Obsidian vs Understory
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
Understory
Mac notes app for outlining and drafting essays, papers and books
Where they differ
- Obsidian starts at $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on). Understory starts at $24.99 one-time purchase.
- 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.
- Understory can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Obsidian also covers whiteboard.
- Understory also covers long-form writing.
At a glance
| Obsidian | Understory | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on) | $24.99 one-time purchase |
| 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. | Every feature, with up to 100 notes in the Personal Notebook and 20 in each Project Notebook. At the cap, notes already written can still be read and edited. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Dynalist Inc. | Allen Ussher |
| Price read from | obsidian.md | understory.ussherpress.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 9, 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
Understory
- Students and researchers turning reading notes into a paper
- Writers who outline before drafting an essay, script or book
- Mac users who want notes kept as plain Markdown files
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.
Understory
- It is a Mac app only, requiring macOS 14.8 or later; the FAQ says there is no iPhone or iPad version yet.
- The free version stops at 100 notes in the Personal Notebook and 20 in each Project Notebook.
- Sync between Macs covers only the Personal Notebook and needs an iCloud account; Project Notebooks are local folders.
- The App Store release notes for version 1.1 (October 2026) describe the Publish feature as experimental.
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.
Understory
- Notes and subnotes
- A note is plain text and needs no title or filename. Any note can hold subnotes, each a full note with its own text, links and attachments, so a note grows into a tree.
- One note in several outlines
- The same note can appear in more than one tree without being copied. An edit in one place shows up in the others, and shared notes are shown in italics.
- Two-way links
- Wiki-style links connect notes in the text, and the linked note shows a backlink automatically. Anchors can point to a specific place inside another note.
- Publishing
- Selected notes or a whole outline can be published in their arranged order as a PDF with bookmarks and page numbers, Rich Text, Markdown or a website, or printed.
- Markdown folders or iCloud
- A Project Notebook is a folder on the Mac holding one Markdown file per note. A Personal Notebook lives in the user's own iCloud account and syncs between Macs.
- Version history
- Every version of a note is kept, so an earlier draft can be read again and brought back. Deleted notes go to a trash.
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.
Understory
Free$0
Up to 100 notes in the Personal Notebook and 20 in each Project Notebook, with every feature included, from publishing to iCloud sync.
One-Time Payment$24.99
one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)
Removes the note caps and opens shared notebooks of any size for editing. The vendor notes that the App Store sets a different price in each region.
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.
Understory
No public discounts listed.
