We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page. It never changes a score or a ranking. How we make money
Most buyers should pick Obsidian.
Choose Obsidian if you want a free, offline-capable personal knowledge base built from local Markdown files, and you’re comfortable paying separately for sync: Sync is $4 per user/month billed annually or $5 monthly. Choose Notion if your priority is a shared team workspace with cited answers and workflow agents. Both have free plans, but Notion’s listed Plus price is €9.50 per member/month, and its pricing page does not state the billing cadence. Pick based on where your notes need to live and who needs them.
01Side by side
| Obsidian | Notion | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid entry point | Free; Sync $4/user/month annually or $5 monthly | Free; Plus €9.50/member/month; billing cadence unstated |
| Free plan | Free, unlimited, no sign-up required | Free; 5 MB uploads, 7-day history, 10 guests, limited AI trial |
| Best for | Personal, offline-capable Markdown knowledge management | Shared team workspace with cited answers and AI agents |
| Core strength | Local Markdown, linked notes, graph, Canvas, plugins | Team system of record, cited answers, workflow agents |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 7/10 | Ease-of-use review score: 6/10 |
| Data and extensibility | Local plain-text Markdown; plugins and open API | Shared workspace; cited answers; AI agents |
| Team and seat costs | Commercial: $50/user/year; Sync: $4–$5/user/month | Plus: €9.50/member/month; billing cadence unstated |
| Support | Priority support on Sync and Publish; review score 6/10 | Plan support details not listed; review score 4/10 |
Obsidian Choose Obsidian if
- Choose Obsidian if you want local Markdown files and offline access.
- Choose Obsidian if a free personal vault beats built-in team workflows.
- Choose Obsidian if you’ll pay separately for encrypted cross-device sync.
Notion Choose Notion if
- Choose Notion if your team needs a shared system of record.
- Choose Notion if cited answers matter across team information.
- Choose Notion if you want agents for triage and reporting.
02Pricing compared
Both have free plans, but their paid pricing works differently. Obsidian’s free plan is listed as free without limits and requires no sign-up. Sync costs $4 per user per month when billed annually or $5 monthly. Publish, for putting notes on the web, costs $8 per site per month annually or $10 monthly. Notion lists Free at €0 per member per month, with 5 MB maximum file uploads, seven-day page history, 10 external guests and a limited AI trial. Plus is €9.50 per member per month; Business is €19.50. The pricing page does not state whether those rates require monthly or annual billing. Enterprise pricing is custom. Notion Custom Agents are free to try, then cost $10 per 1,000 monthly credits. Prices are in different currencies, so compare them in your billing currency.
03Features and depth
Obsidian is built around personal notes: it saves plain-text Markdown files on your device, where they remain accessible offline. You can link notes, view their relationships in Graph view, arrange research or ideas on Canvas, and customize the workspace with plugins and themes. Sync is optional and includes end-to-end encryption. That makes Obsidian the more direct fit if you want a local knowledge base you can shape around your own system.
Notion is presented as a shared system of record for team information. Its listed features include answers with citations and agents for automating work. The homepage highlights product-feedback triage, support-ticket resolution in Slack and weekly reporting. Its plans also specify team-oriented controls: Business includes SAML SSO and granular database permissions, while Enterprise lists SCIM and an audit log. The tradeoff is less about which app has more features than where your information lives and whether it needs to serve a team.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Obsidian’s local Markdown files offer a straightforward foundation, but its links, graph, Canvas, plugins and themes leave room to build a more involved personal system. The available review rates ease of use 7 out of 10; that is a review score, not a guarantee that every setup will feel simple.
Notion brings team information into one shared workspace and includes features for answers and automation. That can suit teams that want a common system, but its flexibility may require decisions about how to organize work. The available review rates ease of use 6 out of 10 and warns that flexibility can become extra work. Choose based on whether you’re organizing your own notes or coordinating a team.
Questions people ask
Why use Obsidian instead of Notion?
Choose Obsidian if you want notes stored as local Markdown files that remain accessible offline, with links, Graph view, Canvas and customization. Its free plan is listed as unlimited and requires no sign-up. Sync is optional, but costs $4 per user per month annually or $5 monthly.
Why are people leaving Obsidian?
The published sources do not establish that people are broadly leaving Obsidian. One clear tradeoff is that syncing across devices is a separate paid service: Obsidian Sync costs $4 per user per month annually or $5 monthly. Someone who wants a shared team system may also prefer Notion’s team-focused features.
Why are people moving away from Notion?
The published sources do not show that people are broadly moving away from Notion. Its review notes that flexibility can become extra work. Its Free plan also has a 5 MB file-upload limit and seven-day page history, while Plus is listed at €9.50 per member per month; billing cadence is not stated.
Is Obsidian no longer free?
Obsidian still lists a free plan for personal note-taking, described as free without limits and requiring no sign-up. Some services cost extra: Sync starts at $4 per user per month with annual billing, and Publish starts at $8 per site per month with annual billing.