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Obsidian vs Tangent: catalog facts
Obsidian	Tangent
Free Free for everyone, including commercial use, in the vendor’s own words. Obsidian Sync and…	Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Browser extension	Windows, macOS, Linux
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	Notes are plain Markdown files on your own disk Sliding panels and a branching map for following linked 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	No built-in sync or mobile app mentioned Smaller community than Obsidian or Logseq
Downloadable app, Browser extension	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: Apache-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

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