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Obsidian Review

Depends

Should I use Obsidian?

The free and flexible app for your private thoughts. - obsidian.md

· 1 month ago

Buy it if you're an individual who wants a powerful, private, local-first knowledge base and will invest time learning it. Skip it if you want simple shared team notes out of the box.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~14 public sources. Some search results confused the note app with Obsidian Security, Plesk Obsidian, and other same-name products; those were excluded.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo direct support-quality evidence found.
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Personal

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Commercial$50 USD per user/year
Sync (add-on)From $4/month

Best for

  • Personal knowledge bases
  • Privacy-focused note takers
  • Writers and researchers linking ideas
  • Markdown and plugin tinkerers

Not for

  • Teams needing shared, out-of-box collaboration
  • Casual users who just jot quick notes
  • Anyone wanting a polished, zero-setup experience
  • Orgs expecting hands-on vendor support

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Malicious plugins have been abused to deploy malware; vet third-party plugins carefully.

medium

Sync and Publish cost extra monthly; the free app assumes you'll manage storage yourself.

medium

A path traversal CVE was reported for an Obsidian MCP server integration.

low

Sync starts around $4/month; some users argue overall pricing is high for add-ons.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free for personal use; company says even business use is now free
  • Highly adaptable and flexible way to work with notes
  • Users consistently praise its flexibility
  • Described as very flexible and user-centric on Capterra
  • Commercial license is cheap at $50 per user per year

Cons

  • Steep learning curve reported by reviewers
  • Working environment described as not attractive
  • Paid plans seen as expensive by PCMag
  • Some long-time users say they've grown tired of it

Sources & method

- 14 sources - Private, local-first design with third-party audits, but the plugin ecosystem has attracted real malware abuse.

official x3review x6security x3news x2
  • Plugin abused to deploy remote access tool, Community reports an Obsidian plugin was abused to deploy remote access malware.
  • Shell commands malware campaign, An April 2026 malware campaign reportedly abused Obsidian shell commands.
  • CVE-2026-19331: MCP server path traversal, A path traversal flaw was reported in an Obsidian MCP server integration.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free core; you pay only for add-ons.
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Steep learning curve; dated UI reported.
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Highly adaptable; praised flexibility; strong plugin ecosystem.
  • Support quality. No direct support-quality evidence found.
  • Security posture: 3/5. Third-party audits, private by design; plugin abuse reported.
  • Free Personal plan Company says even business use is free now
  • $50/user/yr Commercial license Official pricing page
  • 10,000+ Organizations using it Per company enterprise page
  • User-funded Backing No VC backing, per company statements

Pricing

Personal

Free

  • Full core app
  • Personal use

Commercial

$50 USD per user/year

  • Licensed business use

Sync (add-on)

From $4/month

  • Cross-device syncing
  • Optional

Security

Private, local-first design with third-party audits, but the plugin ecosystem has attracted real malware abuse.

  • Plugin abused to deploy remote access toolCommunity reports an Obsidian plugin was abused to deploy remote access malware.12
  • Shell commands malware campaignAn April 2026 malware campaign reportedly abused Obsidian shell commands.14
  • CVE-2026-19331: MCP server path traversalA path traversal flaw was reported in an Obsidian MCP server integration.13

What users say

Users love the flexibility and adaptability but frequently flag the steep learning curve, and some long-time fans are drifting away.

“I Think I've Grown Tired of Obsidian 🫤”
MPU Talk forum review thread

Alternatives

Compare Obsidian with each alternative.

  • Apple Notes / Google Keep

    Fine if you just jot lists and reminders.

Full analysis

Based on ~14 public sources. Some search results confused the note app with Obsidian Security, Plesk Obsidian, and other same-name products; those were excluded.

Free, private, endlessly flexible — but a tinkerer's tool with a learning curve, not a plug-and-play team notes app.

Methodology

Based on ~14 public sources. Some search results confused the note app with Obsidian Security, Plesk Obsidian, and other same-name products; those were excluded.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Obsidian Review — PCMagpcmag.com
    review
  2. Obsidian Reviews — G2g2.com
    review
  3. Obsidian Reviews — Capterracapterra.co.nz
    review
  4. Obsidian Review 2026 — Lindylindy.ai
    review
  5. Obsidian: the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly — Original Mac Guyoriginalmacguy.com
    review
  6. I've Grown Tired of Obsidian — MPU Talktalk.macpowerusers.com
    review
  7. Obsidian Pricingobsidian.md
    official
  8. Obsidian Security pageobsidian.md
    official
  9. Obsidian Enterprise pageobsidian.md
    official
  10. Obsidian is now completely free for business use — Mediummedium.com
    news
  11. Why Obsidian is 100% user-supported — Redditreddit.com
    news
  12. Obsidian plugin abused for remote access — Hacker Newsnews.ycombinator.com
    security
  13. CVE-2026-19331 — SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  14. Obsidian Shell Commands malware campaign — Penligentpenligent.ai
    security

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