Obsidian vs Apple Notes
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Obsidian is the better app overall, scoring 9.3 to 9.0. Obsidian wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Apple Notes on 2.
Writers, students and researchers building up their notes for years
iPhone, iPad and Mac owners who want a fast, free place for everyday notes
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Obsidian | Apple Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #2 of 17 | #5 of 17 |
| Developer | Dynalist Inc. | Apple |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | — |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | — |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Obsidian better than Apple Notes?
Obsidian is the better app overall, scoring 9.3 to 9.0. Obsidian wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Apple Notes on 2.
Which is cheaper, Obsidian or Apple Notes?
Obsidian: Free app; Sync from $4/month and Publish from $8/month, billed yearly. Apple Notes: Free; syncs with 5 GB of free iCloud storage, and iCloud+ starts at $0.99 a month. On value for money, Apple Notes scores higher.
Do Obsidian and Apple Notes work on the same devices?
Only Obsidian runs on Android, Windows, Linux. Only Apple Notes runs on Web.
Which is more private, Obsidian or Apple Notes?
Obsidian scores higher on privacy (9.7/10). The App Store label says no data is collected, and there are no ads or tracking. Notes are local files on your device, and the optional Sync service is end-to-end encrypted by default.
Strengths and weaknesses
Obsidian
- Notes are files on your device that stay yours forever
- Fast, works fully offline, and no account needed
- Free for personal and work use
- Hard to learn, with lots of setup choices
- Official sync and publishing cost extra
Obsidian keeps your notes as plain text files (Markdown) on your own device. You own them outright, and they work offline. Backlinks, graph view, Canvas and Bases turn a folder of notes into a web of linked ideas. Bases now has table, list and kanban views. Community plugins cover almost anything else. The app is free for any use. The catch: it takes time to learn, and official sync costs extra.
Full Obsidian review
Apple Notes
- Free and built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac
- Handwriting, scans, tables and transcripts in one app
- No tracking, according to the App Store label
- No Android or Windows app, only iCloud.com in a browser
- Free iCloud storage is just 5 GB
- Not end-to-end encrypted unless you turn on Advanced Data Protection
Apple Notes is free, already on your iPhone, iPad and Mac, and a lot better than most people think. You get checklists, tables, document scanning, handwriting, Math Notes and audio recordings with written transcripts. Share notes with family, lock private ones and export to Markdown. Everything syncs through iCloud. The catch is that it lives in Apple's world, with only a web version for Windows and Android.
Full Apple Notes review
