Obsidian: when to install it, and when not to
Notes stored as plain Markdown files on your own disk. That is the strongest long-term answer to the question of what happens if the company disappears:…
The short version
Obsidian: Notes stored as plain Markdown files in a folder you own, linked together into a graph. Nothing is locked in a proprietary database, so you can walk away with everything at any time.
| Licence / price | Free for personal use |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS |
| Category | Documents & Notes — 8 programs |
| Official download | https://obsidian.md/download ↗ |
What it is for
Notes stored as plain Markdown files on your own disk. That is the strongest long-term answer to the question of what happens if the company disappears: you still have readable files and a folder structure.
When to pick something else
It is free for personal use only, so a work laptop needs a different licence or a different tool. The plugin ecosystem is also a temptation to spend an afternoon configuring rather than writing.
What independent reviewers found
We do not run lab tests or benchmarks. These summaries are written in our own words, with the publisher named and the original linked. Our citation policy explains what we will and will not reproduce.
PCMag — 2025
What the source says. PCMag rates Obsidian highly for local text files and deep customisation, but explicitly warns that it is hard to get started with and has no collaboration features.
What we take from it. A good score with that warning is the whole decision. Install it when you will invest in setting it up; pick Joplin when you want to start writing today.
Obsidian review ↗ (PCMag · 2025 · Editorial product review)
Stack Overflow — 2025
What the source says. The 2025 Stack Overflow survey includes Obsidian among the documentation and collaboration tools reported by developers.
What we take from it. We read popularity as a signal that tutorials and plugins will be easy to find, not as proof that it suits a simple note-taking need.
Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 ↗ (Stack Overflow · 2025 · Developer survey)
How it compares in Documents & Notes
These are the alternatives we would consider for the same job. The notes are the same ones used on the main list, so there is no separate ranking hiding on this page.
| Program | Licence / price | Platforms | Why it is on the list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | Markdown notes that sync end-to-end encrypted through a folder, Dropbox or your own Nextcloud, with web clipping and no subscription. Pick it over Obsidian if sync is the priority. |
| Zotero Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | One click in the browser saves a paper, its PDF and its citation data together. Then it formats your bibliography in any style you name. If you write anything with references, this is not optional. |
Practical notes
- Decide on a folder structure before installing plugins, and keep the vault inside a folder that your backup already covers.
- Remember that a plain-text vault is still one copy. Sync is not a versioned backup.
Questions people ask
Is it open source?
No. The files are plain Markdown, which is the portability guarantee, but the application itself is not open source.
Where it appears in our guides
See the full Documents & Notes explainer for the other 7 programs in this category.
How to read this page. How to read this page. Platform, licence and publisher details come from our directory data. Where an independent review, audit or survey is mentioned, it is summarised in our own words with the source named and linked; our /sources page sets out that policy. The recommendation, the trade-offs and every 'skip it if' line are our editorial judgement. We do not run benchmarks, publish measured performance figures or host installers, and every download link goes to the publisher's own site. If a detail is out of date, our About page explains how to tell us.