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Obsidian vs VNote: catalog facts
Obsidian	VNote
Free Free for everyone, including commercial use, in the vendor’s own words. Obsidian Sync and…	Free Free and open source under the LGPL.
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	Native C++ application rather than a web wrapper Notes kept as local Markdown files
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 service Documentation is partly focused on Chinese-speaking users
Downloadable app, Browser extension	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: LGPL-3.0
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 September 24, 2026

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