Free
Personal plan
Company says even business use is free now
Report
Should I Use Obsidian?
The free and flexible app for your private thoughts.
Depends
DependsBuy it if you're an individual who wants a powerful, private, local-first knowledge base and will invest time learning it.
Free, private, endlessly flexible — but a tinkerer's tool with a learning curve, not a plug-and-play team notes app.
Confidence: Medium
$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
Value for money
5
Free core; you pay only for add-ons.
Ease of use
2
Steep learning curve; dated UI reported.
Feature depth
5
Highly adaptable; praised flexibility; strong plugin ecosystem.
Security posture
3
Third-party audits, private by design; plugin abuse reported.
Pros
Cons
Gotchas
- highMalicious plugins have been abused to deploy malware; vet third-party plugins carefully.12
- mediumSync and Publish cost extra monthly; the free app assumes you'll manage storage yourself.
- mediumA path traversal CVE was reported for an Obsidian MCP server integration.13
- lowSync starts around $4/month; some users argue overall pricing is high for add-ons.
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
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 🫤”
Alternatives
Compare Obsidian with each alternative.
Logseq
Free, local-first outliner; frequently named the best Obsidian alternative.
Obsidian vs LogseqNotion
Easier shared docs and databases if collaboration matters most.
Obsidian vs NotionEvernote
Simple capture-and-find notes without the tinkering.
Obsidian vs EvernoteApple 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.
Sources
- Obsidian Review — PCMagpcmag.comreview
- Obsidian Reviews — G2g2.comreview
- Obsidian Reviews — Capterracapterra.co.nzreview
- Obsidian Review 2026 — Lindylindy.aireview
- Obsidian: the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly — Original Mac Guyoriginalmacguy.comreview
- I've Grown Tired of Obsidian — MPU Talktalk.macpowerusers.comreview
- Obsidian Pricingobsidian.mdofficial
- Obsidian Security pageobsidian.mdofficial
- Obsidian Enterprise pageobsidian.mdofficial
news
news
- Obsidian plugin abused for remote access — Hacker Newsnews.ycombinator.comsecurity
- CVE-2026-19331 — SentinelOnesentinelone.comsecurity
security
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