EagleFiler vs Obsidian

EagleFiler

• Mac users running a paperless office or a long-term document archive
• Moving large amounts of old email out of a mail program
• People who want their files kept in standard formats in the Finder

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

EagleFiler

• It is a Mac app only; on iPhone and iPad a library kept in cloud storage can be read with apps such as Files, but there is no EagleFiler app.
• The app currently relies on Rosetta 2 on Apple silicon Macs; the vendor says a native rewrite will be finished before macOS 28.
• Mac App Store purchases are single-user only and do not qualify for family packs, volume or educational discounts, or upgrade pricing.
• Major version upgrades are free only within six months of buying the previous version; after that they are offered at a discount.

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.

EagleFiler

Capture from any app

Press a capture key to import the web page, mail messages or file you are viewing, or a quick-entry key to make a note without leaving the current app.

Email archiving

Archives mail from Apple Mail, Outlook and other clients with attachments and flags intact, stored in the standard mbox format or as individual .eml files.

Web page archiving

Saves pages as web archives, PDF, rich text or plain bookmarks along with the source URL, and imports bookmark lists from Safari, Pinboard and others.

Libraries in Finder format

Each library is made of regular files and folders in standard formats that other apps can open, with checksums to verify that nothing is lost or damaged.

Search, tags and smart folders

Its own index searches file contents and email attachments with Boolean operators and wildcards. Nested tags sync with Finder tags, and smart folders can run actions.

Encrypted libraries

A library can be encrypted with AES-128 or AES-256, including its metadata and indexes, and stays searchable once the passphrase has been entered.

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.

EagleFiler

• EagleFiler$69.99

  one-time purchase, for one person or one computer

  A single license with free maintenance releases and minor feature updates. The Mac App Store lists the same $69.99 price.

• Family or 2 Users$111.98

  one-time purchase, 2-user license

  A 2-user license that a family living in the same household can share on any number of Macs.

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.

EagleFiler

• Other savings

  Family license and volume discounts

  The 2-user license costs $111.98, 20% less than two single licenses, and a family in one household can share it. Site licenses for more seats are priced at checkout.

• Education

  Educational discount on direct purchases

  The manual says educational discounts are available when buying direct from C-Command rather than from the Mac App Store. It does not state the amount.

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.