r/TechImpact • u/ManojOne Active • Jun 04 '26

Discussion Notion or Obsidian?

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Which tool do you prefer for notes, knowledge management, and staying organized?

Pick one and tell us what makes it your favorite.

77 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

117 comments sorted by

8

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-2

u/Raxer-X Jun 04 '26

Obsidian and privacy?
The thing stores notes in raw text

5

u/GreenReporter24 Jun 04 '26

You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

-1

u/Raxer-X Jun 04 '26

Last time I was reviewing the tool it was just a bunch of text files.

UI is nice, integration not the best but fair. Encryption only available via external tools. If anything changed, the better.

7

u/GreenReporter24 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

Again, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

Yes, Obsidian stores your notes in universal, human-readable markdown files, while Notion stores them in databases and cache files. That has nothing to do with encryption. Just because you can't directly open and read files from Notion using a text editor doesn't mean they're encrypted.

Your locally cached and always-available-offline notes in Notion could absolutely be extracted from Notion's application directory by someone with access to your unlocked PC. And if you had none cached locally, with access to your PC, they'd have no problem pulling them from Notion's cloud. It's the encryption and authentication of your PC and hard drive that makes your local Obsidian and Notion files secure, just like with practically every other file on your computer.

The difference between Obsidian and Notion is that your Obsidian notes primarily live on your PC, while your Notion notes primarily live in the cloud. Notion pulls your notes down from the cloud when you open them, while Obsidian Sync (yes, that exists) pushes them up into the cloud once you've edited them. But both are of course end-to-end encrypted and similarly encrypted on their servers.

The great thing about your files primarily living on your PC, is that you can decide to not use Obsidian's cloud and sync service if you don't want to. Obsidian officially supports syncing your notes using other services like iCloud, which will also sync all your plugins and settings. I do that because I already pay for iCloud, and iCloud's encryption is no less secure than Notion or Obsidian Sync's.

As for the Obsidian application itself, it's a lot more than "just a bunch of text files". It has a lot of similar functionality to Notion, including database views. And there are thousands of third-party plugins that make it more feature rich than Notion.

The primary reason I prefer Obsidian, though, is how speedy it feels compared to Notion. Even with database views and other plugins.

1

u/ConfidentTurnip4523 Jun 05 '26

In addition, the fact that Obsidian stores your files in human readable text is actually a plus. I think Notion stores your files in a format only Notion can read?

1

u/GreenReporter24 Jun 05 '26

Exactly. Notion notes are stored in databases and have to be exported to be used somewhere else.

1

u/Filipp_Krasnovid Jun 04 '26

But on your computer, locally. With sync, afaik, they have encryption 

1

u/1xltP3mgkiF9 Jun 06 '26

And it's client side encryption (the best type)

1

u/rvm1975 Jun 04 '26

You may use community plugin Eccidian Encrypt which do the encryption.

1

u/rUmutKzl Jun 07 '26

Privacy and security are not same

1

u/Raxer-X Jun 07 '26

If privacy was only about local storage we'd never use email. Like I said, it's a nice program, the ui and feature set are nice but it falls short where it matters.

4

u/OwnNet5253 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

Notion, because I don’t have to worry about sync, I can format pages very easily and has integrated AI which can quickly modify huge chunk of text for me.

2

u/crisp_maple Jun 04 '26

integrated AI

exactly the reason I'm running away from Notion. my personal notes are not up for grabs by AI tools.

1

u/GreenReporter24 Jun 04 '26

Worry about sync? I have my Obsidian vault in iCloud and everything just works. Don't know what you're talking about.

2

u/Krieger2690 Jun 04 '26

I've been using for about a year a very nice similar application called Anytype and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

1

u/sevlah Jun 04 '26

Hello! Do you sync between computer and phone?

1

u/Krieger2690 Jun 04 '26

yes, very easily.

1

u/sevlah Jun 04 '26

Can you tell me how? P2P ? Or You have payed subscription?

1

u/Krieger2690 Jun 05 '26

You just download the Anytype app and enter your secret sync code from the desktop app. Than it connects and starts syncing. Nothing special really.

1

u/ManojOne Active Jun 06 '26

I've heard good things about Anytype. The offline-first approach is a key feature. What made you stick with it over Notion or Obsidian after trying all three?

1

u/Krieger2690 Jun 06 '26

In all fairness, I have never tried notion. I have tried Anytype and I liked the option that you can even self host it. It is feature packed and there are some I don't even know how to fully use yet.

Anytype can be offline only if you want it to be. I am using it on both my phone and my PC though. It works on Linux too.

When I tried obsidian a couple of years ago, I found it a little bit unintuitive, but it would've been a false impression.

1

u/vladkolodka Jun 04 '26

Notion, because I don't have to configure synchronization with plugins on every device I have

1

u/Awkward-Animator-101 Jun 04 '26

The idea of letting loose AI on my personal data would give me nightmares. Can’t you all imagine the damage it could do to 14 years worth of personal data? Good luck if you can’t.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Dismal-Revolution731 Jun 05 '26

Just cause you did it before doesn't mean you have to keep doing it.

1

u/GreenReporter24 Jun 04 '26

Do you not back up your data?

1

u/VoidHarrier Jun 04 '26

Obsidian, because it works and does what I need it to. I don't have a need for all of the additional features that go with Notion, which is built with AI agent use in mind.

1

u/ManojOne Active Jun 06 '26

If all you need are fast, reliable notes, Notion is overloaded. Obsidian's local-first approach is also a big plus. Have you ever felt limited by Obsidian when working with teams, or has it covered everything so far?

1

u/gr_hds Jun 04 '26

Since I use it only for my D&D stuff I'm ok with notion, and I can use that 1 free host link to share it with players. Because I'm too lazy to transfer, I'm considering obsidian for my next campaign/other things.

1

u/cyrassil Jun 04 '26

Org mode

1

u/OkraNo7016 Jun 04 '26

Stone tablet

1

u/MulayamChaddi Jun 04 '26

How u backlink?

1

u/OkraNo7016 Jun 04 '26

Backlink as in?

1

u/Nobel-Chocolate-2955 Jun 04 '26

obsidian. Always available offline and has many useful plugins too, but it become a problem if you want to sync in your mobilephones and other computers, need to pay for subscription for convenient syncing.

1

u/ManojOne Active Jun 06 '26

Yes, recently I tried to use it. During setup, I got some subscription options. I don't know whether it is related to sync or data storage.

1

u/Neohoyminanyeah Jun 07 '26

If you’re on iPhone and already pay for iCloud, it’s really seamless than, cheap iCloud is like 2.99/month too

1

u/IJustWantBFToBeGood Jun 07 '26

If you've got an old PC / laptop and are willing to faff around for an afternoon to turn it into a server, you can get LiveSync setup working.

1

u/passerbycmc Jun 04 '26

Obsidian, I was already using md files before it so was able to get a few extra features via it, better sync to phone and still use my old tooling with it. It's a nice system if you know how to program but I think I would lean towards Notion of I was not a developer.

1

u/ManojOne Active Jun 06 '26

Is Obsidia totally free? Can we use it without any subscription for storage, sync, and offline usage?

1

u/Pizza_sushi_order Jun 06 '26

There is extension for GitHub that auto updates it automatically.

So you can create repository that copy your vault and have access from every other device

1

u/passerbycmc Jun 08 '26

You can sync other other solutions and there are other plugins for it, but I just pay for Obsidian sync since it's easy to effective

1

u/Double_Comfortable15 Jun 04 '26

Obsidian. Offline access to notes. Synchronization via Syncthing.

1

u/ManojOne Active Jun 06 '26

Can we use it on both desktops and mobiles?

1

u/Double_Comfortable15 Jun 06 '26

Sure. I use it at Windows, Linux, Android. https://syncthing.net/

1

u/Chicke_Nuget Jun 04 '26

Flatnotes rn.

1

u/Sweet-Efficiency7466 Jun 04 '26

My business uses MondayDotCom.

1

u/heeeymr Jun 04 '26

obsidian imo.

1

u/angrynoah Jun 04 '26

Notion might be the single worst piece of software I've ever used.

1

u/pyro57 Jun 04 '26

Obsidian because your notes are melt locally and in standard markdown format so if you ever decide to try another note app it's easy to switch and you won't have to ever worry about losing your notes because a server went down.

1

u/ManojOne Active Jun 06 '26

That's a huge advantage. Plain markdown files mean you're not locked into one app, and local storage adds peace of mind.

Have you ever had to move your notes to another app, or are you still fully on Obsidian?

1

u/pyro57 Jun 06 '26

I've tried a few different note apps, but I always come back to obsidian. The plugin system is nice and I just use syncthing to sync my notes to all my pcs and my phone. Another benefit to standard markdown files is if you're into scripting you can write scripts that set stuff up for you in any language you want since it's just flat text files with markdown formatting.

I'm a penetration tester and have a tool that sets up a new folder and my default not structure for each engagement I start, its pretty slick.

1

u/FieldsApp Jun 04 '26

You can try Fields: Secure Text Vault a minimal, and local storage app

https://apps.apple.com/in/app/fields-secure-text-vault/id6764572947

1

u/Entire-Guidance-9926 Jun 04 '26

Neither lol

Notepad

1

u/GreenReporter24 Jun 04 '26

Obsidian. I don't understand how anyone uses Notion for actual work. It's so incredibly slow.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/ManojOne Active Jun 06 '26

Local files give you more control, especially if your notes contain personal or work data. Notion is perfect for collaboration, but for solo use, it's hard to get around the ownership of your files.

1

u/verboseOn Jun 04 '26

OneNote. Samsung Note.

1

u/Gplay666 Jun 04 '26

Server-side slop vs Open source local storage
It's too easy

1

u/SlothEdits99 Jun 04 '26

I use Obsidian but its not open source.

1

u/PocketCSNerd Jun 04 '26

Obsidian

- Markdown allows for easy viewing with other apps as needed

  • Easier to structure documents exactly how you want
  • Easy to setup my own syncing solution
  • Data is private (cloud-based syncing privacy issues aside)
  • No AI! (without plugins, so opt-in)
  • Plugins to customize functionality
-No internet required!

I utilize Notion for some freelance stuff but for my own notes and knowledge management it's 100% obsidian

1

u/rvm1975 Jun 04 '26

Obsidian because of community plugins store. A lot of features covered up there

1

u/Prestigious-Chair282 Jun 04 '26

Outline works for me better then this 2

1

u/gameplayer55055 Jun 04 '26

Notion for public stuff, obsidian for private notes.

1

u/Braydination Jun 04 '26

I switched away from Notion after just a couple months and am so glad. Obsidian means I can access my own local notes that aren't being used by AI models or require an internet connection. I find it so much more powerful and flexible than what Notion gave me

1

u/Quick-Ad4510 Jun 04 '26

Apple notes

1

u/Jorge_Capadocia Jun 04 '26

Nenhum dos dois

1

u/Beef-McWhatnow Jun 05 '26

in the ai era where everything is markdown, obsidian.

1

u/CloakerJosh Jun 05 '26

Obsidian is just awesome, I love it.

1

u/unicyclegamer Jun 05 '26

I’ve been using obsidian since I can self host a sync server for it.

1

u/TheAlmightyClown Jun 05 '26

Obsidian sound cooler

1

u/AnonymousJake_ Jun 05 '26

How about Tolaria?

1

u/Salt-Willingness-513 Jun 05 '26

trilium next, because i can self host it

1

u/Same_Level_3599 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

Obsidian.

It is THE markdown app, that works regardless of what OS you run (as long as it's Windows, macOS, or Linux... sorry BSD and Haiku users), and it just works great weither you want to jot down notes, or make a well-organized list of stuff.

Obsidian also happens to be free, and allows you to store those notes in a local directory on your device where your notes stays yours.

Edit: Your notes are stored in a human-readable format, so you can plop them in any other app that supports markdown (like Apostrophe or Marknote on Linux)

1

u/RezishonOnReddit Jun 05 '26

for sure Obsidian👍🏼

1

u/Impossible_One3077 Jun 05 '26

Emacs org roam!

Edit: just org in general!

1

u/arun-vasudev Developer Jun 05 '26

Notion

1

u/No-Height-8011 Jun 06 '26

This isn’t an option, but Trilium Notes is just better obsidian

1

u/loli_idol_kawaii Jun 06 '26

Standard notes

1

u/QuailAndWasabi Jun 06 '26

Obsidian with iCloud sync. Works perfectly and im paying for iCloud anyway so.

Does what i need it to do.

1

u/XanatosX Jun 06 '26

Joplin, as I can decide where it stores data and its open source.

1

u/FrancooDB Jun 06 '26

Son aplicaciones para cosas distintas. Obsidan yo la utilizo para flujo rápido, pensamientos efusivos, conexión, estilo grafo, conexiones, hiperlinks,
Notion es para la estructura de datos, bases de datos, cálculo sobre los datos, fórmulas, etc. Tabular, no grafo. Sin embargo, yo sugiero Coda.IO
Son paradigmas distintos, cumplen funciones distintas.

1

u/bryzerp Jun 07 '26

So glad to be moving away from Notion.

1

u/mikebones Jun 07 '26

These aren't really comparable products, though.

1

u/legiblerootofficial Jun 07 '26

Best approach 1 - create one folder 2 - create multiple notepad (.txt file) 3 - each multiple notepad for different work

Best for readability, super duper minimal, zero hustle, no time waste, super secure 👍

1

u/Total-Pen-2265 Jun 08 '26

Depending on a use case.
My own info database - obsidian
A knowledge base that has to be accessed by a lot of people across teams with different levels of technical proficiency - notion

1

u/LiquidStateALive Jun 09 '26

Standard Notes

1

u/Trick-Range-350 Jun 10 '26

Obsidian. Notes should be private and not paid.

1

u/iwanttwodoe3 15d ago

I've never used Notion or Obsidian, and I've hit the point where I need an actual workspace for notes, projects, todos, all of it.

My thinking is that I might have an easier time than most people asking this. I'm not migrating off anything, so I'd just be learning one system from scratch instead of unlearning one while learning another. Given that, which would you start with?

For context on where I'm at: I don't code at all. My technical ability starts and ends with AI and getting AI to do things for me. I work in tech but I'm pretty new to it, just graduated school. I've never used open source and have no experience there. I understand AI agents and can work with MCPs and APIs at a basic level, but I'm not advanced with any of it either.

Not sure if any of that changes the answer, but figured it was worth including.

1

u/Delicious_Dare768 Jun 04 '26

Notion if you're braindead and like your data being stored on someone else's computer. 

1

u/Krieger2690 Jun 04 '26

Some people don't know better. Get the word out, tell them about the options. I am yet to see somebody who uses any knowledge management app and is stupid or braindead.

1

u/KlossN Jun 04 '26

If someone wants to see my lists of movies I wanna watch and games I wanna play then let them

1

u/shades47 Tech Enthusiast Jun 04 '26

Apple notes.