vioscaleAI
Comparison

Notion vs Obsidian

On the evidence we track, Obsidian leads this comparison with a composite score of 71/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Notion full profile →Obsidian full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Notion65
★Obsidian71
Score
vioscaleAI score
Notion65 / 100medium · 60%
Obsidian71 / 100medium · 53%
Pricing
Free tier
Notion✓
Obsidian✓
Model
Notionfreemium
Obsidianfreemium
Price level
Notionlow
Obsidianlow
Starting price
Notion$0.00
Obsidian–
Transparent
Notion✗
Obsidian✓
Integrations
Count
Notion48
Obsidian20
Security
Certifications
NotionSOC 2 Type II
Obsidian–
Disclosure policy
Notion✓
Obsidian–
Gdpr
Notion✓
Obsidian–
Hipaa
Notion✓
Obsidian–
Iso27001
Notion✓
Obsidian–
Soc2
Notion✓
Obsidian–
Trust center
Reliability
Status page
Notion✓
Obsidian✓
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Notion7 items
Obsidian6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for knowledge base software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

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

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Notion

A platform that enables teams to centralize information, search and retrieve answers across connected tools and content, and automate tasks using AI-powered capabilities integrated throughout the workspace.

Independently observed

Obsidian

Leader

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.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Notion

freemiumFree tier
  • FreeFree
  • Plus-
  • Business-
  • EnterpriseContact sales
as of verify ↗

Obsidian

Leader
from $4/moHybridFree tier

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.

  • FreeFree
    • Local note storage
    • Plugins and themes
    • Bidirectional linking
    • Graph visualization
    • Offline access
  • Sync$4/user/mo (annual) or $5/user/mo (monthly)
    • Sync across devices
    • End-to-end encryption
    • Version history
    • Collaborative vaults
    • Priority support
  • Publish$8/site/mo (annual) or $10/site/mo (monthly)
    • Publish to web
    • Customizable theme
    • Full-text search
    • Graph view
    • No coding required
    • +1 more
  • Catalyst$25 one-time
    • Early access to beta versions
    • Community badges
    • Exclusive channels
  • Commercial$50/user/year
    • Support development
    • Featured organization badge
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Notion✓
Obsidian✓
iOS
Notion✓
Obsidian✓
Android
Notion✓
Obsidian✓
macOS
Notion✓
Obsidian✓
Windows
Notion✓
Obsidian✗
Linux
Notion✓
Obsidian✗
CLI
Notion✓
Obsidian✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Notion✓
Obsidian✓
Self-hosted
Notion✗
Obsidian✓
Hybrid
Notion✗
Obsidian✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (2)
  • YouTube
  • Stripe

Notion

55 total - 53 not shared
  • Figma
  • GitHub
  • Slack
  • Jira
  • Amplitude
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Calendar
  • Gmail
  • Google Drive
  • Cursor
  • Claude Agents
  • Zendesk
  • Salesforce
  • Loom
  • Linear
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • OneLogin
  • Rippling
  • Outlook
  • Notion Calendar
  • Asana
  • Trello
  • Datadog
  • +29 more
Independently observed

Obsidian

Leader
22 total - 20 not shared
  • Apple Notes
  • Notion
  • Evernote
  • Roam Research
  • Google Keep
  • OneNote
  • Airtable
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Firefox
  • Edge
  • Brave
  • Arc
  • Orion
  • Vivaldi
  • WeChat
  • Alipay
  • PayPal
  • Discord
  • Twitter
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Notion or Obsidian: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.