Notion vs Obsidian in 2026: which one should you use?

Pick Notion if you work with a team and need shared pages and relational databases. Pick Obsidian if your notes are personal and you want them as Markdown files on your own disk. We make Loam, a free, open source Mac app that sits close to Obsidian, so we cover it as a third option near the end and say where it falls short.

Notion vs Obsidian: what is the main difference?

Notion stores your pages in the cloud. Obsidian stores your notes as files on your disk. Notion is an online workspace: pages live on Notion's servers, as blocks in a format that only Notion reads, and you open them in the web app or in the desktop and mobile apps. Obsidian is an app that edits a folder of Markdown files, called a vault. The files are yours, and any other editor can open them.

Almost every other difference follows from that one. A workspace in the cloud is easy to share and to search across a team. A folder of files is easy to own, to back up, to script and to keep for years. Each model fits a different kind of work.

Notion vs Obsidian at a glance

The table below sums up both apps on the points that decide most choices. The facts come from the official sites and were checked on 2026-11-03. Prices change, so read the pricing page of each app before you commit.

Sources: Obsidian: official site ↗ · Notion: pricing ↗

When is Notion the better choice?

Notion is the better choice when more than one person works in the same pages. Shared pages, comments and permissions are the core of the product, and a new teammate needs only a link and an account.

Best for

Teams that share pages and need relational databases

Notes stored as

Blocks in Notion's cloud, in its own format

Platforms

Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android

Price model

A free plan, and paid plans for teams

• A team wiki, a project tracker or a handbook that many people edit
• Relational databases: tasks linked to projects, projects linked to clients, with rollups and formulas
• Notes you must open in a browser, or on a computer that is not yours
• A workspace you can try with a small group on the free plan before you pay

When is Obsidian the better choice?

Obsidian is the better choice when the notes are yours alone and you want to keep them for a long time. Every note is a Markdown file, the app works offline, and you need no account to use it.

Best for

One person's notes, kept as files

Notes stored as

Plain Markdown files in a vault folder

Platforms

Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android

Price model

The app is free; Sync and Publish are paid services

• A personal knowledge base for research, writing, study or a journal
• A vault that other tools can open: any text editor, Git, scripts
• A very large catalog of community plugins to shape the app
• Linux, or any mix of Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android

Obsidian is a closed source app. It is free to use, and you pay only for the optional Sync and Publish services. Sync can share a vault with other people, but the app stays built first for one person's notes.

Are databases better in Notion or Obsidian?

Notion is clearly ahead. A Notion database holds pages with typed properties, and databases link to each other. You can show the same data as a table, a board, a calendar or a gallery, and compute values with rollups and formulas.

Obsidian works from properties on each note, which are lines of YAML at the top of a file. Its Bases feature and community plugins turn those properties into tables and boards. That covers a reading list or a project list well. It is less than a relational database, so if your work depends on linked databases, Notion is the right tool.

Which one lets you own your notes?

Obsidian does. A vault is a folder, so leaving Obsidian means opening the same folder in another app. Notion keeps pages in its own format. It exports to Markdown and CSV, but the export is a snapshot you convert after the fact: file names and links carry ids, and databases arrive as CSV files.

Which one works better offline?

Obsidian. It reads files from your disk, so it needs no network to open, search or edit a note. Notion is cloud first. It offers some offline support, and its limits depend on your plan and on which pages you downloaded, so check them before you rely on it on a plane or a train.

How do plugins and integrations differ?

Obsidian's community catalog changes the app itself: new views, editor features and automations. Notion's integrations connect Notion to other tools, and its API lets you build your own. If one specific Obsidian plugin is the reason you like the app, make sure it exists before you plan a move to any other app.

How do Notion and Obsidian handle AI?

Both work with AI tools, in different ways. Notion has its own AI inside the workspace, plus an API and an MCP server, so outside assistants can read and write your pages over the network. Obsidian documents an official command line interface, and community plugins add more. Because the notes are files, any agent that can read a folder can work on a vault.

The tradeoff is where the data sits. With Notion, an assistant goes through Notion's servers and your account. With a folder of files, an agent works on your disk, and you decide which folder it sees.

How much do Notion and Obsidian cost?

Both are free to start. Notion has a free plan and paid plans for teams, billed per member. The Obsidian app is free, and you pay only for the optional Sync and Publish services. We list no prices here on purpose, because both companies change them. The official pricing pages are the source to trust.

Sources: Notion: pricing ↗ · Obsidian: official site ↗

Can you use Notion and Obsidian together?

Yes, and many people do. Keep Notion for the shared pages of a team, and keep Obsidian for personal notes you want as files. The two apps do not share a workspace, so decide up front where each kind of note lives. If you later move pages from Notion to Markdown files, read how to export Notion to Markdown.

Who should pick Notion, and who Obsidian?

• A team sharing pages, whatever its size: Notion
• Linked databases for projects, clients or stock: Notion
• Personal notes, research or writing that you want to keep as files: Obsidian
• Linux, or the widest choice of community plugins: Obsidian
• Notes that must work offline all the time: Obsidian
• A Mac, a command line for agents and an open source app: the third option below

A third option: Loam, our app

Loam is ours, so weigh this section with that in mind. It follows the same idea as Obsidian: a vault is a folder of plain Markdown files, with no account and no server of its own, and it works offline. It differs in four places.

Best for

A Mac user who wants plain files, a command line and AI agents

Notes stored as

Plain Markdown files in a folder you choose

Platforms

macOS 26 or later, on Apple silicon

Price model

Free and open source

• A native Mac app. Loam runs on macOS 26 or later, on Apple silicon.
• Plugins for every feature. The core is small. Tasks, daily notes, collections and boards are plugins, and each plugin declares its permissions, which you read before you enable it.
• A command line. The loam command runs every action of the app, so an agent works on the vault the way you do.
• Open source and free, with Git sync and an optional encrypted remote that only holds ciphertext.

Coming from Notion? Loam imports a Notion export as plain Markdown. Export your workspace from Notion as Markdown and CSV, then run the import as a dry run first. It writes nothing and prints a report:

loam --vault ~/Notes import.notion source=~/Downloads/Export.zip dry-run=true

Read the report, then run the same command without dry-run=true. The importer removes the ids from names and links, turns page properties into frontmatter and turns databases into collections. Import notes has the details, and Loam vs Notion compares the two apps.

Where does Loam fall short?

• It runs on macOS only, with no iPhone or Android app.
• It is single user. You can share a vault through Git, but there are no shared pages, comments or permissions.
• Its collections show notes as a table, a board or a gallery, and there are no relational databases.
• Its plugin catalog is younger and smaller than Obsidian's.
• It has no web clipper.

If one of these is a dealbreaker, pick Notion or Obsidian. Both are good tools. For more options, see the best Notion alternatives and the best Obsidian alternatives for Mac.

Try Loam

Loam is free and open source. Install it with one command, open a folder of Markdown notes as a vault, and see whether the files-first model suits you. You can compare it with Notion, with Obsidian, or with every other app.