# Notion vs Obsidian (2026): Which Note-Taking App Should You Use?

> Notion is a shared cloud workspace; Obsidian is a private, local-first notebook. We compare pricing, offline use, databases, collaboration, AI and privacy.

- Source: https://specverdict.tech/posts/notion-vs-obsidian
- Publisher: SpecVerdict
- Category: Software
- Published: 2026-10-29

## Verdict

Pick Obsidian if you're one person who wants fast, private notes you own as plain files, free of charge. Pick Notion if you work with a team or want polished databases, easy sharing and built-in AI, and don't mind your notes living in the cloud.

## Products compared

| Product | Brand | Score (/10) | Launch price |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Obsidian | Obsidian | 8.6 | - |
| Notion | Notion Labs | 8.4 | - |

Notion and Obsidian are the two most popular note-taking apps for people who take notes seriously, but they are built on opposite ideas.

**Notion** is a cloud workspace. Your pages and databases live on Notion's servers, so they're easy to share, organise and work on together.

**Obsidian** is a local-first notebook. Your notes are plain Markdown files in a folder on your own device, so they're private, fast and yours forever.

Neither is better for everyone. Here's how to work out which one is better for you.

## At a glance

| | Notion | Obsidian |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Best for | Teams, shared projects, structured data | Individuals, writing, personal knowledge |
| Where notes live | Notion's cloud | Files on your device |
| Free plan | Generous, with limits | Full app, no limits |
| Offline | Selected pages in the apps | Always |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes | No |
| Databases | Excellent | Bases (table views over notes) |
| Built-in AI | Business plan and above | Via community plugins |

## Pricing

**Obsidian** is free for everyone, including for work, and doesn't need an account. You pay only for optional extras:

- **Sync**, end-to-end encrypted syncing between devices: from $4 a month billed yearly ($5 monthly)
- **Publish**, to turn notes into a website: from $8 a month billed yearly ($10 monthly)
- A **commercial licence** at $50 per user per year, which Obsidian says companies are *not required* to buy

**Notion** has a free plan for individuals with unlimited pages, but with a 5MB limit per uploaded file and 7 days of page history. Paid plans are priced per member: **Plus** is about $10 per member per month and **Business** about $20, with savings of up to 20% on yearly billing. Plus raises the upload limit to 5GB and page history to 30 days; Business extends history to 90 days and adds Notion's AI features.

For one person, Obsidian can cost nothing at all. For a team of ten on Notion Business, you're looking at roughly $200 a month.

## Owning your notes

This is the biggest difference. In Obsidian, every note is a `.md` file in a normal folder. You can open it in any text editor, back it up however you like, and you'll still be able to read it in 20 years even if Obsidian disappears.

In Notion, your notes live in Notion's database. You can export them, but the export is a copy, not the original. If you value long-term control over your writing, Obsidian wins clearly.

## Offline use

Obsidian works fully offline because your notes are already on your device. Syncing happens later, if you use it.

Notion now offers offline access in its desktop and mobile apps. Free users choose which pages to download; paid plans automatically keep recent and favourite pages available. It's a big improvement, but it isn't the same as having everything offline, and it doesn't work in the browser.

## Databases and structure

Notion's databases are its superpower. Tables, boards, calendars, timelines and galleries are all views of the same data, with relations between databases. For project tracking, content calendars or a reading list with filters, Notion is hard to beat.

Obsidian has closed some of the gap. Its **Bases** core plugin, introduced in version 1.9 in 2025, turns notes and their properties into sortable, filterable table views. It is still simpler than Notion's databases, but for personal tracking it is often enough.

## Collaboration

Notion is built for teams: multiple people can edit the same page at the same time, leave comments, mention each other and set permissions.

Obsidian is primarily a single-person tool. Paid Sync lets you share vaults with others, but there is no live co-editing of the kind Notion offers. If your notes are a team effort, choose Notion.

## AI features

Notion's AI tools are built in. The Business plan includes Notion Agent, AI meeting notes and enterprise search, while Free and Plus get a limited trial. Custom agents run on Notion credits ($10 per 1,000 credits a month).

Obsidian doesn't ship its own AI. Community plugins connect your notes to AI providers using your own API key, which gives you more control but takes more setup.

## Learning curve

Notion is easier to start with. Templates and a polished interface get you going in minutes.

Obsidian is simple at first (it's a folder of text files) but has a long tail of settings, plugins and Markdown conventions. People who enjoy tinkering love it; people who just want to take notes can find it overwhelming.

## Which should you choose?

**Choose Obsidian if:**

- You're taking notes for yourself: study, research, writing or journaling
- Privacy and owning your files matter to you
- You want something completely free
- You often work offline

**Choose Notion if:**

- You share notes, docs or projects with other people
- You want powerful databases without setting anything up
- You want AI features built in
- You prefer a polished app that just works

**Can't decide?** Plenty of people use both: Notion for shared team work, Obsidian for their own thinking and writing.

## Obsidian

**Pros:** Free without limits, including for work use; Notes are plain Markdown files on your device, so you own them; Works fully offline, everywhere; Huge community plugin ecosystem; Bases adds database-style table views (since version 1.9)

**Cons:** No real-time co-editing like Notion; Syncing between devices costs extra, or needs your own setup; Plugins and settings take time to learn

- Free plan: Full app, no limits, no account needed
- Paid add-ons: Sync from $4/month, Publish from $8/month (billed yearly)
- Where notes live: Local Markdown files on your device
- Offline: Full
- Collaboration: Shared vaults via Sync; no live co-editing
- AI: Community plugins, using your own AI provider

## Notion

**Pros:** Best-in-class databases with many views; Real-time collaboration, comments and sharing; Built-in AI features on the Business plan; Polished, consistent apps on every platform; Generous free plan for individuals

**Cons:** Notes live in Notion's cloud; Offline access is limited to pages you download or open recently; Costs scale per member for teams

- Free plan: Unlimited pages, 5MB file uploads, 7-day page history
- Paid plans: Plus about $10, Business about $20 per member/month
- Where notes live: Notion's cloud
- Offline: Desktop and mobile apps; selected pages
- Collaboration: Real-time co-editing, comments, guests
- AI: Limited trial on Free and Plus; included on Business

## FAQ

### Is Obsidian really free?

Yes. The full app is free for personal and work use, with no account required. You only pay for optional services: Sync (from $4 a month billed yearly), Publish (from $8 a month billed yearly), or a $50 per user per year commercial licence that companies can buy to support development but aren't required to.

### Can I use Notion offline?

Partly. In the desktop and mobile apps, free users can choose pages to download, and paid plans automatically keep recent and favourite pages available offline. Offline access doesn't work in the web version.

### Can I move my notes from Notion to Obsidian?

Yes. Notion can export pages as Markdown, and Obsidian's official Importer plugin can bring in a Notion export. Complex databases don't translate perfectly, so expect some clean-up.

### Which is better for a small team?

Notion. Real-time co-editing, comments, permissions and shared databases are what it was built for. Obsidian can share vaults through Sync, but it isn't designed for teams working on the same page at once.

### Which is better for privacy?

Obsidian. Your notes stay on your device as plain files, and its paid Sync service uses end-to-end encryption. Notion stores your workspace on its servers; zero data retention with AI providers is only offered on its Enterprise plan.

## Sources

- [Notion: Pricing plans](https://www.notion.com/pricing)
- [Obsidian: Pricing](https://obsidian.md/pricing)
- [Obsidian changelog: Desktop 1.9.0 (Bases introduced)](https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-05-21-desktop-v1.9.0/)
- [Obsidian changelog: Desktop 1.9.10 (Bases released)](https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-08-18-desktop-v1.9.10)
- [Obsidian Help: Sync plans and storage limits](https://obsidian.md/help/sync/plans)
- [Thomas Frank: Notion offline mode, the ultimate guide](https://thomasjfrank.com/notion-offline-mode-the-ultimate-guide/)
- [heise: Obsidian now with database function](https://heise.de/-10590574)