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Obsidian has narrowed the gap in database-like organization: its Bases feature now includes a kanban view and controls for grouping notes. That is a meaningful improvement for people who want to organize a personal note library as structured, changing collections. It does not mean Obsidian has become equivalent to Notion, especially for shared work and collaborative editing.

The title’s reference to what Notion “always did better” most plausibly means database-style views and organization; that interpretation is an inference because the title does not specify a feature. Here is what Bases now does, and how to decide whether the difference matters for your workflow.

What changed in Obsidian Bases?

Obsidian’s roadmap lists Bases search as launched in version 1.12. In the October 5, 2026 release, Obsidian 1.14 added a kanban view and controls for grouping. The release changelog says the kanban view organizes notes into columns and lets users move cards between groups. Grouping controls let users reorder, hide, or add groups.

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These additions make Bases more useful for inspecting and organizing notes in different ways. The same release also records improvements and fixes involving CSV export and display behavior. The changelog does not establish that every Notion database workflow has an equivalent in Bases, or that the two products are equally easy to configure.

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Does Obsidian have databases like Notion now?

Obsidian now offers database-like ways to view and group notes through Bases, but that is not the same as proving full feature parity with Notion databases. Think of Bases as a way to structure and browse an Obsidian note collection; do not assume that the presence of a kanban view means the apps match in setup, sharing, permissions, or team behavior.

The distinction matters most when choosing around a workflow rather than a feature label. A kanban view can help organize notes into stages or categories, while a shared workspace may depend on who can access and edit the underlying content. The official product material supports the existence of these separate capabilities, not a universal winner across them.

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Where Notion remains distinct

Reusable content across pages

Notion documents synced blocks: content can appear in more than one location, and edits to one instance are reflected in the others. Whether collaborators can see or edit the copies depends on their access to the original page. See Notion’s synced-block documentation.

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Offline access

Notion says users can create, edit, and view pages without an internet connection. Its engineering account describes moving from a best-effort SQLite cache to persistent local storage that tracks which pages are available offline and stores the data needed to render them. This is useful offline support, but it is not the same as Obsidian’s local plain-text file model. Details are in Notion’s account of offline mode.

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Team collaboration

Obsidian’s roadmap still lists “Multiplayer” as planned work, describing it as sharing notes and editing them collaboratively. Bases’ database-like views do not establish that Obsidian has shipped this capability or matched Notion’s collaborative workflows. Notion’s May 2026 release material describes a developer platform and shared canvas for teams and agents, but that release is not evidence of feature parity between the products. See Notion’s May 2026 release notes and Obsidian’s roadmap.

How to choose for your workflow

Workflow question What the official information establishes What to weigh
Do you want multiple structured views of notes? Obsidian Bases has search, a kanban view, and grouping controls; search is listed as launched in version 1.12, while the kanban and grouping additions arrived in version 1.14. Obsidian roadmap; Obsidian changelog. Whether those views and controls fit the way you want to organize your own notes.
Do you need the same content reused across pages? Notion documents synced blocks, with edits reflected across instances and access to the original page affecting visibility and editing. Notion help. Whether reuse across pages or workspaces is central to your setup.
Do several people need to edit together? Obsidian lists multiplayer as planned, not launched, on its roadmap. Obsidian roadmap. Do not treat Bases as a substitute for a confirmed collaborative-editing feature.
Do you need access without an internet connection? Notion documents offline page access and persistent storage for pages available offline. Notion engineering. Consider whether page-based offline access or direct access to local files better suits your work.
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Local files and syncing are a separate choice

Obsidian emphasizes local, non-proprietary plain-text files. Its optional Sync service is described as end-to-end encrypted. Sync is a separate cross-device service choice; it should not be confused with the multiplayer collaboration that Obsidian’s roadmap still marks as planned. Obsidian Publish, when relevant, is for publishing notes as a website, not co-editing them. See Obsidian’s product comparison and its roadmap.

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Notion’s documented offline mode offers a different model: pages made available offline are stored so they can be viewed and edited without a connection. That does not establish a local-file model equivalent to Obsidian’s plain-text approach.

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What the update does—and does not—settle

  • It does: give Obsidian Bases a kanban view and grouping controls, adding practical ways to organize and inspect notes.
  • It does not: establish that Obsidian matches every Notion database capability or that team editing is available in Obsidian.
  • The deciding question: are you organizing your own notes, or do you also need shared content, collaborative editing, or a particular offline model?

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