Obsidian
Free (personal) / Sync ~$4 per mo
OneNote
Free (with a Microsoft account)
Obsidian is a local-first, plain-text knowledge base with linking and plugins that you fully own. OneNote is Microsoft's free, flexible notebook with a freeform canvas and tight Microsoft 365 integration. Obsidian wins on privacy, ownership, and linked notes; OneNote wins on freeform flexibility and being free.
Pick Obsidian if you want a private, local-first notes vault you fully own, with deep linking, a graph view, and plugins.
Pick OneNote if you want a free, flexible freeform notebook with ink and media anywhere, especially within Microsoft 365.
Obsidian and OneNote are both beloved note apps, but they sit on opposite sides of a philosophical line. Obsidian stores plain-text Markdown files 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 for power users. OneNote is Microsoft's free notebook, built around a flexible freeform canvas where you can place text, images, and ink anywhere, with tight Microsoft 365 integration.
On price, Obsidian is free for personal use (with paid add-ons like Sync around $4 a month), and OneNote is free with a Microsoft account. The choice is mostly privacy, ownership, and linked notes (Obsidian) versus a free, flexible freeform notebook (OneNote).
We compare privacy, structure, freeform notes, plugins, and price.
| Quick facts | Obsidian | OneNote |
|---|---|---|
| Where notes live | Your device (local files) | Microsoft cloud |
| Price | Free / Sync ~$4/mo | Free (Microsoft account) |
| Linked notes / graph | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Freeform canvas | Limited | Best-in-class |
| Best for | Privacy + linked notes | Free + flexible notebook |
Each row reflects the feature on each product's current public release.
| Feature | O Obsidian | O OneNote |
|---|---|---|
| Local-first / offline | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Plain-text ownership | Yes | No |
| Linked notes / graph view | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Freeform / canvas notes | Limited | Best-in-class |
| Plugin ecosystem | Huge | Limited |
| Microsoft 365 integration | No | Native |
| Fully free | Personal use | Yes |
| Privacy (data on your device) | Yes | No |
Pricing and features change often. Always verify the current details on each product's official site. Last reviewed 2026-06-23.
Things neither product's marketing page leads with.
Obsidian gives you privacy, ownership, and powerful linking, but has a learning curve and stores notes locally by default.
OneNote is free and flexible with a freeform canvas, but it lives in Microsoft's cloud and lacks Obsidian's linking and plugins.
For a private knowledge base Obsidian leads; for a free, casual notebook OneNote is hard to beat.
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