Agenda vs Obsidian

Agenda

• People whose notes revolve around meetings and dates
• Apple users who want notes tied to Calendar and Reminders
• Project work where older notes need to stay in context

Obsidian

• People who want their notes as plain Markdown files they control
• Building a linked personal knowledge base that works offline
• Users who like to customize an app with plugins and themes

Agenda

• Available only on Apple devices: Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
• Templates, saved searches, inviting others to collaborate on a note and creating calendar events inside Agenda are Premium features.
• Free accounts get an Agenda watermark on printouts and exported PDFs; removing it is a Premium bonus.
• Sync relies on your own iCloud or Dropbox account.

Obsidian

• There is no web app; Obsidian runs as desktop and mobile apps only.
• Obsidian Sync is a paid add-on, from $4 per user / month billed annually.
• Sync Standard covers 1 vault with 1 GB of storage and a 5 MB file size limit; larger limits need Sync Plus.
• Publishing notes to the web is billed separately from Sync, at $8 per site / month on annual billing.

Agenda

Dated notes on a timeline

Notes sit in project timelines, can carry dates and link to calendar events, so past, current and upcoming notes are seen together.

On the Agenda

Mark notes as current to collect them in a dedicated sidebar group and find them faster in search.

Reminders and calendar events

Calendar events and due reminders appear in one scrolling timeline. Creating and editing events and reminders from inside Agenda is a Premium feature.

Styled-text editor

Headings, lists, checklists, tables, tags and links with consistent styling. Printing and PDF export are included; Markdown and HTML export are Premium.

Capture from anywhere

Clip web pages from Safari on the Mac, share into Agenda from other apps, or email notes to a personal Send to Agenda address (Premium).

Ask Agenda and AI assistants

An on-device assistant answers questions about your notes, and on the Mac assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT can connect through the Model Context Protocol.

Obsidian

Local Markdown files

Notes are saved on your device as plain-text Markdown files, so they stay readable in other editors and available offline.

Links and graph view

Notes link to one another, and a graph view draws the relationships between them so related ideas are easier to find.

Canvas

An infinite board for laying out notes, diagrams and research side by side while brainstorming.

Plugins and themes

Thousands of community plugins and themes, built on an open API, change how the app looks and behaves.

Sync (paid add-on)

End-to-end encrypted sync across devices with version history and shared vaults that update in real time for a team.

Publish and Web Clipper

Publish turns notes into a hosted site, priced per site. The Web Clipper extension saves web pages from Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge.

Agenda

• Free$0

  The standard feature set with no time limit, including timelines, dated notes, calendar links and sync through iCloud or Dropbox.

• Premium Subscription$39.99

  per year, for Mac, iPhone and iPad

  Unlocks all premium features on every device. Features unlocked while subscribed stay unlocked after canceling.

• Lifetime Premium Features$179.00

  one-time purchase

  A one-off purchase that includes all premium features, now and in the future.

Obsidian

• Obsidian app$0

  The full app with local Markdown notes, links, graph, canvas, plugins and themes. No account needed.

• Sync Standard$4

  per user / month, billed annually ($5 billed monthly)

  Encrypted sync for 1 vault with 1 GB of storage, a 5 MB maximum file size and 1 month of version history.

• Sync Plus$8

  per user / month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)

  Sync for 10 vaults with 10 GB of storage (upgradable to 100 GB), 200 MB maximum file size and 12 months of version history.

• Publish$8

  per site / month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)

  Publishes selected notes as a website with a custom domain, password protection, graph view and full-text search.

• Catalyst$25

  one-time payment

  Optional supporter license with early access to beta versions, community badges and exclusive channels.

• Commercial$50

  per user / year

  Optional license for organizations that want to support development. It is not required to use Obsidian at work.

Agenda

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime Premium as a one-off purchase

  Instead of the yearly subscription, a one-off lifetime purchase covers all premium features, current and future. The US App Store lists it at $179.00.

• Other savings

  Site and group licenses on request

  Agenda offers licensing of the premium features for larger groups, such as educational institutions or companies, with pricing available on request.

Obsidian

• Annual discount

  20% lower price with annual billing

  Sync is $4 per user / month billed annually versus $5 billed monthly, and Publish is $8 per site versus $10: a 20% saving on each.

• Education

  40% off Sync and Publish for students and faculty

  Students and faculty members of schools and universities can apply for 40% off Obsidian Sync and Publish from their account dashboard, using a school email.

• Nonprofit

  40% off Sync and Publish for nonprofits

  People who run or work at a nonprofit organization can apply for 40% off Obsidian Sync and Publish, using their organization email.