NotePlan vs Obsidian

NotePlan

• Apple users who plan their day in notes next to calendar and reminders
• People who time-block tasks around their meetings
• Markdown fans who want plain-text files they control

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

NotePlan

• There is no free plan: once a trial or subscription ends, notes become read-only.
• Native apps exist only for Mac, iPhone and iPad; Windows and other systems use the web version.
• Sync runs mainly through Apple's CloudKit and is tied to an Apple ID, which the web version also signs in with.
• The monthly plan's free trial lasts 3 days, compared with 7 days on the annual plan.

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.

NotePlan

Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly notes

Every day gets its own note for tasks and meeting notes, and each week, month and year has one too, for targets, reviews and goals.

Apple Calendar and Reminders

Calendar events and reminders appear beside the daily note. Checking off a reminder in NotePlan also checks it off in Apple Reminders.

Time blocking

Drag a task onto the timeline to turn it into a time block next to your meetings, so you can see what fits in the day.

Project notes and kanban

Project notes hold briefs, decisions and next steps, link to daily work in both directions, and can be grouped into columns as a kanban board.

Plain Markdown files

Notes are plain Markdown files on your device that work offline and can be taken out as one folder. Sync uses your own iCloud account.

Spaces

Shared workspaces for teams or families with shared daily and weekly notes, folders and kanban boards, usable in the apps or in a browser.

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.

NotePlan

• Individual$8.33

  per month, billed annually ($99); $12 billed monthly

  Full access on Mac, iPad, iPhone and the web, with calendar and reminders, iCloud sync, Spaces, plugins, themes and templates.

• Small Team$19.99

  per month, for up to 5 members

  One shared subscription and a single invoice for up to 5 members. Guests invited to a Space are not billed.

• Business Team$69.99

  per month, for up to 25 members

  The same shared subscription and single invoice for up to 25 members.

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.

NotePlan

• Annual discount

  Save 31% with annual billing

  The annual plan is $99 a year, which works out to $8.33 a month against $12 on the monthly plan. NotePlan labels this a 31% saving.

• Other savings

  Team subscriptions for 5 or 25 members

  A shared subscription covers up to 5 members for $19.99 a month or up to 25 for $69.99, which NotePlan says is cheaper than separate individual subscriptions.

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.