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Productivity · 13 alternatives

Instead of Obsidian, try one of these 13.

Every alternative is lined up against Obsidian on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. Obsidian sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.

Show onlySorted by likes · 13 of 13
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
ObsidianWhat you have now
Private, local-first knowledge base built on plain Markdown files.
PriceFreemium
sync $4/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Notion#1
All-in-one workspace for notes, docs, wikis and project tracking.
PriceFreemium
from $10/seat
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
AppFlowy#2
Open-source Notion alternative you can fully own and self-host.
PriceFreemium
cloud from $10
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Logseq#3Our pick
Outliner for networked thought, with backlinks and daily journals.
PriceFree
donations
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Anytype#4
Local-first, end-to-end encrypted workspace with objects and sets.
PriceFree
paid extras
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
AFFiNE#5
Docs, whiteboards and databases fused in one privacy-first canvas.
PriceFreemium
cloud from $8
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Joplin#6
Open-source note taking with end-to-end encrypted sync.
PriceFree
cloud $3/mo
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Standard Notes#7
Simple, encrypted notes app focused on privacy and longevity.
PriceFreemium
from $7/mo
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Google Keep#8
Simple cross-device notes and checklists.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
Simplenote#9
Bare-bones, fast notes that sync everywhere for free.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
TiddlyWiki#10
Personal wiki stored in a single portable HTML file.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux
Zettlr#11
Markdown writing app with citation support.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
Notesnook#12
Open-source encrypted notes with private sync.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
PrivacyNotes#13
Encrypted workspace for notes, files, and journal.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android

How to read this. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. Our pick, marked in lime, is the option we would point most people leaving Obsidian to first. How we compare.

Obsidian alternatives at a glance

Obsidian is a freemium productivity app (sync $4/mo). We compared 13 alternatives: 11 are open source, 7 are completely free, 6 can be self-hosted and 8 work fully offline. The most popular is Notion, with 4.9k likes, while our pick is Logseq.

Most liked overallNotion

All-in-one workspace for notes, docs, wikis and project tracking.

Freemium
Best free optionLogseq

Outliner for networked thought, with backlinks and daily journals.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best open-source optionAppFlowy

Open-source Notion alternative you can fully own and self-host.

Freemium · Open source · Self‑hostable · Works offline
Best to self-hostAFFiNE

Docs, whiteboards and databases fused in one privacy-first canvas.

Freemium · Open source · Self‑hostable · Works offline

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