.99 monthly, with 1,800 AI credits. Premium+ is $53.99 annually or $71.99 monthly, with 8,100 credits. Heptabase’s listed annual rates are per-month equivalents; its pricing page says annual billing saves 25%. If you mainly need notes, Obsidian is the lower-cost starting point.
03Features and depth
Heptabase is organized around visual research: collect sources, notes, highlights, and discussions, then arrange ideas as cards on whiteboards. It also lists PDF annotation, bi-directional links, offline access, and AI tools for explaining sources and organizing knowledge. Plan limits matter: Pro includes unlimited notes, whiteboards, tags, image uploads, and collaborator invites, but its AI agent uses Gemini models and includes 100 monthly credits. Unlimited PDF uploads and parsing, and AI agents with GPT, Claude, and Gemini, are listed on Premium and above.
Obsidian takes a more open-ended approach. Notes are plain-text Markdown files stored on your device, with links, graph view, and Canvas for arranging ideas. Plugins, themes, and an open API let users customize the workspace. Sync is optional and adds end-to-end encryption, version history, and shared-vault collaboration. In short, Heptabase bundles visual research and AI into its plans; Obsidian offers a local, customizable vault, with syncing priced separately.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Heptabase’s cards and whiteboards give research a clear visual structure, but that approach may feel like extra organizing if you just want a straightforward notes app. Its AI features also come with plan-specific credit and model limits, so check those before choosing a tier.
Obsidian starts with a simpler cost proposition: a free Markdown vault on your device. Its flexibility can mean more decisions about plugins, themes, and how to organize notes. Sync is a separate subscription rather than a default part of the free plan. Choose Heptabase if its research workflow fits how you think; choose Obsidian if you want to shape your own system.
Questions people ask
Is Heptabase better than Obsidian for research?
Heptabase is the more research-focused choice if you want cards, whiteboards, PDF annotation, source organization, and AI assistance in one workflow. Obsidian can also support research through Markdown notes, links, graph view, Canvas, and plugins, but its approach is more customizable and less specifically built around visual source work.
Is Obsidian really free?
Obsidian’s pricing page lists its personal note-taking plan as free without limits and says no sign-up is required. Sync and Publish are paid extras: Sync starts at $4 per user per month with annual billing, while Publish starts at $8 per site per month annually.
Does Heptabase have a free plan?
No free plan is listed in the published Heptabase pricing details. Pro starts at $8.99 per month with annual billing or $11.99 monthly. Its Pro plan includes 100 AI credits per month; higher credit allowances and additional AI model options are on Premium and Premium+.
Can I use Obsidian offline?
Obsidian stores notes locally as plain-text Markdown files, so the notes remain accessible offline, according to its product description. Sync is optional and is sold separately. Heptabase also lists offline access to notes and files, but its plans do not include a free tier.