# Google Docs vs Obsidian

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Obsidian

| Attribute | Google Docs | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 68.3 (39% (low)) | 74.5 (55% (medium)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A cloud-hosted word processor that allows multiple users to simultaneously edit, comment, and format documents with real-time visibility into changes. Includes AI-powered writing assistance and works with or without internet connectivity. | 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","sso_scim":true,"api_access":true,"local_first":true,"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"}` |
| integrations.count | 21 | 20 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Gmail"},{"name":"Google Drive"},{"name":"Google Meet"},{"name":"Google Chat"},{"name":"Google Calendar"},{"name":"Google Sheets"},{"name":"Google Slides"},{"name":"Google Forms"},{"name":"Google Sites"},{"name":"Google Keep"},{"name":"Google Tasks"},{"name":"Gemini"},{"name":"Gemini Notebook"},{"name":"Google Vids"},{"name":"Studio"},{"name":"Apps Script"},{"name":"Google Voice"},{"name":"AppSheet"},{"name":"Vault"},{"name":"Endpoint Management"},{"name":"Admin Console"}]` | `[{"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"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"CA","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"android":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"£5.90/user/month","features":["30 GB pooled storage per person","Secure custom business email","Gemini AI assistant in Gmail","Video meetings (100 participants)","Google Vids","Security and management controls"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":5.9,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"30 GB pooled"}},{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"£11.80/user/month","features":["2 TB storage","Secure custom business email with custom layouts and mail merge","Gemini AI assistant in Gmail, Docs, Meet, and more","Gemini Notebook with expanded features","Video meetings with recording and noise cancellation (150 participants)","Appointment booking pages","eSignature with Docs and PDFs","Google Workspace Migrate tool"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":11.8,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"2 TB"}},{"free":false,"name":"Plus","summary":"£18.40/user/month","features":["5 TB storage","Secure custom business email with eDiscovery","Video meetings with attendance tracking (500 participants)","Vault for data retention and search","Secure LDAP","Advanced endpoint management","Enhanced security and management controls"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":18.4,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"5 TB"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing. Contact sales.","features":["5 TB storage (upgradeable)","Secure custom business email with S/MIME encryption","Video meetings with in-domain live streaming (1000 participants)","Data loss prevention (DLP)","Context-aware access","Enterprise data regions","Cloud Identity Premium","Enterprise endpoint management","AI Classification for Google Drive","Enhanced Support for critical issues"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"storage":"5 TB or more"}}],"summary":"From £5.90/user/month. 14-day free trial.","currency":"GBP","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://workspace.google.com/products/docs/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-01T14:21:03.438Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":5.9,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"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 | no | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |

## Capabilities (Knowledge Base Software)

| Capability | Google Docs | 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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:47:40.436Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*