Amplenote vs Obsidian

Amplenote

• People who want notes, to-dos and a calendar in one app
• Turning meeting notes into prioritized, scheduled tasks
• Users who want a free plan that syncs across all their devices

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

Amplenote

• Prices here come from the US App Store listing; the vendor's own pricing page could not be read, and web checkout prices may differ.
• Two-way calendar sync and the native desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux need Pro or higher; the free plan uses the web app or a PWA.
• Publishing notes and password-encrypted Vault Notes are part of the Unlimited plan and above.
• The App Store also lists a separate Ample Agent Pro purchase at $7.99 a month.

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.

Amplenote

Jots, Notes, Tasks and Calendar

Four connected modes take an idea from a quick jot to a note, a task and a slot on the calendar. All four are available on the free plan.

Tasks inside notes

To-dos live in the notes they come from, can recur at flexible intervals or stay hidden until later, and can be marked urgent or important.

Calendar sync

Pro and higher plans connect Google, Outlook or Apple calendars, either importing events only or also publishing scheduled tasks back to them.

Bidirectional links and tags

Notes link to each other in both directions, and nested tags form a hierarchy that can be browsed like folders.

Vault Notes and publishing

On the Unlimited plan, notes can be encrypted with a password that is never sent to the servers, or published to the web as pages.

Offline use on any device

Mobile apps keep working offline in new or cached notes and sync later. Computers use the web app, an installable PWA or the desktop app on Pro.

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.

Amplenote

• Personal$0

  The free plan: sync across unlimited devices and access to Jots, Notes, Tasks and Calendar.

• Pro$7.99

  per month, or $69.99 per year, on the US App Store

  Adds two-way sync with Google, Outlook or Apple calendars, the sidebar Peek Viewer, tag sharing and the native desktop app.

• Unlimited$11.99

  per month, or $119.99 per year, on the US App Store

  Adds publishing notes to the web, Vault Notes encrypted with your own password and appearance customization.

• Founder$24.99

  per month, or $239.99 per year, on the US App Store

  Adds early access to new features and 10 times the votes on the supporter feature board.

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.

Amplenote

• Annual discount

  Yearly billing costs 17% to 27% less

  At US App Store prices, a year of Pro is $69.99 against $95.88 paid monthly, Unlimited is $119.99 against $143.88, and Founder is $239.99 against $299.88.

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.