Obsidian vs Tinderbox
We give Obsidian a 3.4 GPA and Tinderbox a 2.4, out of 4.0. Obsidian grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms. Tinderbox grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on 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
Tinderbox
Mac tool for mapping, analyzing and sharing notes
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAObsidianVery good | 2.4GPATinderboxFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$289 once, which is about four years of a typical note subscription paid up front. And once isn't quite once: the licence includes a year of updates, and upgrading later is $98 for another year. The Household licence for up to five people is $325, a far better deal if you can share. |
| 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. | CNo free plan. There's a free demo that does everything the full version does, but it can only make about thirty notes. Enough to poke around, not enough to move in. |
| Features | ALinked notes, a graph view, a canvas, and thousands of plugins and themes. It can become almost anything. | AMaps, outlines, timelines and charts of the same notes. Agents that scan the document continuously and collect what matches, like overdue tasks. Prototypes, so one change updates every note based on it. Export to HTML, XML, RSS and OPML, and documents that are XML files on your own Mac. |
| 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. | BNo rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. The demo has every feature, so you can find out how you get on with maps and agents before spending anything. |
| 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. | DMac only, on macOS 12 or later. There's no iPhone or iPad app. For those, Tinderbox shares notes with Apple Notes, Simplenote, Evernote and DEVONthink, and files sync through Dropbox or iCloud Drive. |
| Best for | notes you own as plain files | making sense of a big pile of notes on a Mac |
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 Tinderbox. How we grade
Where they differ
- Obsidian starts at $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on). Tinderbox starts at $289 one-time license, with a year of free updates.
- Obsidian has a free plan. Tinderbox does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Obsidian lists Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Obsidian lists a browser extension.
- Obsidian is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Tinderbox can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Obsidian also covers Markdown and whiteboard.
At a glance
| Obsidian | Tinderbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on) | $289 one-time license, with a year of free updates |
| 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free demo with every feature, limited to about thirty notes |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Dynalist Inc. | Eastgate Systems, Inc. |
| Price read from | obsidian.md | eastgate.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 6, 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
Tinderbox
- Writers, researchers and analysts working through large sets of notes
- People who want several visual views of the same material
- Mac users who prefer files kept on their own computer
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.
Tinderbox
- Mac only: it requires macOS 12 or later, and iPhone and iPad use relies on sharing notes with other apps.
- The license includes one year of free updates; upgrading later from any previous version is listed at $98 and adds another year.
- The free demo does everything the full version does but can only make about thirty notes.
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.
Tinderbox
- Maps, outlines, timelines and charts
- The same notes can be shown as a spatial map, an outline, a timeline or a chart, so structure emerges as notes are arranged, colored and linked.
- Agents
- Agents scan the document continuously and collect notes that meet your criteria, such as overdue tasks or a topic, and can feed project dashboards.
- Prototypes and the attribute browser
- A note inherits from its prototype unless you say otherwise, so one change updates every note based on it. The attribute browser breaks notes down by a chosen category.
- AI connections
- Built-in recognition finds addresses, names and organizations in notes, and a bridge to AI models can supply them with resources and prompts kept in a Hints folder.
- Open files and flexible export
- Documents are XML files stored on your Mac rather than on a server, and export produces HTML, XML, RSS, OPML and other formats.
- Works with other note apps
- Notes can be shared with Apple Notes, Simplenote, Evernote and DEVONthink for use on iPhone and iPad, and files sync through Dropbox or iCloud Drive.
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.
Tinderbox
Tinderbox$289
one-time license, with a year of free updates
Tinderbox 11.8 for Mac. The order page also showed a $217 SummerFest sale price, but the checkout listed no discount when checked.
Household$325
one-time license for up to five people
Family pack for up to five people living in the same household, for use on any of their computers.
Ten Pack$645
one-time ten-user license
Aimed at schools, libraries and work teams. 50- and 100-workstation licenses are listed at $1,595 and $2,695.
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.
Tinderbox
- Other savings
Household and multi-user licenses
A Household license covers up to five people living together for $325, and a ten-user license costs $645, against $289 for a single license.
- Other savings
Update subscription with a cheaper first year
An update subscription renews the yearly updates automatically. Its first year is listed at $83, with later years at the regular upgrade price, currently $98.
