Obsidian vs The Archive

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

The Archive

• Writers and researchers practicing the Zettelkasten method
• Mac users who want notes kept as plain text files
• People who liked nvALT and want a similar search-first app

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.

The Archive

• It is a Mac app only; the site lists no iPhone, iPad, Windows or web version.
• There is no sync service of its own: notes sync only by keeping the folder in a cloud storage service.
• The developers plan a paid version 2 and say version 1 owners will get a discount on it.
• It ignores Finder tags on purpose; a separate converter turns them into #hashtags for notes coming from nvALT or DEVONthink.

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.

The Archive

Plain text file storage

Every note is a plain text file in a folder you pick, so notes stay readable without the app and can sync through iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box or similar services.

Search-first navigation

One search field, the Omnibar, finds notes by their text and creates a new note from the search term. Saved searches switch between subsets of your notes.

Wiki-links and note IDs

Double-bracket wiki-links look up the target note by its ID, giving clickable links between notes without file paths or a proprietary format.

Markdown editor

Markdown highlighting, inline image preview, typewriter mode, hashtags, auto-completion of tags and links, and customizable themes.

Plug-ins

Plug-ins, added in version 1.8, automate tasks such as extracting a note from selected text or building a list of links. They cannot delete notes or reach the internet.

URL scheme

Links starting with thearchive:// let other apps such as Alfred and Keyboard Maestro open a matching note, run a search or launch a plug-in.

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.

The Archive

• The Archive$19.99

  one-time purchase

  A license for version 1 of the Mac app, with the features announced for version 1 shipped as free updates. The press kit also gives the price as 19.99 EUR.

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.

The Archive

No public discounts listed.