Compare software

Notesnook vs Obsidian: catalog facts
Notesnook	Obsidian
Freemium A free tier covers unlimited notes and sync across devices. A paid Pro subscription adds…	Free Free for everyone, including commercial use, in the vendor’s own words. Obsidian Sync and…
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Web	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Browser extension
End-to-end encrypted on device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2, so the service holds no readable data The full client codebase is published, which makes the privacy claim auditable	Notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you control, readable without the app Linking, backlinks, tags, graph view and fast search across the vault
An account is required; it is a sync service, not a local-only app Encryption means no server-side search, and losing your password loses the notes	The application is not open source, only the plugin ecosystem and the releases repository Syncing between devices means paying for Obsidian Sync or wiring up your own sync tool
Downloadable app, Web application	Downloadable app, Browser extension
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-3.0	License not stated
Account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.