Bebop vs Obsidian
We give Bebop a 3.0 GPA and Obsidian a 3.4, out of 4.0. Bebop grades higher on ease of use. Obsidian grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bebop
Capture-first plain-text notes app for iPhone
Obsidian
Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device
How we grade them
| 3.0GPABebopVery good | 3.4GPAObsidianVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe Pro upgrade is $4.99 once on the US App Store, less than a single month of the $5.99 this category typically starts at. It adds colour themes, custom templating and power-user settings. You may never need it. | AThe app is free and Sync is $4 a month if you want it. You only pay for the extras you'll really use. |
| Free plan and trial | AUnlimited notes, sync to iCloud Drive or Dropbox, the share extension and widgets, all free with no ads, logins or tracking. Most people could stay here. The developer's 2024 write-up says free caps Flashback at three notes. | AThe whole app, free, with no account and no limits. You're even allowed to use it at work without paying. |
| Features | BIt does one job, capture, and does it properly: a blank note on opening, files named and formatted your way, Flashback to add to recent notes, and Quick Append to tack text onto an existing file. But there's no note browser at all. | ALinked notes, a graph view, a canvas, and thousands of plugins and themes. It can become almost anything. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. Open, type, save, with the save button under your thumb. The one bit of setup is choosing the folder, and Dropbox needs its own app installed. | CThis is the hard part. You start with an empty folder, and even fans say it took them a while to get comfortable. |
| Platforms and integrations | DiPhone only. The App Store lists no iPad, Mac or Android version. It gets round that by writing plain files to iCloud Drive or Dropbox, which desktop apps like Obsidian or NVAlt can open. | BMac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, plus a web clipper. No web app though, and the phone app is weaker than the desktop one. |
| Best for | catching a thought on your iPhone as a text file | notes you own as plain files |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bebop and Obsidian. How we grade
Where they differ
- Bebop starts at $4.99 one-time Pro upgrade. Obsidian starts at $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on).
- Only Obsidian lists macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Only Obsidian lists a browser extension.
- Bebop can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Obsidian is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Obsidian also covers linked notes and whiteboard.
At a glance
| Bebop | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 one-time Pro upgrade | $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on) |
| Free plan | Unlimited notes with iCloud Drive or Dropbox sync, Flashback, the share extension and widgets, with no ads, logins or tracking. | 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 | Jack Cheng LLC | Dynalist Inc. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | obsidian.md |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Bebop
- Obsidian or NVAlt users who want a fast capture app on iPhone
- People who keep notes as plain-text files in iCloud Drive or Dropbox
- Jotting down ideas to sort out later on a Mac
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
Bebop
- The App Store lists it for iPhone only; there is no iPad, Mac or Android version.
- It is a capture tool with no note browser: older notes are reached through Flashback or another app that opens the same folder.
- Dropbox sync requires the Dropbox iOS app to be installed.
- Color themes, custom templating and power-user settings need the $4.99 Pro upgrade; the developer's 2024 write-up also says the free version caps Flashback at three notes.
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
Bebop
- Capture-first editor
- The app opens on a blank note with the save button within thumb reach, so a thought can be typed and saved without passing through a note list.
- Plain-text files in your own folder
- Notes are saved as .txt or .md files in a chosen iCloud Drive or Dropbox folder, with custom headers, footers, filename formats and file extensions.
- Flashback
- One tap cycles back through recent notes so more can be added to them, and a long press on the button pins a note.
- Quick Append
- Starting a note with @ picks an existing file, and the text is appended to that file instead of being saved as a new note.
- Share extension, widgets and shortcut
- Links and text can be saved from other iOS apps through the share sheet, and widgets and a shortcut open Bebop ready for a new note.
- Markdown helpers
- A helper bar inserts Markdown symbols, lists continue automatically on the next line, and the editor applies light Markdown styling.
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
Bebop
Free$0
Unlimited notes saved as text files to an iCloud Drive or Dropbox folder, with no ads, logins or tracking.
Pro Upgrade$4.99
one-time in-app purchase (US App Store)
Adds color themes, custom templating and power-user settings, and supports further development of the app.
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
Bebop
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.
