Obsidian review
A flexible local-file workspace for connected notes, research, and personal knowledge.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Obsidian is a local-first note-taking and personal knowledge-management app for individuals, researchers, writers, and teams. It stores Markdown notes as local files, then connects them through internal links, backlinks, unlinked mentions, and graph views. Daily notes, templates, properties, workspaces, search, the quick switcher, outlines, bookmarks, Canvas, community plugins, themes, and Web Clipper support a wide range of writing and research workflows. Apps are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, with a Chrome extension for clipping web content.
The core application is free, while paid services add synchronization and publishing. Sync Standard costs $4 per user per month with annual billing or $5 monthly, and includes cross-device syncing, end-to-end encryption, version history, shared vaults, one synced vault, and 1 GB of total storage on the annual plan. Sync Plus costs $8 annually or $10 monthly per user per month, adding 10 synced vaults, 10 GB of storage, a 200 MB maximum file size, and 12 months of version history. Publish costs $8 per site per month annually or $10 monthly for web publishing, customizable themes, graph views, and full-text search. Catalyst is a $25 one-time option, while Commercial costs $50 per user per year.
Obsidian fits users who want ownership of local files and a highly extensible system for connected information. Its ecosystem includes Obsidian Sync, iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive, Syncthing, Git, and Working Copy, while shared vaults provide real-time note updates. The trade-off is that synchronization and web publishing are separate paid services, and the standard sync tier has limited storage and one synced vault. Choose Obsidian for networked notes, offline access, and customization; consider another app if a hosted workspace with bundled syncing and publishing is the priority.
Obsidian pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Local Markdown files with backlinks, graph view, and unlinked mentions
- Canvas, daily notes, templates, properties, and community plugins
- Desktop and mobile apps with optional sync and shared vaults
- Where it doesn't
- Cross-device sync is an optional paid service
- Sync Standard includes one vault and 1 GB of storage
- Publishing notes to the web requires a separate Publish plan
Obsidian fact sheet, pricing and score →
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