Obsidian

Name: Obsidian
Rating: 4.86 (155 reviews)

A versatile writing app tailored to your thinking

4.9•155 reviews•

3.9K followers

A versatile writing app tailored to your thinking

4.9•155 reviews•

3.9K followers

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Note and writing apps

Store notes on your device, so you can access them quickly, even offline. Use hundreds of plugins and themes, to fit your way of thinking.

Have a question about Obsidian? Ask it here and get a real answer.

#2 Productivity Product of the Year

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Obsidian Launches

Obsidian Bases Turn any set of notes into a powerful database

Launched on August 20th, 2025

Obsidian Canvas An infinite space to visualize and make sense of your ideas

Launched on December 20th, 2022

Obsidian 1.0 A brand new look, a fresh way to browse, a new start

Launched on October 13th, 2022

View all Obsidian launches

Do you use Obsidian?

Forum Threads

p/obsidian

•

12mo ago

Is Obsidian really that much better vs Bear? Should I switch?

I'm a compulsive note-taker - first started taking notes in @Evernote circa 2011, and switched to @Bear

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4.9

Based on 155 reviews

Review Obsidian?

Obsidian earns raves for local-first reliability, speed, and Markdown flexibility, with many praising its powerful linking, graph view, and an extensive plugin ecosystem that scales from simple notes to full knowledge systems. Some mention a learning curve and occasional friction on mobile or search, but most say it “just works” and adapts to varied workflows. Maker reviewers add depth: makers of

ApyHub : The All in one API Platform

cite it inspiring their markdown docs; makers of

Grimo

emphasize speed and safety; makers of

Mac Pet

praise its Markdown-centric approach.

+152

Summarized with AI

Pros

community plugins (41)

customization (28)

local storage (28)

markdown support (21)

second brain (19)

graph view (15)

privacy (13)

cross-platform (11)

fast performance (11)

free tier (4)

Cons

learning curve (10)

sync feature cost (3)

closed source (2)

customization (2)

markdown support (2)

Pros

Cons

Reviews

All Reviews

Most Informative

•4 reviews

What's great

open source (2)markdown support (21)community plugins (41)customization (28)local storage (28)second brain (19)

Lightweight
Supports markdown, which is faster than using cursor-based text changes
Supports a variety of command-based interactions, which is preferable
It's free
Community plug-ins
Wide customizability

What needs improvement

sync feature cost (3)

File structure isn't always the easiest way to interact with vault
UI can get cluttered when you use a lot of community plug-ins

vs Alternatives

Notion

Anytype

Markdown language acceptance, preference for keyboard control of applications, command-centred UI, scale for customisation and community plug-ins

How customizable are themes without editing code?

You can download themes that others have created. I can't code, but it's pretty basic code so you can customise it quite easily.

Does mobile editing feel fast and dependable?

I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to once I get Obsidian Sync.

Does Obsidian replace your previous note-taking tool effectively?

Yes, it does. I need to do more work to maintain Obsidian, but it's necessary work that's good practice for strong organisational skills and effectiveness in the long-term.

Ratings

Ease of use

Reliability

Value for money

Customization

Report

50 views2mo ago

•1 review

Infinitely customizable - if you want to make it an incredibly stripped down snippet collector, Zettelkasten, or series of shower thoughts with nothing but Markdown, you can. If you want to install 60 community plugins and move on to the ones that aren't in the Community store yet, customize it with CSS, and have a widget-y dashboard with buttons and dropdown menus, you can do that too. (I'm somewhere in between.) But more to the point, it's a heck of a lot better than spreading all my notes to myself between 30232340 notepad .txt files in different folders, Notion, Docs and Notes on my phone. Has it fixed the ADHD and the tendency to pick up every new productivity software? Nope, but that's my own issue. Has it greatly helped with consolidating and getting me into a routine? It sure has -- and it also has the really cool bonus of encouraging wikilinks within notes, which scratches a hypertext itch I forgot I had. (Also, there's a really robust TTRPG community within the Obsidian forums/Discord and a whooole subsection of user-made tips for GMs and players, so that's a nice little bonus for those of you into that hobby.)

What's great

note-taking (1)community support (1)markdown support (21)strong community (1)community plugins (41)customization (28)

Report

40 views4mo ago

Fuser

•7 reviews

I’ve been using Obsidian daily for over a year now. There’s no onboarding funnel, no update pop-ups, no pressure to upgrade. It just works, and it keeps working. You let some tools into your life without thinking too hard about it. Obsidian was like that, although I did spend probably an entire week customizing it, iterating upon a template until I figured out how to structure my daily notes versus larger long-term projects. I mean, I was not really just getting into a note-taking app, I was actually looking for a new way to structure my thoughts and create meaningful habits around journaling. I really like that Obsidian doesn't get in the way once you customize it how you like. It's usually the first thing I open in the morning, so I can plan the whole day ahead of me, journal my thoughts, and take notes for my meetings without it being overly complicated.

What's great

simplicity (2)customization (28)

Report

23 views6mo ago

•4 reviews

What's great

open source (2)markdown support (21)community plugins (41)customization (28)local storage (28)second brain (19)

Lightweight
Supports markdown, which is faster than using cursor-based text changes
Supports a variety of command-based interactions, which is preferable
It's free
Community plug-ins
Wide customizability

What needs improvement

sync feature cost (3)

File structure isn't always the easiest way to interact with vault
UI can get cluttered when you use a lot of community plug-ins

vs Alternatives

Notion

Anytype

Markdown language acceptance, preference for keyboard control of applications, command-centred UI, scale for customisation and community plug-ins

How customizable are themes without editing code?

You can download themes that others have created. I can't code, but it's pretty basic code so you can customise it quite easily.

Does mobile editing feel fast and dependable?

I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to once I get Obsidian Sync.

Does Obsidian replace your previous note-taking tool effectively?

Yes, it does. I need to do more work to maintain Obsidian, but it's necessary work that's good practice for strong organisational skills and effectiveness in the long-term.

Ratings

Ease of use

Reliability

Value for money

Customization

Report

50 views2mo ago

•1 review

What's great

note-taking (1)community support (1)markdown support (21)strong community (1)community plugins (41)customization (28)

Report

40 views4mo ago

Fuser

•7 reviews

What's great

simplicity (2)customization (28)

Report

23 views6mo ago

Obsidian

A versatile writing app tailored to your thinking

A versatile writing app tailored to your thinking

Have a question about Obsidian? Ask it here and get a real answer.

Obsidian Launches

Do you use Obsidian?

Forum Threads

Is Obsidian really that much better vs Bear? Should I switch?

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Have a question about Obsidian? Ask it here and get a real answer.

Obsidian Launches

Do you use Obsidian?

Forum Threads

Is Obsidian really that much better vs Bear? Should I switch?

What's great

What needs improvement

vs Alternatives

How customizable are themes without editing code?

Does mobile editing feel fast and dependable?

Does Obsidian replace your previous note-taking tool effectively?

What's great

What's great

What's great

What needs improvement

vs Alternatives

How customizable are themes without editing code?

Does mobile editing feel fast and dependable?

Does Obsidian replace your previous note-taking tool effectively?

What's great

What's great