Beaver Notes vs Obsidian
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Obsidian
Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device
Where they differ
- Beaver Notes is free. Obsidian starts at $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on).
- Only Obsidian lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Obsidian lists a browser extension.
- Beaver Notes is open source, according to its own site.
- Obsidian is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Obsidian also covers whiteboard.
At a glance
| Beaver Notes | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on) |
| Free plan | The whole app is free and open source under the MIT license, with no account and no monthly fee. The project says it will stay free and takes donations. | The app is free without limits on desktop and mobile, with no sign-up, and a commercial license is not required for work use. Sync and Publish are optional paid add-ons. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Beaver Notes | Dynalist Inc. |
| Price read from | raw.githubusercontent.com | obsidian.md |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Beaver Notes
- People who want notes kept on their own device with no account
- Windows, Mac and Linux users looking for an MIT-licensed notes app
- Markdown note-takers who want math, diagrams and file attachments
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
Worth knowing
Beaver Notes
- The stable release, 4.4.0, covers Windows, macOS and Linux only; the site says a mobile app is in the works and takes beta sign-ups.
- There is no hosted sync yet: you pick a folder in your own cloud or sync service. A hosted option, BeaverSync, is announced for later this year.
- Version 5 is a rewrite still in beta; real-time collaboration, version history, backlinks and plugins are planned for it.
- The docs say auto sync does not work on Linux folders mounted through GVFS.
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.
Key features
Beaver Notes
- Local Markdown notes
- Notes are stored on your device and written in Markdown, with LaTeX equations, code blocks and Mermaid diagrams. No account or server is involved.
- Note linking and labels
- Notes can link to one another, and labels typed with a # sort and filter them. Home and Archive views show notes as cards that can be bookmarked.
- Command Prompt
- A command palette, available on every page, searches notes by title, content or label and runs commands such as opening settings.
- Locked notes
- A note can be locked with a password, which encrypts its content until the password is entered again.
- Files, audio and drawings
- PDFs, presentations, images and audio can be placed inside notes, and sketches or handwritten sections can be inserted as drawings.
- Sync through your own storage
- Sync works by choosing a folder inside a service such as Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud or Syncthing, with an auto-sync option or manual sync buttons.
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.
Plans
Beaver Notes
Beaver Notes$0
The full desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, as installers or through Scoop, Homebrew, Flatpak and the AUR.
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.
Ways to pay less
Beaver Notes
No public discounts listed.
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.
