Notion vs Obsidian: Pick Based on Where Your Notes Live

Notion is a shared workspace in the cloud. Obsidian is a folder of files on your computer. That one difference decides which is right for you.

Choose Notion if other people need to see and edit your notes, or if you want databases: task boards, content calendars, client lists. Choose Obsidian if your notes are mostly for you, you want them stored as plain files you own, and you like linking ideas together.

Most "Notion vs Obsidian" debates go wrong because they compare features. The real difference is simpler, and once you see it the choice usually makes itself.

The one difference that matters

Notion is a website. Your notes live on Notion's servers. You open them in a browser or an app, and they're designed to be shared. That's why it's so good for teams, and why it doesn't work properly offline.

Obsidian is a folder. Every note is a Markdown file sitting on your own disk. Obsidian is the app that makes that folder pleasant to use, with links between notes, search and a graph of how ideas connect. If Obsidian disappeared tomorrow, you'd still have a folder of readable text files.

Everything else follows from that.

Side by side

	Notion	Obsidian
Where notes are stored	Notion's cloud	Your device, as Markdown files
Works offline	Partly	Fully
Collaboration	Built in, real-time	Not really (it's single-user)
Databases and boards	Excellent	Possible with plugins, clunkier
Linking notes	Yes	Yes, and it's the core idea
Free plan	Yes, with limits for teams	The whole app is free
Paid plans	Plus $10, Business $20 per member/mo	Sync $4/mo, Publish $8/mo (yearly)
AI built in	Business plan and up	No (community plugins exist)

Prices as of October 2026, billed yearly.

When Notion is the better choice

You work with other people. Notion's sharing is excellent. You can invite a client to one page, give your team a shared wiki and comment on each other's work in real time. Obsidian has nothing that comes close.

You need structured information. Notion's databases are its secret weapon. A list of articles can become a kanban board, a calendar and a table, all from the same data. Content teams, freelancers tracking clients and small startups lean on this heavily.

You want AI inside your notes. Notion's AI features (writing help, meeting notes, search across your connected apps) are included on the Business plan at $20 per member a month. On Free and Plus you only get a limited trial.

Watch out for: the free plan's 5 MB upload limit per file and only 7 days of page history. And because everything is in Notion's cloud, slow internet means slow notes.

When Obsidian is the better choice

Your notes are for you. Research, journaling, studying, writing a book, a "second brain". Obsidian shines at personal knowledge you build up over years.

You want to own your data. Plain Markdown files open in any text editor today and in 20 years. You can back them up however you like, put them in Git or sync them with any cloud drive.

You think in connections. Type [[ and link to another note. Over time, those links show you relationships between ideas you'd forgotten you had. The graph view is a bit of a gimmick, but the backlinks panel is genuinely useful.

It's free. All of it, including for commercial use. Obsidian only charges for optional services: Sync ($4 a month yearly) to keep devices in sync with end-to-end encryption, and Publish ($8 a month yearly) to put notes on the web. A $50-a-year commercial license exists, but it's a voluntary way to support the developers.

Watch out for: there's a setup cost. Obsidian starts as a blank folder, and it's easy to lose a weekend picking themes and plugins instead of writing notes. And sharing a single note with a colleague means exporting it.

Can you use both?

Plenty of people do, and it works better than you'd expect. A common split is Notion for work (team docs, projects, anything shared) and Obsidian for thinking (personal notes, learning, drafts). The overlap is small, so you're not maintaining two copies of anything.

The verdict

Team, clients or shared projects: Notion.
Personal notes you want to keep for years: Obsidian.
You need databases and boards: Notion.
Privacy, offline use or plain files matter to you: Obsidian.
You're a student on a budget: Obsidian, free forever, or Notion's free plan if your classmates already use it.

If you're still unsure, try Obsidian first. It costs nothing and your notes stay as normal files, so if you switch to Notion later, Notion can import them. Going the other way, from Notion's databases to plain files, is much messier.

FAQ

Is Obsidian really free?

Yes, for personal and commercial use. You only pay if you want Obsidian Sync or Obsidian Publish, or if you choose to support the developers.

Can Obsidian sync between my phone and computer?

Yes. Obsidian Sync ($4 a month billed yearly) does it with end-to-end encryption. You can also use iCloud, a cloud drive or Git for free, with a little more setup.

Does Notion work offline?

Partly. Pages you've opened recently are available, but Notion is built around being online. If you often work without internet, Obsidian is more reliable.

Is Notion AI free?

Only as a limited trial on the Free and Plus plans. It's included on Business ($20 per member a month) and Enterprise.