Obsidian is the better app overall, scoring 9.3 to 8.9. Obsidian wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Things 3 on 2.
Writers, students and researchers building a long-term personal knowledge base
Apple users who want a calm, personal task manager without a subscription
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Obsidian | Things 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #2 of 13 | #7 of 13 |
| Developer | Dynalist Inc. | Cultured Code |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Paid |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | — |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | — |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Obsidian better than Things 3?
Obsidian is the better app overall, scoring 9.3 to 8.9. Obsidian wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Things 3 on 2.
Which is cheaper, Obsidian or Things 3?
Obsidian: Free app; Sync from $4/month and Publish from $8/month, billed yearly. Things 3: One-time purchase: $9.99 iPhone, $19.99 iPad, $49.99 Mac. On value for money, Obsidian scores higher.
Do Obsidian and Things 3 work on the same devices?
Only Obsidian runs on Android, Windows, Linux.
Which is more private, Obsidian or Things 3?
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 local files that stay yours forever
- Fast and fully usable offline, with no account needed
- Free for personal and commercial use
- Steep learning curve with many setup choices
- Official sync and publishing are paid add-ons
Obsidian keeps your notes as plain Markdown files on your own device, so you own them outright and they work offline. Backlinks, graph view, Canvas and Bases, which now includes table, list and kanban views, turn a folder of notes into a connected knowledge base, and community plugins cover almost anything else. The app is free for any use. The catch is the learning curve, and official sync costs extra.
Full Obsidian review
Things 3
- Calm, polished design that makes planning easy
- Fast, reliable sync across Apple devices
- One-time purchase with no subscription
- Apple devices only, with no web access
- No shared lists or team collaboration
- Buying for Mac, iPhone and iPad adds up
Things 3 is the most pleasant task manager on Apple devices. Every screen is calm and clear, and Today, This Evening, Areas and headings make planning feel easy rather than fiddly. This year's updates added Siri to-do creation, Spotlight search and smarter repeating to-dos, and Things Cloud sync is reliable. The catch: there are no Windows, Android or web apps, no shared lists, and you buy each platform separately.
Full Things 3 review
