# Microsoft OneNote vs Obsidian

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Obsidian

| Attribute | Microsoft OneNote | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 34.7 (27% (low)) | 74.5 (55% (medium)) |
| 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"}` |
| 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"}]` |
| market.availability | - | `{"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":"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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:44:19.891Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*