Marknote vs Obsidian
We give Marknote a 3.2 GPA and Obsidian a 3.4, out of 4.0. Marknote 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.
Marknote
KDE's rich text note-taking app that saves notes as Markdown files
Obsidian
Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAMarknoteVery good | 3.4GPAObsidianVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source, from KDE. The app page lists no paid edition at all, just a donate link. Paid plans in this category typically start at $5.99 a month, so there's nothing to weigh up here. | 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 | AThe whole app is free, with no paid tier to bump into later. KDE takes donations if you feel like giving something back. | AThe whole app, free, with no account and no limits. You're even allowed to use it at work without paying. |
| Features | BA formatted editor that saves Markdown, notebooks with their own icon and colour, wiki-style links, full-text search, quick sketches, and export to PDF, HTML and ODT. Solid basics. But there's no built-in sync, and subfolders have to be made in a file manager, not in the app. | ALinked notes, a graph view, a canvas, and thousands of plugins and themes. It can become almost anything. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating to go on, so a B is our ceiling. On Linux it's a normal install from Flathub or your distribution's packages, and the editor is WYSIWYG, so you don't have to type Markdown symbols. | 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 | CStable releases are Linux only, which on its own would be a D. Windows and macOS get nightly installers that KDE labels unstable, so we've gone one higher. There's no Android or iOS app, and the only hook-up listed is KRunner on the Plasma desktop. | 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 | simple Markdown notes on a Linux desktop | 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: Marknote and Obsidian. How we grade
Where they differ
- Marknote 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.
- Marknote 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
| Marknote | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on) |
| Free plan | Free, open-source software from KDE under the GPL-2.0-or-later license. The app page lists no paid edition; KDE 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 | KDE | Dynalist Inc. |
| Price read from | apps.kde.org | obsidian.md |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Marknote
- Linux and KDE Plasma users who want a simple notes app
- People who want notes kept as Markdown files in a local folder
- Writers who prefer a formatted editor to raw Markdown syntax
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
Marknote
- Stable packages are for Linux; the Windows and macOS builds on the KDE page are nightly installers described as unstable and meant for testing.
- The KDE app page lists Linux, Windows and macOS only, and mentions no Android or iOS app and no built-in sync between devices.
- Subfolders, added in version 1.6.0, cannot yet be created inside Marknote; they have to be made in a file manager.
- The Snap Store's stable channel shows version 1.3.0, last updated in April 2025, while Flathub carries 1.6.0.
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
Marknote
- Rich text editor backed by Markdown
- Notes are formatted in a WYSIWYG editor with bold, italic, underline and strikethrough text, headings, lists, checkboxes, images and tables, and stored as Markdown files.
- Notebooks
- Notes are grouped into notebooks, each with its own icon and accent color and a count of the notes inside. Notes move between notebooks by drag and drop.
- Source mode
- Since version 1.5 a source mode shows the raw Markdown in place of the rich text view. Version 1.5.1 added syntax highlighting to it.
- Links between notes
- Wiki-style links, added in version 1.5, connect one note to another and can look up notes in other notebooks.
- Search and command bar
- Version 1.5 added full-text search and replace, and since version 1.6 the command bar searches for notes across all notebooks. A KRunner plugin opens notes from the Plasma desktop.
- Sketches and export
- A quick sketch dialog adds drawings to a note, and notes can be exported to formats including PDF, HTML and ODT.
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
Marknote
Marknote$0
The full app for Linux through distribution packages, Flathub or the Snap Store. Windows and macOS builds are nightly installers that KDE labels unstable.
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
Marknote
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.
