Obsidian Pricing 2026
Complete pricing guide with plans, hidden costs, and cost analysis
Obsidian has a free plan. Paid plans start at $5/month (Sync) and go up to $50/month.
Obsidian costs Free to $50 per month as of March 2026, with 5 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Personal (Free) (free), Sync at $5/month, and Publish at $10/month. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
Obsidian offers 5 pricing tiers: Personal (Free), Sync, Publish, Catalyst, Commercial. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Sync at $5/per month, Publish at $10/per site/month. The Sync plan is users needing cross-device syncing.
Compared to other note-taking & pkm software, Obsidian is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.
- Median contract: $120/yr from 0 purchases
- Average negotiated discount: 93%
- 6 documented hidden costs beyond list price
How much does Obsidian cost?
Obsidian Pricing Overview
Obsidian has 5 pricing plans, including a free tier. Paid plans range from $0 to $50/month. The Personal (Free) plan is free and is best for personal use and knowledge management. The Sync plan costs $5/month, best for users needing cross-device syncing. The Publish plan costs $10/month, best for users wanting to publish digital gardens or wikis. The Catalyst plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote and is designed for early adopters wanting to support development. The Commercial plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote and is designed for organizations using obsidian commercially.
The median Obsidian customer pays $120/year, with an average 93% discount available through negotiation.
There are at least 6 documented hidden costs beyond Obsidian's list price, including implementation, training, and add-on fees.
This pricing was last verified in February 4, 2026 from 1 independent sources.
Obsidian is free for personal use with optional paid services. The core app costs $0 and includes all features, plugins, and themes. For users who need cloud synchronization, Sync costs $4/month when paid annually or $5/month. To publish notes as a website, Publish costs $8/month annually or $10/month. Using both services together costs $12/month annually ($144/year total). As of February 2025, commercial use is also free with no license required.
How Obsidian Pricing Compares
Compare Obsidian pricing against top alternatives in Note-Taking & PKM.
All Obsidian Plans & Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal (Free) | Free | Free | Personal use and knowledge management |
| Sync vaults: 5storagePerVault: 10GB | $5 /per month | $4 /per yearSave 20% | Users needing cross-device syncing |
| Publish | $10 /per site/month | $8 /per site/yearSave 20% | Users wanting to publish digital gardens or wikis |
| Catalyst | Custom | $undefined | Early adopters wanting to support development |
| Commercial | Custom | $50 /per user/year | Organizations using Obsidian commercially |
View all features by plan
Personal (Free)
- Full Obsidian app functionality
- Local-first Markdown file storage
- Graph view
- Bidirectional linking
- Community plugins (1000+)
- Custom CSS themes
- Canvas
- Daily notes and templates
- No registration required
Sync
- Sync notes across devices
- End-to-end encryption
- Version history
- Collaborative shared vaults
- Priority support
- Up to 5 remote vaults
- 10GB per vault
Publish
- Publish notes to the web
- No technical expertise required
- Customizable design
- Graph and full-text search
- Priority support
Catalyst
- Early access to beta releases
- Community badges
- VIP channel access
- Support Obsidian development
Commercial
- Commercial use license
- Supports ongoing development
- Organization featured status
- Bulk purchase options available
Compare Obsidian vs Alternatives
Before committing to Obsidian, compare pricing with these 3 alternatives in the same category.
What Companies Actually Pay for Obsidian
The median Obsidian buyer pays $120/year based on 0 verified purchase transactions, with an average 93% savings through negotiation.
with negotiation
Obsidian Year 1 Total Cost by Company Size
Real deployment costs including licenses, implementation, training, and admin — not just the sticker price.
Solo user who wants cloud sync across devices but doesn't need publishing
User who wants both cloud sync and ability to publish notes as a website
User who uses free Obsidian with their own sync solution like iCloud, OneDrive, or git
Current tier data and Reddit discussions
How Obsidian Pricing Compares
| Software | Starting Price | Top Price |
|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | Free | $50/month |
| Amplenote | Free | $20/month |
| Bear | Free | $2.99/month |
| Capacities | Free | $14.99/month |
| Craft | Free | $50/month |
| Evernote | Free | $24.99/month |
Obsidian Pricing FAQ
01 Is Obsidian completely free?
Yes, the core Obsidian application is completely free for personal and commercial use with no limitations. As of 2025, the commercial license requirement was removed. The only costs are optional paid services: Obsidian Sync ($4-5/month) and Obsidian Publish ($8-10/month).
02 Do I need Obsidian Sync to use Obsidian on multiple devices?
No, Obsidian Sync is optional. You can sync for free using iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Git. These methods require some technical setup but work well. Obsidian Sync offers convenience, end-to-end encryption, and version history for $4-5/month.
03 Can I collaborate with others in Obsidian?
Obsidian doesn't have built-in real-time collaboration like Google Docs. It's designed for individual use. You can share vaults via Git or cloud storage, but multiple people can't edit the same note simultaneously without merge conflicts.
04 What's the difference between Obsidian and Notion?
Obsidian is local-first with Markdown files you own, focused on personal knowledge management with graph-based linking. Notion is cloud-based with a database-centric approach, better for team collaboration. Obsidian is free and private; Notion has better collaboration but requires paid plans for teams.
05 Are my notes stored in the cloud?
No, Obsidian stores all notes locally on your device as plain Markdown files. You have complete control and ownership. Only if you choose to use Obsidian Sync ($4-5/month) will encrypted copies be stored on Obsidian's servers for syncing across devices.
06 Can I export my data from Obsidian?
Yes, and it's easy. Since Obsidian uses plain Markdown files stored locally, your data is already in an open, portable format. You can move your entire vault to another app at any time without export tools or conversion processes.
07 Is Obsidian free to use?
Yes, Obsidian is completely free for personal use. All core features, including community plugins and themes, are available without payment. You only pay for optional services: Sync ($4/month annually or $5/month) for cloud synchronization and Publish ($8/month annually or $10/month) for publishing your notes as a website.
08 Can I sync Obsidian without paying for Sync?
Yes, Obsidian works with any file sync service since it stores notes as plain markdown files. Users commonly sync via iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or git. The paid Sync service ($4/month annually) offers end-to-end encryption, version history, and is optimized for Obsidian, but free alternatives work well for many users.
09 Do I need a Commercial license to use Obsidian for work?
As of February 2025, Obsidian is now free for commercial use. Previously, companies with revenue over $1 million/year required a Commercial license at $50/year per user, but this requirement has been removed.
10 How much does it cost to use Obsidian Sync and Publish together?
Using both services costs $12/month when paid annually ($4/month for Sync + $8/month for Publish = $144/year total), or $15/month when paid monthly ($5/month Sync + $10/month Publish).
11 Are there student discounts available?
Yes, students can get a 40% discount on Obsidian's paid services. You can check eligibility and apply for the discount on the Obsidian pricing page.
12 How does Obsidian Sync pricing compare to alternatives?
Obsidian Sync at $48/year is more expensive than general cloud storage (iCloud 50GB costs less, Google One 100GB is cheaper), but includes features specific to Obsidian like end-to-end encryption, version history, and seamless integration. Many users opt for free sync via iCloud, OneDrive, or git instead.
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