# Microsoft OneNote vs Obsidian

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Obsidian

| Attribute | Microsoft OneNote | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 42.3 (27% (low)) | 70.5 (53% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Digital note-taking app that lets you capture ideas, organize projects, and collaborate with others across all your devices. It is indexed under Knowledge Base Software.","source":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onenote/digital-note-taking-app","question":"What is Microsoft OneNote?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Microsoft OneNote is a paid product; published pricing starts at $32 per user per month. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onenote/digital-note-taking-app","question":"How much does Microsoft OneNote cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Microsoft OneNote. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onenote/digital-note-taking-app","question":"What platforms does Microsoft OneNote support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Microsoft OneNote, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onenote/digital-note-taking-app","question":"Can Microsoft OneNote be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6}]` | `[{"answer":"Obsidian is a note-taking and knowledge management tool that stores data locally on your device by default, with optional end-to-end encrypted cloud synchronization. You can organize notes through bidirectional linking, customize the interface with plugins and themes, and publish content to the web. It is indexed under Knowledge Base Software.","source":"https://obsidian.md/pricing","question":"What is Obsidian?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Obsidian offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $4 per user per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://obsidian.md/pricing","question":"Is Obsidian free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Obsidian supports Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://obsidian.md","question":"What platforms does Obsidian support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Obsidian can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://obsidian.md/pricing","question":"Can Obsidian be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 19 integrations for Obsidian, including Apple Notes, Notion, Evernote, Roam Research, Google Keep, OneNote, Airtable and Chrome, plus 11 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://obsidian.md/pricing","question":"What does Obsidian integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Obsidian is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in Canada.","source":"https://obsidian.md/pricing","question":"Where is Obsidian available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Digital note-taking app that lets you capture ideas, organize projects, and collaborate with others across all your devices. | Obsidian is a note-taking and knowledge management tool that stores data locally on your device by default, with optional end-to-end encrypted cloud synchronization. You can organize notes through bidirectional linking, customize the interface with plugins and themes, and publish content to the web. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"cloud","ai_assistant":true,"real_time_coediting":true}` | `{"hosting":"both","sso_scim":false,"free_tier":true,"api_access":true,"local_first":true,"ai_assistant":true,"markdown_native":true,"version_history":true,"databases_tables":true,"public_publishing":true,"bidirectional_links":true,"real_time_coediting":false,"verification_expiry":false,"permissions_granularity":"workspace","bi_directional_backlinking_network":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 20 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Apple Notes"},{"name":"Notion"},{"name":"Evernote"},{"name":"Roam Research"},{"name":"Google Keep"},{"name":"OneNote"},{"name":"Airtable"},{"name":"Chrome"},{"name":"Safari"},{"name":"Firefox"},{"name":"Edge"},{"name":"Brave"},{"name":"Arc"},{"name":"Orion"},{"name":"Vivaldi"},{"name":"Stripe"},{"name":"WeChat"},{"name":"Alipay"},{"name":"PayPal"},{"name":"Discord"},{"name":"YouTube","native":false,"direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Twitter","native":false,"direction":"inbound"}]` |
| market.availability | - | `{"hqCountry":"CA","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"ios":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"android":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot","summary":"$32.00/user/month, billed annually","features":["Copilot in OneNote for drafting and organizing","Sketch, annotate, and highlight with digital ink","Share and collaborate","Accessible across desktop, web, and mobile"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":32,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"OneNote included with Copilot and other Microsoft 365 business apps","contactSales":false}],"summary":"$32.00/user/month, billed annually as part of Microsoft 365 Business Premium","currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onenote/digital-note-taking-app","retrievedAt":"2026-08-01T14:59:24.955Z","startingPrice":{"amount":32,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["year"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free","features":["Local note storage","Plugins and themes","Bidirectional linking","Graph visualization","Offline access"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":null,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Core app without sync or publish services","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Sync","summary":"$4/user/mo (annual) or $5/user/mo (monthly)","features":["Sync across devices","End-to-end encryption","Version history","Collaborative vaults","Priority support"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":4,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Synchronize notes across devices with end-to-end encryption","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Publish","summary":"$8/site/mo (annual) or $10/site/mo (monthly)","features":["Publish to web","Customizable theme","Full-text search","Graph view","No coding required","Priority support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"site","amount":8,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Publish notes to the web as a wiki or knowledge base","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Catalyst","summary":"$25 one-time","features":["Early access to beta versions","Community badges","Exclusive channels"],"components":[{"kind":"one_time","amount":25,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"One-time license for early access to beta features and community perks","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Commercial","summary":"$50/user/year","features":["Support development","Featured organization badge"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":50,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Annual license for organizational support","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free app with optional Sync ($4-5/user/mo), Publish ($8-10/site/mo), Catalyst ($25 one-time), or Commercial ($50/user/year) licenses. 40% discount for students, faculty, and nonprofits.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://obsidian.md/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:22:04.285Z","startingPrice":{"amount":4,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | low |
| pricing.transparent | no | yes |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Knowledge Base Software)

| Capability | Microsoft OneNote | Obsidian |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Collaboration** |  |  |
| Real-time co-editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Content** |  |  |
| Structured database / table blocks | - | ✓ |
| Bidirectional links / backlinks | - | ✓ |
| Markdown-native | - | ✓ |
| Version history | - | ✓ |
| **Storage** |  |  |
| Local-first / offline files | - | ✓ |
| **AI** |  |  |
| AI writing / Q&A over content | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Publishing** |  |  |
| Publish pages to the web | - | ✓ |
| **Access** |  |  |
| Permissions granularity | - | Workspace |
| **Knowledge** |  |  |
| Answer verification / expiry | - | ✗ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **Enterprise** |  |  |
| SSO / SCIM | - | ✗ |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Public API | - | ✓ |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Free tier | - | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:03:09.562Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*