Notion vs Obsidian: Which Is Better? (2026)

Compare Notion and Obsidian on pricing, features, and use cases. Find out which note-taking and knowledge management tool is right for you in 2026.

Best for Teams

Notion

$12.00 /mo

★★★★½ 4.5/5

All-in-one workspace combining notes, databases, wikis, and project management
Relational databases with linked properties, rollups, and filtered views
Notion AI add-on for writing assistance, summarization, and Q&A over your workspace

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Best for Personal Use

Obsidian

$0.00 /mo

★★★★½ 4.6/5

Local-first Markdown editor storing all notes as plain .md files on your own device
Bidirectional linking and Graph View for visualizing knowledge connections across your vault
Plugin ecosystem with 1,700+ community plugins covering tasks, Kanban, Dataview queries, and more

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Feature	Best for Teams Notion	Best for Personal Use Obsidian
Price	$12.00	$0.00
Rating	★★★★½	★★★★½
All-in-one workspace combining notes, databases, wikis, and project management	✓	✗
Relational databases with linked properties, rollups, and filtered views	✓	✗
Notion AI add-on for writing assistance, summarization, and Q&A over your workspace	✓	✗
Real-time multiplayer collaboration with comments, mentions, and page history	✓	✗
Flexible block-based editor supporting text, media, embeds, and code blocks	✓	✗
Templates gallery with hundreds of community and official templates	✓	✗
Web clipper and browser extension for saving content directly into Notion	✓	✗
API access for building custom integrations and automations	✓	✗
Native integrations with Slack, GitHub, Figma, Jira, Google Drive, and more	✓	✗
Cross-platform apps for Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android	✓	✗
Local-first Markdown editor storing all notes as plain .md files on your own device	✗	✓
Bidirectional linking and Graph View for visualizing knowledge connections across your vault	✗	✓
Plugin ecosystem with 1,700+ community plugins covering tasks, Kanban, Dataview queries, and more	✗	✓
Obsidian Sync (optional, $5/month) for end-to-end encrypted sync across devices	✗	✓
Obsidian Publish (optional, $10/month) for hosting a public knowledge site from your vault	✗	✓
Vim mode, custom hotkeys, and extensive CSS theming for power-user customization	✗	✓
Canvas feature for freeform spatial note arrangement and mind-mapping	✗	✓
Offline-first by design — full functionality with no internet connection required	✗	✓
Templater and Dataview plugins enable dynamic, database-like queries over your notes	✗	✓
Commercial license available for business use at a one-time $50/user fee	✗	✓
Pros	Unmatched all-in-one flexibility — replaces separate tools for notes, wikis, tasks, and databases Collaboration features are best-in-class; teams can co-edit, comment, and track changes in real time Notion AI deeply integrated into the editor, enabling summarization, translation, and action-item extraction without switching apps Large ecosystem of templates and third-party integrations makes onboarding fast for teams Generous free tier supports unlimited pages and blocks for individuals with basic sharing needs	True data ownership — notes are plain Markdown files you control entirely, with no vendor lock-in Offline-first architecture means full functionality anywhere, with no dependence on server uptime Extremely extensible plugin system allows the tool to be shaped around any personal knowledge management workflow Graph View and bidirectional links make it the best tool for building a connected, long-term knowledge base Personal use is completely free with no feature restrictions or usage caps
Cons	Performance degrades on large databases and complex nested pages — noticeable lag on low-end devices Fully cloud-dependent: offline access is limited and unreliable compared to local-first tools Steep learning curve for new users; the block system and relational database model can be overwhelming Data portability is limited — exporting to Markdown or HTML loses formatting fidelity and relational structure Notion AI costs an additional $10/user/month on top of the base plan, increasing total cost significantly	No real-time collaboration — Obsidian is fundamentally a single-user tool and is not designed for shared team workspaces Sync and Publish are paid add-ons; without them, multi-device access requires third-party solutions like iCloud or Syncthing The plugin ecosystem, while powerful, requires significant setup and maintenance time to reach a polished workflow Steeper initial configuration compared to Notion — new users must install plugins and define their own structure from scratch
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Our Verdict

Winner: Notion

Notion is the right choice for teams and organizations that need a shared, structured workspace combining wikis, project management, and databases in a single collaborative environment. Its real-time multiplayer editing, deep integrations, and Notion AI make it a productivity hub for groups. Obsidian wins decisively for individual knowledge workers, researchers, writers, and developers who prioritize data ownership, offline access, and long-term knowledge building. Its local-first, plain-Markdown approach means your notes are yours forever and can be searched, versioned, and migrated without restriction. If you collaborate heavily with others, choose Notion. If you are building a personal knowledge base you plan to maintain for years, Obsidian is the superior long-term investment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Obsidian really free?

Yes. Obsidian is free for personal use with no feature restrictions — all core functionality, including bidirectional links, the Graph View, plugins, and the Canvas, is available at no cost. You only pay if you add Obsidian Sync ($5/month) for encrypted multi-device sync or Obsidian Publish ($10/month) to host a public website from your vault. A one-time $50/user commercial license is required for business use.

Can I use Notion offline?

Notion has limited offline support. It caches recently visited pages for read access without an internet connection, but creating new pages, using databases reliably, or accessing content you have not recently opened requires connectivity. Obsidian, by contrast, is fully offline-first — every feature works without an internet connection because all data is stored locally as plain files.

Which tool is better for team collaboration?

Notion is significantly better for teams. It supports real-time multiplayer editing, inline comments, mentions, page-level permissions, and a shared team workspace where everyone sees the same source of truth. Obsidian is fundamentally designed as a single-user tool; while vaults can be shared via a Git repository or a shared drive, there is no native real-time co-editing or centralized access control.

What happens to my data if I stop paying for Notion?

If your Notion subscription lapses, your workspace is downgraded to the free tier, which limits certain features and restricts member access on team plans. Your data remains in Notion's cloud, but you may lose access to advanced features. With Obsidian, since all notes are stored as plain Markdown files on your own device, stopping a subscription (or never starting one) has no impact on data access — your files are always yours.

Does Notion or Obsidian have better AI features?

Notion AI is more deeply integrated and accessible to non-technical users — it can draft content, summarize pages, extract action items, translate text, and answer questions about your workspace, all from within the editor. It costs an additional $10/user/month. Obsidian can gain AI capabilities through community plugins (such as Copilot for Obsidian or Smart Connections), but these require manual setup, API keys, and ongoing configuration. For out-of-the-box AI, Notion leads; for customizable AI pipelines, Obsidian's plugin ecosystem is more flexible.

Can I migrate my notes from Notion to Obsidian?

Yes, migration is possible but imperfect. Notion allows you to export your workspace as Markdown or HTML. The Markdown export can be imported into Obsidian, and community tools like the Notion-to-Obsidian converter help clean up the formatting. However, relational database structures, rollup properties, and embedded content lose significant fidelity in the conversion. Simple note content migrates well; complex database-driven pages do not.

Which tool is better for building a personal knowledge base or second brain?

Obsidian is widely regarded as the superior tool for long-term personal knowledge management. Its bidirectional linking, Graph View, and plain-Markdown storage make it ideal for the Zettelkasten method, Building a Second Brain (BASB), or any system that emphasizes durable, interconnected notes. Notion's database-first structure is powerful but encourages hierarchical organization over associative linking, making it less suited for emergent, connection-driven knowledge graphs.

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