Obsidian Review - PCMag

Creating notes is an workout successful putting thoughts into words, and everyone thinks differently, truthful note-taking demands flexibility. Obsidian is the astir flexible note-taking app retired there. In software, flexibility usually means a instrumentality tin crook to your desires, but it besides means you mightiness person to walk important clip customizing it. If you request a note-taking strategy to enactment precisely the mode you privation and don't caput taking the clip to get it there, Obsidian is the exertion you should cheque retired first.

How Much Does Obsidian Cost?

Obsidian is escaped for idiosyncratic use. If you similar the exertion you tin wage $25 oregon more, 1 time, to entree aboriginal builds and caller versions. There’s nary enactment offered for the escaped version, conscionable a assemblage forum. Commercial usage costs $50 per idiosyncratic per year, but you get a 14-day escaped proceedings earlier paying. Commercial users are fixed precedence enactment via email. 

There are a mates of optional services beyond this, disposable to some escaped and commercialized users. Sync costs $8 per idiosyncratic per month. This encrypts and syncs your notes straight betwixt devices. Publish costs $16 per idiosyncratic per period and allows you to rapidly people notes to the net and stock them publicly. There are escaped alternatives to each.

How Do Obsidian's Prices Compare With Similar Applications?

Obsidian's escaped mentation is successful immoderate ways much generous and successful immoderate ways little than that of Editor's Choice victor Evernote. Free users get entree to fundamentally everything Obsidian has to offer, but Obsidian doesn't connection immoderate unreality storage. Everything is stored locally connected your device. Evernote has a escaped mentation that tin sync betwixt 2 devices but limits you to 60MB of monthly uploads. That 60MB renews each month, however, truthful your full disposable retention grows each month. Obsidian, connected the different hand, is constricted lone by however overmuch abstraction you person connected your hard drive. Joplin, different Editors' Choice winner, has a akin escaped bring-your-own-storage plan.

Microsoft OneNote, different Editors’ Choice winner, has a much generous escaped mentation than Evernote. Users get entree to each features and there's nary bounds to the fig of devices you tin sync. All files are stored successful Microsoft OneDrive, which offers 5GB of escaped storage. It's not imaginable to usage OneNote without OneDrive, truthful the escaped mentation is efficaciously capped astatine 5GB of full retention adjacent if you're not funny successful unreality storage. Obsidian has nary specified regularisation regarding wherever you store your files, and determination are assorted escaped ways to sync among devices.

Obsidian's paid plans are likewise hard to comparison straight to Evernote, which starts astatine $8.99 per idiosyncratic per month. That's a batch much than Obsidian's Professional plan, which works retired to $4.17 per period (you person to wage for a twelvemonth upfront), but Evernote's paid plans connection syncing and unreality storage, portion Obsidian charges an further $8 per period for syncing. That perchance brings the full outgo of Obsidian to $12.17 per month, each without immoderate unreality storage. OneNote users tin acquisition much retention abstraction by paying $6.99 per period for Microsoft 365, which offers 1TB of retention on with entree to Microsoft Office applications, including Word and Excel. That, frankly, is simply a overmuch amended woody than Obsidian's paid plans. Even Notion charges conscionable $5 per period for a Personal Pro account, which is tailored to powerfulness users.

Obsidian's escaped program is simply a large woody if you're intending to enactment chiefly connected a azygous instrumentality oregon tin enactment retired however to sync its files yourself. Even better, the lone retention regulation is that of your idiosyncratic hard drive. If you privation built-in cloud retention and file-syncing, though, OneNote oregon Evernote are much affordable. 

What Platforms Does Obsidian Run On?

Obsidian offers desktop clients for Windows, macOS, and Linux. There are nary authoritative strategy requirements for Obsidian, but a institution rep told maine they should beryllium akin to Chrome's strategy requirements(Opens successful a caller window) due to the fact that Obsidian is built connected akin bundle (specifically Electron, if you attraction astir specified things). Through this you tin deduce that Obsidian should tally connected Windows 7 and up, macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and up, and Linux distros including Ubuntu 18.04, Debian 10, and openSUSE 15.2 and up. Obsidian has mobile apps for Android (5.0 and up) and iOS (12.1 and up). 

(Credit: Obsidian)

Getting Started With Obsidian

You don't request an relationship oregon a recognition paper to commencement utilizing Obsidian. Just download the application. Next, you request to make a caller Vault, which is truly conscionable a folder connected your device.

After creating your Vault, you tin commencement penning notes, which are conscionable substance documents. You tin resistance implicit attachments and adjacent embed videos and PDFs.

Obsidian Uses Markdown

Formatting is handled with Markdown language. Markdown is simply a lightweight acceptable of codes that you usage to use formatting alternatively of relying connected rich-text formatting options that are communal successful connection processors. If you've ever typed asterisks astir a connection to marque it bold, that's Markdown. Markdown is communal successful messaging apps arsenic good arsenic apps for writers. If you're unfamiliar with Markdown, it'll beryllium your archetypal learning curve successful Obsidian.

I've been utilizing Markdown for each my penning since astir 2011, and I emotion however it reduces frustrating formatting issues. However, immoderate spot Markdown arsenic unintuitive and truthful frustrating, and thing astir Obsidian volition assistance idiosyncratic flooded their aversion to Markdown. By default, Obsidian supports modular keyboard shortcuts and it visually formats the substance for you arsenic you type, which helps, but immoderate radical volition ever spot Markdown arsenic a sticking point.

While you person immoderate enactment open, you tin click a sunglasses icon to spot however the enactment would look successful affluent substance format. You cannot edit notes successful this view, however. You person to power backmost to Markdown to edit.

Organizing Notes

Obsidian offers respective ways to organize your notes. A sheet connected the near shows you your files and folders. You tin besides navigate Vault utilizing File Explorer oregon Mac's Finder (or immoderate record browser you use) to signifier your notes. Any changes you marque connected the desktop are reflected successful Obsidian successful existent time. But the existent magic comes from links.

(Credit: Obsidian/Justin Pot)

Type 2 quadrate brackets and a fewer letters wrong them, and Obsidian drops down a database of immoderate notes that lucifer what you've typed. You tin past prime a enactment to nexus to the existent enactment that you're editing. Or you tin benignant thing wholly caller to make a caller enactment that volition beryllium linked. Clicking the resulting nexus opens the note. The thought is that you tin link ideas to each different and, implicit time, make a web of documents. It’s similar a idiosyncratic wiki. There's adjacent a graph of your full Vault showing however notes interconnect. Depending however you think, this network-style setup whitethorn look either similar a gimmick oregon an absorbing mode to research however your ideas connect.

(Credit: Obsidian)

Obsidian gives you different tools to benignant your notes alphabetically oregon by erstwhile they were created oregon past updated. You tin adhd tags to notes by putting a hash (#) earlier immoderate connection you privation to go a tag. You tin adjacent presumption aggregate notes astatine a clip successful a divided window.

(Credit: Obsidian)

A built-in speedy switcher, triggered with the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl/Cmd-O, allows you to leap to immoderate enactment successful conscionable a fewer keystrokes. A bid palette, recovered successful the sidebar oregon by utilizing the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd-P, lets you tally hundreds of commands—everything from pursuing the nexus nether your cursor to renaming the existent file. It’s similar a implicit bid enactment for your documents, but with a hunt function. It mightiness dependable confusing but it’s hard to unrecorded without erstwhile you accommodate to it.

The bully happening is you don't person to usage each these features if you don't privation to. Or, if it's not enough, you tin adhd overmuch much functionality. 

It's All Just Text Documents

An Obsidian Vault is virtually conscionable a folder afloat of substance documents, meaning you tin browse and adjacent edit your documents without utilizing Obsidian astatine all. The ".md" record hold they each person refers to Markdown. Any substance exertion oregon Markdown exertion tin unfastened this record type. Any changes you marque with different exertion amusement up successful Obsidian immediately. This means your Vault won't go unreadable successful the aboriginal adjacent if Obsidian ceases to exist. You tin ever unfastened your documents with different app. It besides means migrating your notes to immoderate different note-taking app shouldn't beryllium difficult. Most note-taking apps connection immoderate benignant of export feature, granted, but with Obsidian, you don't request one. Everything is already successful an unfastened format, which should springiness you bid of mind.

(Credit: Justin Pot)

Another vantage of this setup is that you tin store and sync your Obsidian Vault utilizing immoderate unreality retention service, alternatively of paying for Sync. 

Hundreds of Extensions

Obsidian's top spot is its plug-in ecosystem. There are, arsenic of this writing, 724 plug-ins, which you tin find successful the Settings. They're besides listed connected Obsidian's website(Opens successful a caller window).

Plug-ins adhd each kinds of functionality. A Kanban hold turns a elemental substance papers into a implicit Trello alternative. Another 1 adds a calendar, cleanable for creating a diary of notes. Some plug-ins adhd caput mapping oregon task management. There are plug-ins that adhd functionality, similar the quality to embed tweets and YouTube videos. 

(Credit: Obsidian)

I could walk each time listing plug-ins and talking astir the themes that let you to alteration however Obsidian looks. The main happening you request to cognize is that if you tin ideate immoderate functionality that a note-taking app should have, likelihood are you tin adhd it. No different note-taking app we've tested offers this functionality—not adjacent our Editors’ Choice winners. 

Mobile Apps That Act Like Desktop Apps

Obsidian's mobile apps are unsocial successful that they're not conscionable simplified versions of the desktop app. Instead, each diagnostic offered successful the desktop app is here, including implicit enactment for plug-ins. I tested Obsidian connected an Android telephone and an iPad—the functionality is similar. 

(Credit: Obsidian)

You tin resistance down from the apical barroom to trigger the bid palette, allowing you to trigger immoderate of the commands successful the desktop version. You tin format substance utilizing Markdown, oregon by utilizing the toolbar supra your keyboard. That toolbar, by the way, tin beryllium wholly customized, allowing you to trigger your astir utilized formatting options oregon different tools portion editing text. 

Basically, the Obsidian squad recovered a mode to physique a instrumentality for powerfulness users successful the mobile context. There's nary compromise here, which is impressive. 

What's Missing From Obsidian?

Obsidian is almighty but it's missing a fewer features recovered successful different note-taking apps. For one, you get nary collaboration features whatsoever. Obsidian is designed for a azygous idiosyncratic to usage due to the fact that it runs locally connected your instrumentality alternatively of successful the cloud. Anyone who depends connected collaboration features successful their note-taking app should look astatine OneNote oregon Evernote instead. 

There isn't immoderate built-in enactment for handwriting designation either, and you can't usage the exertion to scan documents and adhd them to your Vault the mode you tin with OneNote and Evernote. It's imaginable to usage third-party bundle for these things, and it's besides imaginable idiosyncratic mightiness physique plug-ins for these features successful the future, but Obsidian mightiness not beryllium close for you successful its existent signifier if you beryllium connected specified features.

Having said that, the plug-in ecosystem means determination are hundreds of niche-use cases that Obsidian tin grip that applications similar OneNote and Evernote can't. Still, if collaboration and importing insubstantial documents are important to you, look elsewhere. 

If you privation a note-taking app that manages retention and syncing for you, Obsidian isn't the champion stake due to the fact that you request the paid mentation for that, and it's costly compared with akin applications. However, you bash get an full twelvemonth of mentation past with the paid version, which is simply a immense plus. 

Another woody breaker for immoderate is that there's nary web app for Obsidian, though determination are workarounds. Apple users tin sync their lawsuit utilizing iCloud, for example, which means you tin unfastened your substance files utilizing the online mentation of Pages via iCloud.com. Android users tin look into solutions including Resilio Sync(Opens successful a caller window) oregon the open-source Syncthing(Opens successful a caller window). It's messy, but you get a large woody of flexibility. 

A Solid Note-Taking App With Sharp Edges

Obsidian is named aft the volcanic solid that forms erstwhile lava cools rapidly. This solid is beauteous to behold, and cultures each implicit the satellite uses it to marque tools for cutting and piercing. In modern times radical person adjacent utilized it to marque scalpels. It's not the easiest worldly to use, granted, but for definite cases it's perfect. 

That's a decent summary of Obsidian, the app. It's an highly versatile note-taking app and immoderate radical volition extremity up swearing by it. I tin personally accidental that it's changed my life—I can't ideate having a palmy freelance vocation without it. Still, Obsidian isn't for everyone. Those looking for a much accepted note-taking app should cheque retired OneNote, Evernote, oregon Joplin, our Editors’ Choice winners. But if you privation to tweak your note-taking strategy until it works precisely the mode you want, cheque retired Obsidian.