Obsidian vs Zim
We give Obsidian and Zim the same GPA: 3.4 out of 4.0. Obsidian grades higher on features. Zim grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
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
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAObsidianVery good | 3.4GPAZimVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AIt's free. Zim is open source under the GPL 2.0, and its download page lists no paid edition. Paid note apps typically start at about $5.99 a month. |
| 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. | AThe whole desktop wiki is free on Linux, Windows and macOS, plugins included. There's no paid tier, so nothing is held back. |
| Features | ALinked notes, a graph view, a canvas, and thousands of plugins and themes. It can become almost anything. | BPages nest like an outline, links are tracked in both directions, and plugins add a task list, an equation editor and calendar pages for a journal. Solid. But notebooks have no encryption or password, and the FAQ sends you to an outside tool for that. |
| 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 App Store rating on record, so B is as high as we go. There's an installer for Windows and an app for macOS, and most Linux distributions package it. Link to a page that doesn't exist and Zim makes it for you. |
| 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. | BWindows, macOS and Linux, and the version control plugin talks to Git, Mercurial or Bazaar. No phone or web version. Syncing means copying the notebook folder with something like Dropbox. |
| Best for | notes you own as plain files | a personal wiki kept as text files on your computer |
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 Zim. How we grade
Where they differ
- Obsidian starts at $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on). Zim is free.
- Only Obsidian lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Obsidian lists a browser extension.
- Obsidian is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Zim is open source, according to its own site.
- Obsidian also covers Markdown and whiteboard.
- Zim also covers wiki, daily notes and tasks.
At a glance
| Obsidian | Zim | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $4 per user / month, billed annually (Sync Standard add-on) | Free |
| 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. | Open-source software under the GPL 2.0 license. The download page offers the source, a Windows installer, a macOS app and Linux packages, and lists no paid edition. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Dynalist Inc. | Jaap Karssenberg |
| Price read from | obsidian.md | zim-wiki.org |
| 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
Zim
- A personal wiki or scratch book kept as files on your own disk
- Daily or weekly journals and meeting or lecture notes
- People who want their notes under Git or another version control system
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.
Zim
- Notebooks have no built-in encryption or password protection; the FAQ points to an outside tool such as encfs.
- Zim is written as a single-user program, so shared notebooks rely on a version control system to merge changes.
- The download page covers Linux, BSD, Windows and macOS only, and syncing means copying the notebook folder with a service such as Dropbox.
- The Windows installer supports 64-bit systems only, and the macOS app supports macOS Big Sur through Sequoia.
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.
Zim
- Plain-text wiki pages
- Every page is a text file with wiki markup and images are ordinary linked files, so the content stays readable in other editors and file managers.
- Links in both directions
- Linking to a page that does not exist creates it. Zim tracks all links and shows, for each page, which other pages link to it.
- Hierarchical notebooks
- Pages nest as sub-pages in a folder structure, much like an outliner, and each page can carry attachments.
- Plugins
- Plugins add a task list dialog, an equation editor, calendar pages for daily or weekly journals, spell checking and a tray icon.
- Version control
- A Version Control plugin works with Git, Mercurial or Bazaar, which also lets several people merge changes to one notebook.
- HTML export
- Notes can be exported to HTML for publishing; the project's own website is written in Zim.
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.
Zim
Zim$0
The full desktop wiki for Linux, Windows and macOS, with its plugins.
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.
Zim
No public discounts listed.
