Obsidian
Obsidian is a locally stored note-taking application with millions of PKM fans.
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Obsidian Reviews
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Samat Smakov
Jan 25
Workflow Wizard
9.6 out of 10 stars
fastest note-taking
Obsidian is hands down one of the fastest note-taking apps I’ve ever used. It’s packed with features like backlinks, markdown, and endless customization options, making it perfect for organizing thoughts and connecting ideas. If you’re serious about note-taking, this app is a game-changer.
Jyotirmya Anant
Dec 24
Distraction Deflector
9.0 out of 10 stars
The note taking powerhouse
Obsidian is one of those tools that I fell in love instantly. It's an app with which you will probably have a love hate relationship at some point but the key to it all is to keep it simple. Obsidian is a true powerhouse note taking application that can be as simple or as complex as you want with tons of options for customization. With several plugins being added to enhance the functionality of Obsidian, it can be almost anything you want it to be.
Michael Heimel
Dec 24
Inbox Invincible
8.4 out of 10 stars
Effective but Difficult to Learn
I used Obsidian to take some notes for books and connect them through some similarities. I was able to do so, but it was a bit difficult to learn. This tool does have the ability to be very effective if you understand all the different tools and functions, but it is a steep learning curve. I eventually decided to move all of my notes over to Capacities because it was easier to understand and more aesthetic.
Diamantis Falidas
Dec 24
Workflow Wizard
8.2 out of 10 stars
Most expandable PKM tool in the market
The coolest part of Obsidian is that you can very easily modify and extend it through the many plugins that exist in its vibrant community making it to best suit your needs and note taking habits. The sky is the limit on what you can do with it. I comes though with a steep learning curve as you need to adapt it to you in order to get the most out of it
Vardhan Shafi
Dec 24
Workflow Wizard
8.2 out of 10 stars
If only it had better task management
It's a great note taking app with an active community that comes up with new plugins regularly. If it had a better task management, I'd use it. Unfortunately you have to sacrifice too much in order to manage your tasks on it as well.
Corey Neskey
Dec 24
Time-Management Titan
8.8 out of 10 stars
The Dvorak keyboard of note taking
You can do anything with Obsidian... but you will have to learn how to do it and that turns a lot of people away. You don't have to learn much but you may be put off as re-learning how to do something as basic as italicizing text or making a hyperlink. Obsidian is to note taking as [Dvorak keyboards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_keyboard_layout) are to typing. Word processors, including Word and Google Docs, were structured for different times. With a little patience, if you learn Obsidian's flavor or markdown and workflow you'll be faster and your information will be more accessible in the long run. Finally, unlike other tools that require garbage collection and re-organization, the way Obsidian works is such that w/o trying, the benefits of your hoarding are cumulative and require no maintenance. - Learning how to do it: Obsidian experiences start with something like blank page anxiety. We're used to having to come up with organizational structures first but with Obsidian you don't have to. Just write and make connections with brackets. - Different times: Busy toolbars and taskbars are not necessary for 90% of note taking so Obsidian hides them. Word processors had to because the features were new to everyone. Same with hotkeys. People are comfortable enough with them now. Obsidian lets you customize them to an absurd degree even without community contributed plugins. - Accessible long term: If Obsidian goes out of business, you'll still have its fully functional editor. If that somehow gets squashed. You'll still have all of your notes in markdown. You can open markdown in any word processor or other tool and you can convert markdown to those formats if you need to. - No maintenance required: You don't need folders or naming conventions. When you're in a note you can see which notes refer to it and notes it refers to. You can view the recursive spread of a cascade of connected notes.
Trying Tools
Dec 24
Distraction Deflector
8.8 out of 10 stars
Brain second brain app if you know what you're doing
It is a markdown based app so the notes will live forever. You can sync your notes using their service or use external services if you can find a way. Overall, highly recommend Obsidian for keeping your snippets of notes but if you want to build the structure yourself, there is some learning curve to this tool.
Lohith Dhaksha
Dec 24
Workflow Wizard
9.6 out of 10 stars
This app transformed my thinking!
I have been using Obsidian for more than 2 years. It has changed a way of thinking. It has been the reason why I open up my daily note and do journaling. It has introduced me to the world of PKM and which am still curious about it. I don't usually stick to an app for more than 3 months and here are few reasons which is making me to stay with it even after 2 years. 1. Offline access - I do most of my journaling and notemaking offline and it has been a bliss doing offline. I feel totally I am in control of the time I write. 2. Plain text files - All my notes reside in plain text files using markdown format which is making me easy to carry the files to any other app. I need not depend on obsidian to open my notes. I have full control over my data. 3. Extensive customisation - with over 2k+ plugins, you can expand the functionality of your vault like automating stuffs, creating custom queries to visualise your data in a different dimensions. 4. Infinite canvas - I use this whenever I have to plan something or feeling overwhelmed with information. Canvas helps me to visualise and connect those dots to get a big picture. 5. Aesthetic themes - There are more than 500+ themes to choose from for your vault. Whenever I feel bored of writing, instantly changing the theme changes the mood which makes me keep going. Though there are many positives, on other end there are few things which has been a pain even after using it for 2 years. 1. No native AI integration - Though AI can be integrated into your vault using community plugins, still Obsidian is lacking a native AI integration. They have been staying away citing privacy. 2. Not beginner friendly - With extensive customisation and plugins, beginners often tend to fall into the plugin trap making them feel overwhelmed. This has been a sole reason why many aren't able to stick with it for longer period. Overall it's a great app to make notes and find meaningful connections. Build a system like you think.
Thomas Breindl
Dec 24
Inbox Invincible
9.6 out of 10 stars
Top choice for distraction-free note-taking
Its strength lies in its use of Markdown, which, while requiring a bit of a learning curve, becomes incredibly powerful once mastered. The platform's true potential is unlocked through its extensive plugin ecosystem, allowing users to tailor the experience to their specific needs. Additionally, Obsidian's endless customizability ensures that it can adapt to a wide range of use cases, making it a favourite among power users and those who appreciate a personalized workspace. While the initial adjustment to Markdown might be a hurdle for some, the flexibility and depth Obsidian offers make it a top-tier choice for anyone serious about managing their knowledge effectively.
Diogo Silva
Dec 24
Distraction Deflector
9.6 out of 10 stars
Very pleasurable and mindful
Super personalized, made to serve you and not for you to serve the tool. You can do almost anything because of the immense amount of plugins and not only that but also the fact that everything is in markdown, so they are timeless!
Joseph Goodman
Dec 24
Sultan of Streamlining
9.0 out of 10 stars
The only PKM App
Love obsidian for personal knowledge management. It's the only tool I'll use for capturing ideas, book notes, and writings to link together. The best part is that it's just a fancy wrapper for markdown files. Meaning you own your writing, it's available offline, and if Obsidian disappears, your files are still right there. Community plugins are great to transform Obsidian into whatever kind of app you want, from a simple text editor to a database focused task and project management software, integrated into your entire app ecosystem.
Andrew Shell
Dec 24
Focus Wizard
9.8 out of 10 stars
Obsidian is my daily driver
I use Obsidian every day. I came to it from Roam and Logseq, and this is where I landed. I love storing everything as markdown files on my drive, and syncing works very well. My main vault uses Obsidian Sync and I've never had issues with it across all my devices. One big win with Obsidian is that plugins work on desktop and mobile, so I don't need to worry about having a different experience on my iPhone vs. laptop vs. iPad.
Mike Dionne
Dec 24
Pastor
9.6 out of 10 stars
Not simple, but simply the best
Obsidian takes work--more work than Capacities or Roam or even Notion. But it works well, and it does what you want it to do. It makes it possible for you to have all of your notes work together, in one place. And the amount of customisation and options available is incredible. The best use of money, the best app, one of the best apps I've ever used. I've drifted away before but I always come back.
Adam Hoffman
Dec 24
Time-Management Titan
8.2 out of 10 stars
I really wanted to love Obsidian
Last year I came across Obsidian, and I will admit, I fell in love. This app introduced me to the world of markdown (I know I'm late to the game, but I have no idea why anyone complains about markdown. It saves so much time). As well I like how I could utilize icloud for seamless syncing, could make connections easily across notes and customize my experience to my heart's content. I also explored connecting the app to Matter and Kindle to take my notetaking to the next level. I probably annoyed anyone I talked it, Obsidian was all I could talk about. The honeymoon phase started to wane after a few months. The customization I loved soon became a huge distraction. I could never get the app "Just Right". There is also a decent learning curve with the app, and I would have to spend countless hours digging through tutorials. All of this takes away from being productive. I also use an iPad, and while using Obsidian, I found I missed the ability to make handwritten notes. Sometimes I switch this up on mood, and I would rather not lose notes across multiple apps. While Obsidian ultimately didn't work for me as my go to app, I still use it for specific use cases. This is mostly for the ability to highlight text in Kindle and export it to Obisidan for later review and notetaking. I still think Obsidian is a great app, and there are a number of reasions why it should be considered as your preferred note-taking app, especially if you use the the more complex note-taking systems out there. If you want to make connections across notes, love an active community and access to plugins for a customized experience and don't mind the time it takes to get set up, Obsidan could be right for you.
Gogi Rogi
Nov 24
Inbox Invincible
8.4 out of 10 stars
Too much freedom, but great otherwise
Obsidian was the first tool I used in the PKM space, but I stopped using it because personally for me it was not scalable when I had hundreds of notes. It could be due to my inefficient tagging or foldering system, but I needed something more stringent. On top of this, there were way too many choices for plugins, which made me distracted easily and I spent more time tweaking plugins than using Obsidian over the past two years, I wasn't that efficient at all. However, it is great because it's free. There's a great iCloud sync which I use. Notes load up instantly because it's all local on my MacBook. It's a reliable piece of software. I love that the notes are portable, meaning that they're not in any weird format because if you export from some platforms (like AnyType, Capacities and etc.) that save their properties, when you load it to other software it makes it look ugly because it's markdown with extra metadata that is not parsable.
Anna Here
Nov 24
Workflow Wizard
10 out of 10 stars
Distraction free note-taking
Obsidan can be anything you want it to be. I find it is wonderful for working without distraction. I can easily change the looks, create links, a kanban or a canvas from my notes. It's limitless. The Obsidian sync feature is super fast and accurate. The license to get early releases is a one-time $25.00 fee - a bargain. Their new clipper feature incorporates notes and highlights to read later without having to go through something like Readwise Reader - and it's free. It's for serious notetaking, or unserious notetaking. It's for whatever you want.
Gabriele Luca
Nov 24
Sultan of Streamlining
8.2 out of 10 stars
My digital second brain
After using Obsidian for a year, I can confidently say it's become an indispensable part of my digital life. As someone who loves to learn, write, and organize information, Obsidian has provided me with a powerful and flexible tool to manage my thoughts and projects.
Anne B
May 24
Chief Efficiency Overlord
10 out of 10 stars
Great for Writers
I used to use Scrivener - but you have to manually make incremental backups, which is crazy. I can sync this securely and adapt it to my needs and the project I'm working on. It's beautiful and simple to use if you keep the setup simple. I love changing the theme whenever I need a change or feel a little stuck. There's a great community on Discord where people are always available to offer help.