Obsidian
Free (personal) / Sync ~$4 per mo
Evernote
Free / Personal ~$14.99 per mo
Obsidian is a local-first, plain-text knowledge base with linking and a huge plugin ecosystem you fully own. Evernote is a cross-platform notebook with strong web clipping and search. Obsidian wins on privacy, ownership, and linking; Evernote wins on clipping and ease.
Pick Obsidian if you want a private, local-first vault you own, with deep linking and plugins, at a lower price.
Pick Evernote if you want cross-platform notes with strong web clipping and powerful search.
Obsidian and Evernote are both note apps, but they sit on opposite sides of a philosophical line. Obsidian stores plain-text Markdown on your own device, so your notes are private, work offline, and remain readable even if the app disappears, with deep linking, a graph view, and a huge plugin ecosystem. Evernote is the veteran cross-platform notebook, strong on web clipping, document storage, and powerful search across everything you save.
On price, Obsidian is free for personal use (Sync around $4 a month), while Evernote Personal is around $14.99. The choice is mostly privacy, ownership, and linked notes (Obsidian) versus cross-platform clipping and search (Evernote).
We compare privacy, linking, web clipping, cross-platform support, and price.
| Quick facts | Obsidian | Evernote |
|---|---|---|
| Where notes live | Your device (local) | Evernote cloud |
| Price | Free / Sync ~$4/mo | Personal ~$14.99/mo |
| Linked notes / graph | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Web clipping | Good | Best-in-class |
| Best for | Privacy + linking | Clipping + search |
Each row reflects the feature on each product's current public release.
| Feature | O Obsidian | E Evernote |
|---|---|---|
| Local-first / offline | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Plain-text ownership | Yes | No |
| Linked notes / graph view | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Web clipper | Good | Best-in-class |
| Powerful search (incl. PDFs) | Good | Best-in-class |
| Plugin ecosystem | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Cross-platform (Win/Android) | Strong | Best-in-class |
| Lower price | Yes | No |
Pricing and features change often. Always verify the current details on each product's official site. Last reviewed 2026-06-26.
Things neither product's marketing page leads with.
Obsidian gives you privacy, ownership, and powerful linking, but it has a learning curve and lighter clipping.
Evernote is great for clipping and search, but it costs more and your notes live in its cloud.
For a private knowledge base Obsidian wins; for clipping and search Evernote wins.
The average person juggles a dozen subscriptions and forgets at least one. Subkept is a privacy-first subscription tracker: add Obsidian, Evernote, and everything else, then get renewal reminders, price-hike alerts, and a clear monthly total, with no bank connection, ever. Free for up to 5 subscriptions, no time limit.