Obsidian vs Notion: the comparison for how you actually think
Both pricing pages, both export guides and both AI policies read on 2026-11-09, then the two things feature lists skip: what each costs over three years and what survives when you move between them.
Independent editorial content. Links to software go straight to the vendors. We are not in any affiliate programme yet and earn nothing from these links; if that changes, this note will say so. Rankings are never sold. See our methodology. Methodology
| Tool | Best for | Price (checked 2026-11-09) | Ownership, offline, export, encryption | AI features and training policy | Platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian Local Markdown files, links first; no affiliate programme, recommended on merit | Writers, researchers and anyone who wants to own the files for decades | Free for personal use without limits; Sync Standard USD 4 per user per month annual (USD 5 monthly), Sync Plus USD 8 (USD 10 monthly); Publish USD 8 per site annual; optional commercial licence USD 50 per user per year (free for work use) | Plain .md files on your disk; fully offline; export is the folder itself; Sync is end-to-end encrypted with AES-256-GCM by default (file-path to content mapping not encrypted) | No built-in AI. Community plugins: Smart Connections runs local embeddings with no API key; Copilot uses your own key or a local model, so the training policy is your provider's | Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | Visit |
| Notion Cloud workspace with databases; AI is a Business-plan feature | People who think in tables, work with a team, or want notes beside tasks and wikis | Free; Plus served as EUR 9.50 per seat per month (USD list 10 annual, 12 monthly); Business EUR 19.50 (USD 20 annual); Custom Agents USD 10 per 1,000 credits after the trial | Cloud-hosted; offline mode in the desktop and mobile apps for pages you choose to download, with Recents and Favorites auto-downloaded; export as Markdown and CSV, HTML or PDF; not end-to-end encrypted | Free and Plus get a limited trial; Business adds Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search and per-member credits. By default customer data is not used to train models; providers keep data up to 30 days on Free, Plus and Business, zero retention on most Enterprise models | Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | Visit |
Prices and features checked: 2026-11-09. Prices in the currency the vendor shows, checked on the date shown; we do not convert.
Verdict in 60 seconds
Obsidian and Notion are not two versions of the same thing. Obsidian is a text editor over a folder of Markdown files that happens to draw links between them. Notion is a cloud database that happens to render as pages. Each is excellent at what the other cannot do, which is why the sensible answer for many people is both, and the wrong answer is to pick the one your favourite creator uses.
Our criteria, in order: who owns the data and what happens offline; how each tool links and structures knowledge; what the AI features do and what the vendors say about training; total cost over three years in the currency each vendor served us on 2026-11-09; and what survives a migration in either direction. We read both pricing pages, both export guides and both AI policies today. Obsidian has no affiliate programme and Notion's is closed to new applicants, so neither earns us anything; the disclosure at the top applies to other products linked from this page.
- Choose Obsidian if you write, research or think in prose, want files you can open in 2046, and are comfortable with a folder rather than a workspace.
- Choose Notion if your notes live next to team work, you want structured databases without plugins, and you prefer a hosted service to a local one.
- Use both if you are a writer who also runs projects: Obsidian for thinking, Notion for the shared tracker. The section on using both explains how to keep the seam clean.
Interest is rising. US searches for "obsidian vs notion" run at about 3,600 a month with a keyword difficulty of 3 and have grown about 26 percent a year over three years; the reversed phrase adds 2,400 a month, up 21 percent year on year. The UK adds 720, Germany 590, France and Spain 260 each.[9]
Data ownership and offline
This is the deepest difference and it is not a matter of taste.
Obsidian stores every note as a Markdown file (.md) in a folder on your device, alongside .canvas files, .base files and any attachments.[3] Obsidian's privacy policy states that "All data is saved locally on your device and is never sent to our servers" and that the company collects no telemetry.[4] Offline is not a mode; it is the default. If you pay for Sync, your vault is end-to-end encrypted by default with AES-256 in Galois/Counter Mode, with keys derived by scrypt from a passphrase only you hold; servers sit in Frankfurt, San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney. The security page is honest about one gap: the mapping between encrypted file paths and encrypted content is not itself end-to-end encrypted.[2]
Notion stores your workspace on its servers. Offline mode exists in the desktop and mobile apps: you choose pages to download, and Recents and Favorites download automatically.[5] It works for the pages you planned to need, not for the one you forgot. Notion encrypts data in transit and at rest but does not offer end-to-end encryption; Notion staff and subprocessors can, under policy, access content, which is the normal position for a collaborative cloud product and the wrong one for a private journal.
Ownership is also about leaving. Obsidian's export is the folder; there is nothing to export. Notion exports a workspace as Markdown and CSV, HTML or PDF.[6] The Markdown export is lossy in ways that matter, which the migration section covers.
Linking and graph versus databases
Obsidian thinks in links. A double bracket makes a connection, backlinks appear automatically, and the graph view shows the shape of your knowledge. Structure beyond folders and tags comes from properties in each note's front matter and, since 2025, from Bases, which turn a folder of notes into a filterable table without a database engine. This matches the way a Zettelkasten works: small notes in your own words, connected by meaning rather than location.
Notion thinks in rows. A database has properties, relations and rollups; pages are rows that can be viewed as a table, board, calendar or timeline. Linking between pages exists but is secondary. Structure is explicit and shared, which is why Notion suits a second brain built on PARA, where projects, areas and resources are containers you move things between.
The cognitive-science angle matters here because the tools reward different habits. Writing something down is cognitive offloading, which improves task performance but reduces unaided recall of what you offloaded A[10]. Rewriting an idea in your own words to link it, Obsidian's native move, is a form of retrieval practice, which beats rereading and highlighting for retention A[11]. Filing a clipped page into a Notion database is capture, which is faster and remembers less. Neither is wrong; they are different trades, and our PKM guide sets out the research in full.
AI features and what the vendors say about training
Notion sells AI as a plan tier. Free and Plus get a limited trial; Business and Enterprise include Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search (beta) and a monthly allowance the product page describes as 1,500 Standard credits and 500 Select credits per member, with amounts varying by plan; Custom Agents are free to try, then USD 10 per 1,000 monthly credits.[1][7] On data, Notion's security practices page states: "By default, your customer data is not used to train models", with contractual terms prohibiting its AI subprocessors from doing so. Retention differs by plan: on Free, Plus and Business the AI provider "retains your data for 30 days or fewer, then deletes it"; on Enterprise most models run with zero data retention.[7] Notion describes itself as model-agnostic and lists providers on a separate subprocessor page we did not read.
Obsidian ships no AI. The question becomes which plugin and which provider. Smart Connections, the most installed, states that "Embeddings are created locally by default" and that "Your notes stay on your machine", with no API key required; cloud models are an optional paid layer.[8] The Copilot plugin is bring-your-own-key: notes and prompts go to whichever provider, local endpoint or command-line agent you configure, and the plugin author receives them only if you use a hosted feature.[8] The training policy is therefore whatever your chosen provider's terms say, which is more control and more homework.
Keep AI claims in proportion. Generative AI speeds up bounded writing and summarising tasks and helps novices most A[12]; it does nothing for whether you understood the note, and letting a model summarise instead of recalling yourself gives up the retrieval practice that makes notes stick A[11].
Total cost over three years, USD and EUR
Prices as served on 2026-11-09. Obsidian served USD; Notion served EUR, and we add its USD list price from our catalogue check the same day.[1][2]
| Setup | Year 1 | Three years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian, personal, sync with iCloud or your own method | USD 0 | USD 0 | Free without limits; no sign-up |
| Obsidian + Sync Standard (1 vault, 1 GB, 5 MB files, 1 month history) | USD 48 | USD 144 | USD 4 per month annual |
| Obsidian + Sync Plus (10 vaults, 10 GB, 200 MB files, 12 months history) | USD 96 | USD 288 | USD 8 per month annual |
| Obsidian at work + Sync Standard | USD 48 | USD 144 | Free for work use; an optional commercial licence (USD 50 per user per year) only supports the developers |
| Notion Free | USD 0 | USD 0 | Limited AI trial; file uploads capped |
| Notion Plus | EUR 114 (USD 120 list) | EUR 342 (USD 360) | EUR 9.50 per seat per month as served; USD 10 annual, 12 monthly |
| Notion Business (the plan with AI) | EUR 234 (USD 240) | EUR 702 (USD 720) | EUR 19.50 as served; USD 20 annual |
The shape is clear. For a single person, Obsidian costs between nothing and USD 288 over three years, and the expensive end buys 10 GB of encrypted sync with a year of version history. Notion costs nothing until you want the AI, at which point the price is Business, about two and a half times Obsidian's Sync Plus (USD 20 against USD 8 a month, both billed annually). Where Notion wins is teams: Obsidian is free at work too and Sync is billed per user, but Notion gives a team of five a shared workspace with permissions for EUR 47.50 a month that Obsidian cannot replicate without a shared vault and trust.
Using both
Most people who ask this question end up with both, and the setups that work share one rule: one tool is the system of record for each kind of thing.
- Obsidian for thinking, Notion for coordinating. Literature notes, drafts and the Zettelkasten live in Obsidian. Project trackers, shared docs and anything a colleague must edit live in Notion. The seam is a link, not a sync.
- Do not mirror. Two-way sync between a Markdown folder and a Notion database breaks on the first relation or callout. Copy a finished note across when it becomes a shared artefact, and leave the original where it was.
- Capture in one place. Readwise exports highlights to both Obsidian (official plugin) and Notion (database sync), so a reading inbox can feed either without duplication.[13] Readwise runs a 30-day free trial.
Migration in both directions
We did not run a timed migration for this edition, so no hours are quoted. What follows comes from the vendors' import and export documentation, all read on 2026-11-09, and it is enough to know what you will lose.
Notion to Obsidian. Obsidian's official Importer plugin offers two routes. Connecting your Notion account through the API is the recommended one because it preserves databases and formulas, which are converted to Bases; only the primary view of each database is imported, linked data sources are skipped, and the people and text-styling functions are not converted. Importing a file export instead does not preserve databases, and the plugin's own guidance says: "We recommend that you do not use Notion's Markdown export as it omits important data"; export as HTML with everything included and folders for subpages.[14] Notion's export guide confirms the Markdown route's weaknesses: callouts become HTML because Markdown has no equivalent, and comments survive only in the HTML export.[6]
Obsidian to Notion. Notion imports Markdown files, and a zipped folder preserves the folder structure, up to 5 GB per ZIP. Headings, lists and code blocks come through; anchor links and non-standard Markdown extensions do not, which means Obsidian's wiki-links, embeds, callouts and Dataview blocks arrive as text. File limits are 5 MB per file on Free and 50 MB on paid plans.[15]
| What moves | Notion to Obsidian | Obsidian to Notion |
|---|---|---|
| Plain text, headings, lists, code | Yes | Yes |
| Page hierarchy | Yes, with folders for subpages | Yes, from a zipped folder |
| Databases and properties | Yes via API (to Bases), no via file export | Properties become front-matter text; no relations |
| Links between notes | Mostly, via importer | Wiki-links arrive as plain text |
| Callouts, embeds, comments | Callouts as HTML; comments only from HTML export | Callouts and embeds as text |
| Formulas, rollups, relations | Partly via API; functions for people and styling dropped | Not applicable |
| Attachments | Yes | Yes, within file-size limits |
Lock-in, ranked: Notion holds you harder, through relations, rollups and comments that have no file equivalent. Obsidian holds you only through plugin syntax, which is a find-and-replace problem.
Who should not buy
- Do not choose Obsidian if the notes must be edited by colleagues who will not install an app and learn Markdown; shared vaults work for small technical teams and nobody else.
- Do not choose Obsidian expecting a database; Bases and properties go a long way, but relations and rollups are Notion's territory.
- Do not choose Notion for a private journal, medical notes or anything you would not want a subprocessor to be able to read; it is not end-to-end encrypted.
- Do not choose Notion if you expect to work offline often; downloading pages in advance is a workaround, not a design.
- Do not pay for Notion AI on Plus; the useful AI features start at Business.
Which to choose by user type
| You are | Pick | Why | Cost per month, annual billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writer, PhD student, researcher | Obsidian, Sync Standard if you use two devices | Own files, links, retrieval-friendly habits | USD 0 to 4 |
| Team of 3 to 20 with a shared wiki and tasks | Notion Plus | Databases, permissions, templates | EUR 9.50 per seat |
| Team that wants meeting notes and an agent | Notion Business | AI is a Business feature | EUR 19.50 per seat |
| Privacy-first, works offline, Linux | Obsidian with Sync Plus or no sync | E2E encryption, local files | USD 0 to 8 |
| Solo person who runs projects and reads a lot | Both, plus a reading inbox | Obsidian to think, Notion to track | USD 4 plus Notion Free |
| Someone who wants structure without building databases | Neither yet; see the field | Capacities and others sit between the two | see the PKM guide |
What to do next
Decide what you are optimising for before you open either app: files you can keep, or a workspace you can share. Then run the one test that settles it for your situation: write ten real notes in your candidate for a week, export them, and open the export without the app. If you want the choice made against your working style, devices and budget, the Tool Finder does that with the same dated prices. If you want the knowledge layer to sit inside a whole personal system, the OS Builder picks capture, review and output tools together.
Frequently asked questions
Is Obsidian really free?
Yes, for personal use without limits and without an account (obsidian.md/pricing, 2026-11-09). You pay only for optional Sync (USD 4 per user per month billed annually for Standard, USD 8 for Plus), Publish (USD 8 per site per month annual) Use at work is free; the USD 50 per user per year commercial licence is optional.
Does Notion work offline?
Partly. Notion's desktop and mobile apps can open pages you have chosen to download, and your Recents and Favorites download automatically (pricing page, 2026-11-09). Pages you did not download are unavailable until you reconnect. Obsidian works offline by default because the files are on your device.
Does Notion or Obsidian use my notes to train AI?
Notion states that by default customer data is not used to train models and that its AI subprocessors are contractually barred from doing so; providers retain data for up to 30 days on Free, Plus and Business and most Enterprise models run with zero retention (read 2026-11-09). Obsidian has no AI of its own; a plugin such as Smart Connections runs local embeddings, and bring-your-own-key plugins send text to whichever provider you choose, so that provider's terms apply.
What does it cost to switch from Notion to Obsidian?
Nothing in licence fees, since Obsidian is free. The cost is in what the import loses. Use Obsidian's Importer with the Notion API connection, which converts databases to Bases; the file-export route drops databases, and Obsidian advises against Notion's Markdown export because it omits data. Comments survive only in an HTML export.
Which is more secure?
Obsidian, for a private vault: notes are local, and Sync is end-to-end encrypted with AES-256-GCM by default, with the caveat that the mapping between file paths and contents is not encrypted. Notion encrypts in transit and at rest but is not end-to-end encrypted, which is normal for a collaborative cloud tool and unsuitable for notes nobody else should ever be able to read.
Can I use Obsidian and Notion together?
Yes, and many people do. Keep Obsidian as the system of record for thinking and drafts, Notion for shared trackers and documents, and link rather than sync between them. A reading tool such as Readwise can export highlights to both so capture happens once.
Sources and evidence
- Notion pricing (served in EUR; USD list from Productivity Signal catalogue check the same day) — Notion Labs (2026), vendor page A www.notion.com/pricing (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Obsidian pricing, Obsidian Sync plans and Sync security (AES-256-GCM, scrypt, server regions) — Dynalist Inc. (Obsidian) (2026), vendor page A obsidian.md/pricing (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Obsidian help: accepted file formats — Dynalist Inc. (Obsidian) (2026), vendor page A obsidian.md/help/file-formats (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Obsidian privacy policy (last updated 1 November 2023) — Dynalist Inc. (Obsidian) (2023), vendor page A obsidian.md/privacy (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Notion pricing page, offline mode rows ('Use Notion offline on the desktop and mobile app', 'Choose pages to download for offline use') — Notion Labs (2026), vendor page B www.notion.com/pricing (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Notion help: export your content — Notion Labs (2026), vendor page A www.notion.com/help/export-your-content (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Notion AI security and privacy practices; Notion AI product page — Notion Labs (2026), vendor page A www.notion.com/help/notion-ai-security-practices (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Obsidian community plugins: Smart Connections and Copilot (plugin listings) — Brian Petro (Smart Connections); Brevilabs (Copilot) (2026), vendor page A community.obsidian.md/plugins/smart-connections (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Productivity Signal keyword database, rows 'obsidian vs notion' and 'notion vs obsidian' for US, UK, DE, FR, ES (DataForSEO Labs keyword_overview and historical_search_volume) — Productivity Signal research, via DataForSEO (2026), dataset A dataforseo.com/ (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Cognitive Offloading — Risko EF, Gilbert SJ (2016), review A doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.07.002 (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques — Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ, Willingham DT (2013), systematic review A doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266 (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Experimental evidence on the productivity effects of generative artificial intelligence — Noy S, Zhang W (2023), RCT A doi.org/10.1126/science.adh2586 (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Readwise docs: exporting highlights (Obsidian official plugin, Notion database sync, Markdown and CSV); Readwise pricing — Readwise (2026), vendor page A docs.readwise.io/readwise/docs/exporting-highlights/ (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Obsidian help: import from Notion (Importer plugin) — Dynalist Inc. (Obsidian) (2026), vendor page A obsidian.md/help/import/notion (retrieved 2026-11-09)
- Notion help: import data into Notion — Notion Labs (2026), vendor page A www.notion.com/help/import-data-into-notion (retrieved 2026-11-09)