Top 10 Alternatives to Obsidian in 2025: A Comprehensive Comparison

As Obsidian continues to be a popular note-taking app, 2025 has introduced a multitude of alternatives that offer diverse features and functionalities. Whether you're looking for enhanced collaboration, better integration, or more advanced features, this article delves into the top 10 alternatives to Obsidian, comparing them based on key data points such as pricing, unique features, and platform compatibility.

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1. Notion

Description: Notion is an all-in-one workspace that combines note-taking, project management, databases, and wikis. It's highly customizable and collaborative.
Key Features:
Versatile Pages: Create rich text notes, embed media, and organize content into nested pages.
Databases: Build custom databases for tracking tasks, projects, and other information.
Collaboration: Share pages and collaborate with teams in real-time.
Templates: Use pre-built templates to quickly create different types of pages and databases.
AI Features: AI-powered writing and brainstorming tools are also available.
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $8 per user per month. Learn more about Notion

2. ClickUp

Description: ClickUp is a productivity platform that includes note-taking along with project management, task tracking, and more. It emphasizes team collaboration.
Key Features:
ClickUp Docs: Create and collaborate on documents, wikis, and meeting notes.
Task Management: Integrate notes with tasks and projects for seamless workflow.
AI Capabilities: AI features to summarize, analyze notes, and generate action items.
Customization: Highly customizable with various views, including lists, boards, and calendars.
Real-time Collaboration: Work on documents with your team in real-time.
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $7 per user per month. Explore ClickUp

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3. Evernote

Description: Evernote is a long-standing note-taking app known for its powerful organization and search capabilities.
Key Features:
Notebooks & Tags: Organize notes into notebooks and use tags for easy retrieval.
Web Clipper: Save articles, web pages, and PDFs directly to Evernote.
OCR: Search for text within images.
AI Search and Cleanup: AI powered features for note cleanup and search.
Multi-Platform: Syncs across various devices and platforms.
Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $14.99 per month. Discover Evernote

4. Joplin

Description: Joplin is an open-source, free note-taking application with a focus on privacy and security.
Key Features:
Markdown Support: Uses Markdown for formatting notes.
Multimedia Support: Supports multimedia notes including images, videos, PDFs, and audio files.
Cross-Platform: Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
End-to-end Encryption: Option for end-to-end encryption for added privacy.
Web Clipper: Save web content into the app.
Pricing: Free. Check out Joplin

5. Heptabase

Description: Heptabase is a visual note-taking tool that uses notecards and whiteboards, ideal for organizing and exploring ideas.
Key Features:
Whiteboards: Organize notes visually on interactive whiteboards.
PDF Reader: Top-tier PDF reader for annotating and note-taking within PDFs.
Backlinking: Interconnect notes using backlinks.
Manual Connections: Connect notes using arrows for visual organization.
Offline Access: Available on all platforms and accessible offline.
Pricing: $11.99 USD monthly or $8.99 USD per month if billed annually. Discover Heptabase

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6. Supernotes

Description: Supernotes uses a unique notecard-based structure designed for creating short, focused notes.
Key Features:
Notecard Structure: Organizes notes into bite-sized notecards.
Backlinking: Connect notes using backlinks.
Graph View: Visualize connections between notes with a graph view.
Offline Functionality: Works offline and syncs across devices.
Cross Platform: Available on Android, iOS, macOS, and Web.
Pricing: Free plan available, paid plan starts at $10 USD monthly. Explore Supernotes

7. Craft

Description: Craft is a note-taking and document creation app that focuses on making notes visually appealing.
Key Features:
Block-Based Linking: Link specific paragraphs or sections within notes.
Daily Pages: Great for journaling.
Database Functionality: Offers database features for structured data.
Task Management: Basic task management functionality is also included.
Cross Platform: Available on macOS, iOS, and Windows (Android app is planned).
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start from $12 per month. Discover Craft

8. Microsoft OneNote

Description: OneNote is a free-form note-taking app that's part of the Microsoft ecosystem.
Key Features:
Free-form Canvas: Click anywhere to add text, images, or drawings.
Multimedia Support: Includes text, images, audio, and video.
Cross-Device Sync: Sync notes across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.
Collaboration: Share notebooks and collaborate in real-time.
Handwriting & Drawing: Supports handwriting and drawing, great for tablets.
Pricing: Free. Check out OneNote

9. The Drive AI

Description: An AI powered research tool, tailored to the unique needs of researchers. It streamlines note taking and enhances organization.
Key Features:
AI-Powered Note Taking: AI automatically extracts key insights from articles and videos.
Advanced Organization: Uses topic, project, author, and more categories to organize notes.
Real Time Collaboration: Share notes and track changes with ease.
Built in Chat Channels: Contextual chat for projects and files.
Smart Editor: File embedding, mentions, markdown formatting, and more.
Pricing: Pricing is not readily available on the website. Discover The Drive AI

10. Capacities

Description: Capacities is a note-taking app that focuses on linking notes and generating ideas. It has an object-based approach.
Key Features:
Linked Notes: Link notes to see how ideas connect.
Templates: Use templates to quickly create notes.
Daily Notes: A daily note feature to stay organized.
Evernote Import: Import notes from Evernote with ease.
Object-Based Approach: Unique way of organizing notes.
Pricing: Free plan available, paid plan starts at $8/month. Check out Capacities

These alternatives offer a range of features and approaches, so consider which ones best match your note-taking style and needs. Each has its own advantages, making the right choice dependent on your preferences.

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FAQ

1. What is the best alternative to Obsidian for collaborative work?

Notion is an ideal choice for collaborative work, offering versatile pages, databases, real-time team collaboration, and templates. Learn more about Notion

2. Which alternative offers strong task management features alongside note-taking?

ClickUp combines note-taking with advanced task and project management features, making it perfect for integrated workflow management. Explore ClickUp

3. Is there a secure, privacy-focused alternative to Obsidian?

Joplin stands out as a privacy-focused alternative with end-to-end encryption and open-source availability. Discover Joplin

4. Which alternative provides a unique visual organization of notes?

Heptabase uses interactive whiteboards for visual note organization, along with a powerful PDF reader and backlinking features. Learn more about Heptabase

5. What is a good alternative for creating and linking focused, short notes?

Supernotes is designed for creating short, focused notes with a unique notecard structure and backlinking capabilities. Explore Supernotes

6. Which alternative is best suited for visually appealing document creation?

Craft is known for its visually appealing note-taking and document creation features, with block-based linking and cross-platform availability. Discover Craft

7. Are there any free-form, multimedia note-taking alternatives?

Microsoft OneNote offers a free-form canvas for multimedia notes, including text, images, audio, video, and drawing capabilities. Learn more about Microsoft OneNote

8. Which alternative uses AI for enhanced research and note-taking?

The Drive AI is tailored for research with AI-powered note extraction, advanced organization, and real-time collaboration features. Explore The Drive AI

9. What alternative offers an object-based approach to note organization?

Capacities provides an object-based approach to note-taking and linking, making it unique in its organizational style. Learn more about Capacities

10. Which traditional note-taking app has strong search and organization features?

Evernote remains a strong contender with its powerful organization and search capabilities, along with OCR and a web clipper tool. Discover Evernote

References

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.

Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).

She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.

For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.

About the Publication

Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.

Mission and Purpose

Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.

Key Features

The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:

Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials

Impact and Growth

Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:

3,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
100+ startup tools built
5,000+ pieces of articles and news written

Partnerships

Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.

Recognition

Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.