Obsidian pricing
Obsidian offers a free plan with paid upgrades. You can start for free and pay only when you need higher limits, advanced features or team seats.
What you get on the free vs paid plan
Obsidian's free plan lets you use local-first storage as plain markdown files you own and bidirectional links with a visual graph of connections without paying. Paid plans typically unlock higher usage limits, advanced capabilities and team or collaboration features — the things you tend to hit once the tool becomes part of your daily workflow. That makes the free tier a genuine way to evaluate Obsidian before you spend anything.
Is Obsidian worth the price?
Obsidian is most praised for your notes are plain files on your disk — no lock-in and no vendor dependency. The most common caveat is that significant setup effort before it feels like a coherent system. Whether it is worth paying for comes down to how central note-taking tools is to your work: use it daily and a paid plan usually pays for itself; reach for it only occasionally and you are better off starting with the free tier and the cheaper alternatives below.
AI Note-Taking Tools pricing compared
Of the 6 comparable note-taking tools tools below, 5 offer a free or freemium plan and 1 are paid-only. Obsidian itself is freemium, so you can start without a credit card. If price is your main constraint, Anytype and Notion are worth a look first.
| Tool | Pricing | Cheapest paid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anytype | Freemium | $4 | Pricing → |
| Notion | Freemium | $10 | Pricing → |
| Tana | Freemium | $20 | Pricing → |
| Capacities | Freemium | ₹419 | Pricing → |
| Reflect | Paid | $Infinity | Pricing → |
| NotebookLM | Free | $Infinity | Pricing → |
Obsidian pricing: FAQ
Is Obsidian free?+
Obsidian has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Some advanced features may require a paid plan — check the official site for current limits.
How much does Obsidian cost?+
Obsidian offers a free plan with paid upgrades. You can start for free and pay only when you need higher limits, advanced features or team seats. Plans and prices change often, so confirm the latest on the official Obsidian pricing page before purchasing.
Does Obsidian offer a free trial?+
Obsidian has a free tier, so a separate trial is usually unnecessary — you can start using it at no cost today.
Is Obsidian cheaper than its alternatives?+
In note-taking tools, 5 of the comparable tools we list offer a free or freemium plan (including Anytype and Notion). If lowest cost is the priority, start with those; if you specifically need what Obsidian does best, its freemium pricing is competitive for the category.
What are cheaper alternatives to Obsidian?+
Browse the Obsidian alternatives page for similar tools in AI Note-Taking Tools, including free and freemium options.