Obsidian vs RemNote
We give Obsidian a 3.4 GPA and RemNote a 3.8, out of 4.0. Obsidian grades higher on value for money. RemNote grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
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
RemNote
Note-taking app with built-in flashcards and spaced repetition
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAObsidianVery good | 3.8GPARemNoteExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe app is free and Sync is $4 a month if you want it. You only pay for the extras you'll really use. | BPro is $8 a month billed yearly ($96), or $10 month by month. This category typically starts at $5.99, so it's a bit above the middle, though it does replace a separate flashcard app. The $395 lifetime licence is a lot, and its server features last 5 years. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole app, free, with no account and no limits. You're even allowed to use it at work without paying. | AUnlimited notes, flashcards and synced devices, free for good. That's the core of the thing, and plenty of students could stop there. The extras are samples: 3 annotated PDFs, 1 handwritten document, 1 exam and 250 AI credits a month. |
| Features | ALinked notes, a graph view, a canvas, and thousands of plugins and themes. It can become almost anything. | AFlashcards written right inside your notes, spaced repetition, an exam scheduler that plans daily practice around a date, PDF and slide annotation, handwriting on a tablet and AI that makes cards and quizzes from a PDF. It works offline too. |
| Ease of use | CThis is the hard part. You start with an empty folder, and even fans say it took them a while to get comfortable. | A4.8 from about 1,600 App Store ratings. Cards live in the same outline as your notes, so there's no second app to keep in step. AI credits are the fiddly part: they reset monthly and don't carry over. |
| Platforms and integrations | BMac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, plus a web clipper. No web app though, and the phone app is weaker than the desktop one. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, with every plan syncing unlimited devices. Claude and Codex are listed as integrations. |
| Best for | notes you own as plain files | students who revise from their own notes |
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: Obsidian and RemNote. How we grade
Where they differ
- Obsidian starts at $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on). RemNote starts at $8 per month, billed yearly ($96).
- Only RemNote lists a web app.
- Obsidian is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Obsidian also covers Markdown and whiteboard.
- RemNote also covers databases, web clipper and templates.
At a glance
| Obsidian | RemNote | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on) | $8 per month, billed yearly ($96) |
| Free plan | 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. | Unlimited notes, flashcards and synced devices, with 3 annotated PDFs, 5 image occlusion cards, 1 handwritten document, 1 scheduled exam and 250 AI credits a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Dynalist Inc. | RemNote Inc. |
| Price read from | obsidian.md | remnote.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
RemNote
- Students who want notes and flashcards in one app
- Exam preparation built on spaced repetition
- Studying from PDFs and lecture slides
Worth knowing
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.
RemNote
- The Free plan allows only a few uses of each Pro feature: 3 annotated PDFs, 5 image occlusion cards, 1 handwritten document and 1 exam.
- AI credits reset each month and do not carry over, and the frontier models in the AI tutor need the Pro with AI plan.
- The Life-Long Learner license covers Pro server features, such as larger uploads and AI credits, for 5 years rather than for life.
- Subscriptions bought in the iOS or Android app cannot use discounts, and the App Store lists Pro Monthly at $14.99.
Key features
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.
RemNote
- Flashcards inside notes
- Cards are written in the same outline as the notes, in types that include question and answer, fill in the blank, lists and image occlusion.
- Spaced repetition and exam scheduler
- Cards come back for review on a spaced schedule. The exam scheduler sets a daily practice plan around an exam date; the Free plan allows 1 exam.
- PDF and slide annotation
- Upload PDFs and slides and mark them up with highlights, drawings and shapes next to your notes. Free accounts can annotate 3 documents.
- Handwritten notes
- Write by hand on a tablet, add sketches and convert handwriting to text. The Free plan includes 1 handwritten document.
- AI study tools
- Generates flashcards, quizzes and summaries from notes and PDFs, explains cards and answers questions in a tutor chat, all metered in monthly AI credits.
- Offline mode and sync
- The desktop and mobile apps keep working without a connection and sync when back online. Every plan syncs an unlimited number of devices.
Plans
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.
RemNote
Free$0
Unlimited notes, flashcards and synced devices, plus a few uses of each Pro feature: 3 annotated PDFs, 5 image occlusion cards and 250 AI credits a month.
Pro$8
per month, billed yearly ($96); $10 billed monthly
Unlimited PDF annotation, image occlusion, tables, exam scheduling and handwritten notes, with 1,000 AI credits a month.
Pro with AI$18
per month, billed yearly ($216); $20 billed monthly
Everything in Pro with 20,000 AI credits a month, covering AI flashcards and quizzes from PDFs, the lecture recorder and AI grading.
Life-Long Learner$395
one-time purchase
Local Pro features for life, with Pro server features and 1,000 AI credits a month included for the first 5 years.
Ways to pay less
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.
RemNote
- Annual discount
Save 20% on Pro with yearly billing
Pro costs $10 a month when billed monthly or $96 when billed yearly, which works out to $8 a month.
- Education
25% off Pro for students, faculty and staff
People at an academic institution get 25% off Pro subscriptions, applied when the account uses an institutional email. It excludes Life-Long Learner, AI credits and app-store subscriptions.
- Lifetime license
Life-Long Learner one-time license
A single $395 payment gives local Pro features for life, plus Pro server features and 1,000 AI credits a month for 5 years.
