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Obsidian vs Notesnook: catalog facts
Obsidian	Notesnook
Free Free for everyone, including commercial use, in the vendor’s own words. Obsidian Sync and…	Freemium A free tier covers unlimited notes and sync across devices. A paid Pro subscription adds…
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Browser extension	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Web
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	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
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	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
Downloadable app, Browser extension	Downloadable app, Web application
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	Account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

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