Obsidian
Free (personal) / Sync ~$4 per mo
Evernote
Free / Personal ~$14.99 per mo
Obsidian is a local-first, plain-text knowledge base with linking and a huge plugin ecosystem you fully own. Evernote is a cross-platform notebook with strong web clipping and search. Obsidian wins on privacy, ownership, and linking; Evernote wins on clipping and ease.
Pick Obsidian if you want a private, local-first vault you own, with deep linking and plugins, at a lower price.
Pick Evernote if you want cross-platform notes with strong web clipping and powerful search.
Obsidian and Evernote are both note apps, but they sit on opposite sides of a philosophical line. Obsidian stores plain-text Markdown on your own device, so your notes are private, work offline, and remain readable even if the app disappears, with deep linking, a graph view, and a huge plugin ecosystem. Evernote is the veteran cross-platform notebook, strong on web clipping, document storage, and powerful search across everything you save.
On price, Obsidian is free for personal use (Sync around $4 a month), while Evernote Personal is around $14.99. The choice is mostly privacy, ownership, and linked notes (Obsidian) versus cross-platform clipping and search (Evernote).
We compare privacy, linking, web clipping, cross-platform support, and price.
| Quick facts | Obsidian | Evernote |
|---|---|---|
| Where notes live | Your device (local) | Evernote cloud |
| Price | Free / Sync ~$4/mo | Personal ~$14.99/mo |
| Linked notes / graph | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Web clipping | Good | Best-in-class |
| Best for | Privacy + linking | Clipping + search |
Each row reflects the feature on each product's current public release.
| Feature | O Obsidian | E Evernote |
|---|---|---|
| Local-first / offline | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Plain-text ownership | Yes | No |
| Linked notes / graph view | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Web clipper | Good | Best-in-class |
| Powerful search (incl. PDFs) | Good | Best-in-class |
| Plugin ecosystem | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Cross-platform (Win/Android) | Strong | Best-in-class |
| Lower price | Yes | No |
Pricing and features change often. Always verify the current details on each product's official site. Last reviewed June 2026.
Things neither product's marketing page leads with.
Obsidian gives you privacy, ownership, and powerful linking, but it has a learning curve and lighter clipping.
Evernote is great for clipping and search, but it costs more and your notes live in its cloud.
For a private knowledge base Obsidian wins; for clipping and search Evernote wins.
The average person juggles a dozen subscriptions and forgets at least one. Subkept is a privacy-first subscription tracker: add Obsidian, Evernote, and everything else, then get renewal reminders, price-hike alerts, and a clear monthly total, with no bank connection, ever. Free for up to 5 subscriptions, no time limit.